The British Expeditionary Force that landed in
France in 1939 was a fully mechanized formation. Perhaps the loss of
about 90,000 vehicles in France was a blessing to the British military
transport organization as it cleared all the ‘dead wood’, and thus paved
the way for fresh ideas. The chronic shortage of transport forced a
further temporary introduction of impressment until specific types of
vehicles could be produced in greater numbers. The Commonwealth with its
many assets was given the orders to produce many of these urgently
needed types. Canada made a contribution out of all proportion to the
size of its small automotive industry with its series of all-wheel-drive
tactical trucks ranging from 15-cwt 4 x 4 to 3-ton 6×6, produced with
various types of cabs from 1940 to 1943. During the early period the
Canadian chassis and cabs were built to Canadian designs but to British
specifications. The early wooden bodies were later replaced by pressed
steel bodies.
The invasion of Europe was soon in the minds of the
Allied planners, and considerable thought was being given to supplying
the vast armies that would make the attack across Europe into Germany.
It would require a supply system of a magnitude never before envisaged,
and the production of trucks would be at a premium for the next two to
three years. The British truck industry thus began to produce its own
four-wheel-drive vehicles, with such established names as Bedford, Ford,
Karrier, Thornycroft and Albion being to the fore. Once the Allied
assault had gained momentum the supply lines would soon be
overstretched, and to help overcome this problem heavier 10-ton trucks
were also put into production.
A brief Survey of TypesJust
before the outbreak of war in 1939 the British army was in the process
of intensive mechanization, and several classes of load capacity had
been defined for ‘B’ vehicles. The second class was the 8-cwt truck
which fulfilled such roles as the OS (General Service) and FFW (Fitted
For Wireless). Such 8-cwt trucks with both 4×2 and 4×4 wheel
arrangements were produced in considerable numbers from a period just
before the war, but were eventually phased out of production in order to
rationalize output and reduce the number of types in service. The 5-cwt
and 15-cwt classes could carry out any duties that had been allocated
to the 8-cwt class. These vehicles were manufactured by Ford, Morris and
Humber. Similar in appearance, these vehicles had detachable well-type
bodies with seating for three men (two facing offside and one nearside)
and canvas tilts, though the wireless version had seating for two men
only.
Together with the Ford 4×2 Heavy Utility, the Humber Heavy
Utility Car was the basic staff and command car of the British army
during World War II at all levels of command. Nicknamed the Humber
‘Box’, this was the only British built four-wheel drive utility car, and
production began during May 1941, continuing for the duration of the
war. Employed on a very wide scale, this staff car remained in service
until the late 1950s.
The Morris Company produced a whole range
of vehicles for the British army, one of the most successful being the
Morris C8 Artillery Tractor (popularly known as the Quad). Introduced in
1939, this vehicle had four-wheel drive and was equipped with a 4-ton
winch driven from the transfer case. It had a distinctive beetle-shaped
body and usually a towed limber and 18- or 25-pdr gun/howitzer. As far
as the army was concerned the vehicles built for gun-towing had to have
the same characteristics as the horse-drawn gun carriage team which they
replaced, such as good cross-country performance, seating for the gun
crew, and adequate stowage space for equipment and ammunition.
During
1935 the War Office carried out trials with new lorry models, and the
Bedford Truck Division of Vauxhall Motors Ltd submitted various
prototype vehicles. One of these was a modification of the commercial
2-ton lorry with rear-wheel drive. Following the trials the vehicle was
fitted with a new radiator and larger tyres. After further trials in
1936 the chassis was modified to increase the ground clearance and a new
engine cooling system was incorporated. In 1937aspecial-totype Bedford
WD prototype was produced on this chassis, rated at 15-cwt payload
capacity. The most noticeable feature was the flat full-width bonnet
necessitated by the extra-large air filter specified by the War
Mechanisation Board. During 1938 a more powerful engine was used. An
initial order for 2,000 Bedford 15-cwt Truck vehicles was placed in
August 1939, the first 50 being constructed as special portée vehicles
to carry the 2-pdr anti-tank gun. Originally, the vehicle had an open
cab with folding windscreen and collapsible canvas tilt, but from 1943
an enclosed cab with side-doors, canvas top and perspex side screens was
adopted. By the end of the war Bedford had produced a total of 250,000
vehicles, a large proportion of which were this model. The vehicle
remained in service with the British army until the late 1950s. Although
intended mainly as a workhorse for the infantry, the Bedford 15-cwt GS
eventually became used by all arms including the Royal Navy and the RAF.
