Bridge Weight Classification

If you display military vehicles at public events, you hear all kinds of explanations of all kinds of things by the general public. You hear the fifty dollar Jeep story, the bulletproof glass story...a buddy of mine heard someone explaining that the roller on the front of his M3A1 Scout Car is a mine detector. Usually the owner or another historic military vehicle enthusiast is nearby and can set the record straight. The exception to this seems to be the bridge weight classification plate found on most US vehicles. This little, round yellow (or green) plate seems to cause a great deal of confusion among the public and the hobby.

The bridge weight classification plate has its origins with the British during WWII, and by mid-war had been adopted by US forces. In its earliest incarnation, this was a relatively simple 9 inch diameter yellow disk with the weight classification permanently marked on it in black. For combination vehicles (for example, trucks pulling trailers), there were two numbers on the plate. The lower number is