Early Lancia chassis numbers – 1948
sample of Aprilia records, listing chassis, motor, and registration numbers
Recently located was this document from the US government, postWWII. Its a 1948 document listing Italian cars confiscated by the Germans, declassified in 1978. What is interesting for the Lancia world is its extensive lists of Astura, Augusta, Ardea, and Aprilias, complete with owner’s names, registration, and more importantly, chassis and engine numbers. Also included is information for Lancia trucks, including Eptajota, Omicron, Ro and 3Ro. There are about 60 pages in total, with 26 pages of just Aprilia numbers. Originalinformation for early Lancias is hard to find, and this seemed worth sharing. Please forward to any Lancia registries.
Just a note – the PDF is large. In front are included a few pages of flavor with interesting period detail.
Geoff,
What a fascinating list, you’d have to wonder how many of the cars found their way back to the original owners after the war, assuming they were still with us.
The Aprilia list is amazing, especially the number of platform chassis cars, 39 & 439 prefix chassis numbers. And what about the fifty odd Asturas! Hopefully others with more knowledge can fill in some info on a few.
Noel
Noel Macwhirter
July 7, 2015 at 6:26 am
Doc 127s is a truly remarkable document. I have been through it on the fold3.com website and reckon it contains the following:
Doc 127s
This list has 40 pages of Fiat 500s (49 pp on fold3.com website) – from page 9
Then Fiat 508’s – 25 pages – From p51
Fiat Autocarri 621’s – 4 pages
Fiat Autocarri 626’s – 2 pages
Fiat Autocarri 634’s – 6 pages – fold3.com page 83
Fiat Autocarri 1100’s – 3 pages
Fiat Autovetture 1100 – 46 pages
Fiat Autovetture 1500 – 34 pages
Lancia Aprilia’s – 26 pages
Autobus OM various types – 2 pages
Autobus SPA various types- 1 page
Autobus Isotta Fraschini various types – 1 page
Autobus Bianchi – 1 page
Autovetture Alfa Romeo various types – 2 pages
Motocarri Guzzi various – 4 pages
Motocicli Bianchi/Benelli – 4 pages
Autobus Lancia various – 2 pages
Motocicli/MotocarriGilera – 2 pages
Autocarri Alfa Romeo various – 2 pages
Autovetture Bianchi various – 4 pages
Autocarri Lancia 3 RO – 2 pages
Autocarro Fiat 633 – 1 page
Autobus Fiat 621 – 2 pages
Autocarri Fiat 632 – 1 page
Autocarri Fiat 635 – 1 page
Autovetture Alfa Romeo 2300 – 2 pages
Autocarri Bianchi Mediolanum – 1 pages
[Rimorchi = trailers]
Rimorchi Adige/Strafurini – 3 pages
Autobus Fiat 635 – 4 pages
Rimorchi Viberti – 3 pages
Autovetture Lancia Ardea – 7 pages
Autovetture Lancia Astura – 2 pages
Autovetture Lancia Augusta – 10 pages
Motocarri various – 3 pages
Autovetture Fiat 521 – 1 pages
Autovetture FiatArdita/509 – 2 pages
Autocarri OM various – 4 pages
Autocarri Ford/Chevrolet/Citroen/Ceirano/Ansaldo – 2 pages
Autocarri Lancia Eptaiota/Pentaiota/RO-RO/RO/Omicron – 2 pages
Autocarri SPA – 1 page
Autobus Alfa Romeo various – 1 page
Rimorchi Bartoletti/Orlandi etc – 5 pages
Autocarri Fiat 501/503/507/505/518/521/522/603 etc – 9 pages
Motocicli Triumph/Sertum/MM/MAS/Frera/DKW/CM/BSA/BMW/Astra/Ariel – 5 pages
Autovetture Fiat 514 – 1 Page
Motocicli Moto Guzzi/500 – 4 pages
Autovetture Ford/Chrysler/Buick/Chevrolet/Citroen – 2 pages
Autovetture Lancia Artena – 3 pages
I have begun the task of transcribing the Lancias into my Lancia Car Register. Delicious surprises have emerged – some surviving cars, some that turn up in the list of Carrozzeria Boneschi Lancias.
There are anomalies and questions. I have found one or two chassis turn up twice.
The lists appear to be of vehicles lost by Italian citizens to the German forces during WW2 & particularly after July 1943.
It seems the lists were put together by the Italian authorities for submission to the US Allied Commission for Austria (USACA), Reparations & Restitution Branch 1945-1950.
They appear in the category “Holocaust-Era Assets – Italian Claims – File 127s (Record Group (RG) 260”.
Other files in the 127 series have correspondence on restitution claims for individual vehicles.
The Italian lists are interesting as they give the owner & address, chassis, engine & registration number. The pages are headed “Autoveicoli di Proprieta di Cittadini Italiani Asportati dale FF.AA. Tedesche Operanti in Italia”.
This translates as “Motor Vehicles, Property of Italian Citizens Removed by the German FF.AA. Operating in Italy”.
NOTE that the surname comes first, followed by first names. Many abbreviations are used – for example V. must mean Via for street; F.lli must mean Fratelli for brothers in a company name.
The pages are stamped by the “Automobile Club D’Italia, Roma” & by “Ufficio Del Pvblico Registro ?? Mobilistico Roma”. The latter stamp has a date: 7 Nov 47, 13 Nov 47 17 Nov 47 or 19 Nov 47 & others indecipherable but still Nov.
The lists are signed by “Il Segretario Generale (GT Canestrini)” if the Automobile Club di Italia.
The papers are also marked “Italian claim #127”, presumably entered later by the US administration.
The pages are all stamped “DECLASSIFIED………Date 1978”
One must assume that many of the vehicles were lost for ever and never recovered.
Other documents on the fold3.com website contain details of individual cars.
So far I have entered all the Artenas (88), Asturas (51), Tipo 34 Augustas (103), Dilambda (1) and a few Aprilias.
I am happy to supply a pdf of my transcription.
More soon I hope.
Paul Mayo
PAUL MAYO
July 29, 2015 at 11:11 am
Paul –
Fantastic work by you on this. Wonderful. It is a magical source, to get all this info back c. 1948.
Do you think GT Canestrini is the same as the man we know from Italian auto history?
Happy to post your PDF when you are ready.
Geoff
Geoff
July 29, 2015 at 12:11 pm
On the last page of the Atura’s I found the following line:
Autoclub-Verona Telaio 41=3183Motore 41=302 Targa TO/55040
This engine is now in my possession and we are at the moment rebuilding this engine.
No Lambda’s in this list!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Leo Schildkamp
September 19, 2016 at 3:46 pm