When the armistice was signed the Army had in this country thousands of motor trucks, motorcycles, and ambulances. Perhaps 80 per cent of these were located in the districts subsidiary to Camp Holabird. Consequently, there were constructed at Holabird an enormous repair shop and a shop for the taking down and shipping of motor vehicles. The machine shops at these camps were of permanent construction. Large storage facilities were also furnished.
The experiences of the Army in Mexico taught that to be effective motor transport must have adequate facilities for repair. The standardized army repair shop is of glass, steel, and concrete construction. It is operated by 55 officers and 1,400 men.
QUARTERMASTER STORAGE DEPOT BUILT BY CONSTRUCTION DIVISION AT ST. LOUIS.
CHICAGO PERMANENT QUARTERMASTER DEPOT WAREHOUSES.
One of the most interesting buildings provided for the Motor Transport Corps was the crating shop at Camp Holabird. The first motor trucks sent overseas were shipped completely assembled. In addition to taking up unnecessarily much-needed cargo space on the transports, they frequently arrived in poor condition, due to the effects of the salt air upon their metal parts.
Consequently, it was decided to ship trucks disassembled in crates. One of these huge vehicles could be taken apart and, except for its truck body, wrapped up in a parcel 20 feet long, 40 inches wide and 40 inches deep. The truck body could be packed in a crate 12 feet long and 6 feet wide and 1 foot thick. These crates were moisture proof.