Update: Mystery Friday Foto #36 Solved: A Kelly-Springfield Truck at Mitchel Field
The Cradle of Aviation again challenged you to identify this truck and its location.
Identify;
- The vehicle
A 3.5 Ton (possibly a K-40) Truck from the Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company.
- Approximate year
As per the Cradle of Aviation the year of the photo is 1918.
- The location that is adjacent to the Motor Parkway
Mitchel Field, the current location of the Cradle of Aviation, note the men in uniform.
- What is slightly odd about this vehicle being in this location?
When the photo and truck were being identified, the original thoughts were it was the very similar looking 5-ton Renault EG, slightly odd to be at a United States military base. The Renault was used by the American Expeditionary Forces in WW1, so not completely unheard of. However, after closer examination, the truck was correctly identified as a Kelly-Springfield.
Update 9/13/2026: Corrected Howard Kroplick's spelling of Mitchel Field.
Comments (3)
Congrats to Denis Ryan, Steve Lucas and Al Velocci for correctly identifying the truck.
Greg O.
A Kelly-Springfield K40 in service with the Canadian army on the Western front.
Here is the Renault EG in service by the American military. Easy to spot why the two vehicles can be casually mistaken.
Comments
The truck appears to be a 1914- 23 Kelly-Springfield.
The company supplied transport vehicles to the Canadian and French armies, and Liberty trucks, which did not resemble the Kelly-Springfield for the U.S. military.
That’s a FWD Model “B” built by the Four Wheel Drive Auto Company. The date is around 1918 and the photo was probably taken at Camp Mills in Garden City. The truck appears to be a civilian vehicle with regular license plates and no military markings yet is being driven by uniformed soldiers at a military base.
The vehicle is a Kelly Springfield Truck ca 1918. At Mitchel Field ? If so, why the license plate ? Driver appears to be a civilian.
‘Mitchell Field’ is in Milwaukee. It is NOT the same as ‘Mitchel Field’ on LI!
https://www.mitchellairport.com/airport-information/history#General-Mitchell
Lee, thanks great catch! I should have known my spelling error- I was raised only three miles from Mitchel Field in East Meadow and remember the airplanes flying over my home.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick