(Originally Posted October 21, 2010): It’s easy to forget about the logistical challenges faced by the military to cover simple needs of the military. Showering in the field is one such example. A New Zealand-focused site has a page on the history of mobile laundry and baths from 1914-1990. Canada also had similar mobile services. How frequently such services actually appeared in the field is less clear to me, especially given the lack of photos of this equipment.
Back in 2010 I came upon the model below, which appeared on a new defunct website. The site showed how the builder created the model mobile bath.
The builder, Dave, had based his model on the picture below. In his post, he notes that the Jeep “was stationed in Germany in 1945 with the 2nd Battalion, The Kensingtons, 49th Division, Transport Centre, Iserlohn, Ruhr“.
This 1954 example out of France shows a mobile laundry unit of some type. This photo (page from book?) is for sale on eBay. The auction title is “Jeep transport laundry collective”.