Bedford’s
involvement in four-wheel drive vehicles began in 1938, during the
development stages of the square-nosed 15-cwt Bedford. It was suggested
that the War Office be approached with permission to proceed with this
design. Some degree of interest was expressed, but as no immediate
requirement was envisaged the matter proceeded no further. Then Bedford
decided to undertake private development on a low-priority basis with an
eye to future military orders. After the outbreak of war the War Office
issued orders for large quantities of 4 x 2 vehicles and also told
Bedford to proceed with a prototype 4×4 3-ton general-service truck. In
October 1939 a specification was approved, and on 1 February 1940 the
first prototype was completed and was out on road tests. Within a month
two more had joined it for extensive factory and military tests. The
usual army tests were completed and the fitments for special tools
installed, and drivers began training to operate this new truck. It had
taken one year exactly from the first prototype to the first production
vehicles, a commendable feat in a time of great stress and shortages.
The Bedford QL was designed to use its four-wheel drive on rough
terrain, but could disengage the front drive for use on hard roads to
ease the wear on tires and gearbox, the change being effected by moving a
lever on the secondary gearbox. Another feather in Bedford’s cap (and a
surprise one) was the lack of normal teething troubles during the QL’s
early use. It was only after about one year in service that the first
sign of trouble occurred, and a rather peculiar one at that: a tendency
for the vehicle to shudder when the brakes were applied slightly. These
reports were followed up immediately, and it was found that only a small
proportion of vehicles were showing this fault. After some time spent
on investigation the fault was found to be simple, and the deep-treaded
cross-country tires were replaced by normal road tires, whereupon the
problem ceased.
The first production vehicle was the steel-bodied
OLD issued to units of the Army Service Corps as a general carrier.
From this model stemmed many variants, including the QLT 3-ton troop
carrier with a modified and lengthened chassis to accommodate the extra
long body to carry 29 troops and kit. The QLT was popularly known as the
‘Drooper’. The QLR wireless house type was used by all arms of the
signals. The truck featured an auxiliary generator, and other variants
on this house type body were command, cipher office and mobile terminal
carrier vehicles. A special requirement for use in the Western Desert
was a 6-pdr portée, a vehicle designed to transport and fire a 6-pdr
anti-tank gun from the body. It was necessary to modify the cab by
cutting off the upper half and fitting a canvas top, and when this type
became redundant the surviving vehicles were converted back to
general-service types after being rebodied, The RAF was a major operator
of, the Bedford QL, many being used as fuel tankers with swinging booms
to refuel aircraft. Two experimental vehicles that never progressed
beyond the prototype stage were the Giraffe and Bren. The Giraffe was
designed for amphibious landings: all the major components were raised
(along with the cab) on a special frame for deep wading. When fully
elevated the vehicle’s automotive parts were raised 2.13 m (7 ft) and
the driver 3.05m (10ft). The vehicle was approved for production in the
event that the waterproofing system then in use failed. The Bren was
developed by the Ministry of Supply by taking a standard Bedford QLD and
replacing the rear wheels with components from the Bren Gun Carrier,
thus creating a halftrack. The aim of this scheme was to reduce rubber
wear. The vehicle was considered adequate during tests, but the shortage
of rubber did not materialize and the project was dropped.
To
meet her urgent need for motor transport the UK turned to the
Commonwealth for a degree of support, the major supplier to the UK from
the Commonwealth being Canada. Canada herself, once on a war footing,
had urgent need to supply her own armies with equipment as every
transport vehicle then in service was of civil origin. During early 1937
Ford of Canada had been approached to produce 15-cwt trucks based on
similar lines to those of British design. General Motors of Canada also
participated. Ford’s experimental vehicle was produced in no great haste
at the Windsor plant, the pilot model being built up around a Ford V-8
chassis with wheels and tyres imported from England. When completed in
1937 the vehicle was tested at the then small army testing ground at
Camp Petawawa, near Ottawa. On arrival it was discovered that the
specification had changed to a four-wheel drive application.
Nevertheless, the type gave a good account of itself, and the Canadian
Military Pattern Chassis formed the basis of many 15-cwt and 8-cwt
trucks. During early 1940 the standard pattern of Canadian truck began
to emerge with four-wheel drive, and in July of 1940, after Dunkirk, the
UK placed a preliminary order for 7,000 vehicles. By 1941 Canada was
the Empire’s main supplier of light and medium trucks.
Standardization
was again of the utmost importance within a range of trucks including
8-cwt, 15- cwt, 30-cwt and 3-ton 4×4, 3-ton 6×4 and 3-ton 6×6 vehicles.
Various Canadian cabs were produced through the different stages of
development: the number 11 cab was identifiable by the radiator
externally mounted to the bonnet; the number 12 cab had the radiator
mounted inside the bonnet; the number 13 cab was a complete revision in
design to allow more cab interior space and better placing of the foot
pedals, and also had a forward sloping windscreen; and the number 43 was
basically a number 13 with a soft top.The 3-ton 4×4 became the mainstay
of Canadian production, and was a reliable vehicle produced by both
Ford and Chevrolet. The body variations were enormous and can only be
touched briefly within this text. All models were produced in the
general service role, some with timber and some with all-pressed-steel
bodies, and other types included water and petrol tankers, mobile gun
carriages, wireless house bodies, machinery vehicles (various types from
15-cwt mounted welding units to 6×6 fully - equipped workshops), office
bodies, ambulances and other medical requirement vehicles, and
breakdown and recovery vehicles. Canada also supplied many conventional
types from all the large manufacturers, fitted with military
tires/wheels and bodies. Over 900,000 Canadian vehicles were produced
within the five-year period. The Australian commitment was not on so
grand a scale, the majority of production trucks being in the light
range. Most of the medium to heavy trucks were supplied in kit or
chassis and cab form, usually from Canada, to which locally-built bodies
were added. Some of the conventional trucks supplied were used in
halftrack conversions, but this never progressed beyond the experimental
stage. All Canadian Fords were reassembled at the Ford subsidiary plant
at Geelong, in Victoria State some 48 km (30 miles) west of Melbourne.
The
AEC Matador 4×4 tractor first appeared in 1939, and was built to a War
Office specification to tow 4.5-in (114-mm), 5.5-m (140-mm) and 6-in
(152-mm) howitzers. The requirement was for a four-wheel tractor with
seating for the crew and ammunition stowage. The early production
vehicles had a cab roof of different shape to that of later production
trucks, the latter having a circular hatch for air observation; when not
in use this was covered by a small canvas sheet. The basic design of
the cab was very simple and robust, being built on a wooden frame with
steel sheets. The body was of conventional timber construction with a
drop tailboard and a side door for use by the gun crew. Special runners
were fitted to the floor to allow shells to be moved to the rear
tailgate for unloading. The Matador was powered by a 6-cylinder
7.58-litre AEC engine producing 71 kW (95 bhp), allowing a top speed of
58 km/h (36 mph). For pulling purposes (for example extracting guns from
mud) a 7-ton winch was fitted with 76 m (250 ft) of wire rope. The
Matador was used in most theatres of the war. In the desert it proved to
be extremely popular with the gun crews for its reliability, and
photographic evidence shows that some had the tops of the cabs cut down
to door level. Matadors were also pressed into service in the desert to
tow transporter trailers because of the lack of proper tractors for this
purpose. Total production of Matadors was 8,612. The RAF was also a
major user of this vehicle, 400 being supplied in various offerings. The
General Load Carrier had a special all-steel body with drop down sides
and tailgate to facilitate easy loading, and the support posts could
also be removed, Special flat platform trucks were also supplied to
transport heavy equipment such as dumpers and compressors. An armoured
command post was also built on this chassis, called the Dorchester, in
which accommodation was provided internally for high- or low-powered
radio transmitting and receiving equipment, and an external penthouse
could be erected. As these vehicles were considered prime targets they
were carefully disguised to look like general-service trucks.
Approximately 175 Matadors were built in 1942 as self-propelled gun
carriages and comprised a 6-pdr anti-tank gun mounted in an armoured
box. The cab and body were also armoured. Other variants included power
equipment 20 kVA, power equipment 50 kVA, air-traffic control, and an
experimental 25-pdr portée. The last did not progress beyond the
prototype stage.
The last of the Matadors were auctioned off in
the mid-1970s, this late disposal date proving the sound strength and
reliability of these trucks.
Designed as a heavy load carrier,
the Leyland Hippo 6×4 10-ton truck entered military service in 1944 and
eventually proved its worth hauling supplies during the closing stages
of the Allied advance across North West Europe. The huge bodies on these
trucks had a well-type floor incorporating the wheel arches, this
giving a lower loading height, an important element in the war days as
fork-lift trucks were few and much loading was accomplished by hand.
Steel hoops and a canvas tilt gave weather protection to the stores
carried. The Hippo Mk 1 initial version was based on a pre-war
commercial type with an open cab with canvas tilt and fixed windscreen,
while the Hippo Mk 2 had an all-steel cab. The Hippo Mk 2 had single
rear wheels, whilst the Hippo Mk 2A had dual wheels fitted with 10-
50-22 tires. The difficulty experienced with the Mk 2A was the need to
carry two spare wheels, one for the front and one for the rear. It is
perhaps quite amazing to see these trucks still in service in the 1980s.
Besides the general service vehicle, many were fitted with large van
type bodies, and several expandable body types were built, albeit of
similar design. The side panels were split horizontally, the upper half
being raised to form extra roof area and the lower half forming extra
floor space to provide additional freedom around machinery. The vehicles
could also be linked together to form a consolidated workshop area. Van
bodies included an auto-processing type for developing photographs, an
enlarging and rectifying type for exposing original film onto new film, a
printing type with a rotary offset printing machine, and a
photo-mechanical type equipped with a rotary offset printer, work tables
and plate racks. Entrance to all these bodies was through a single door
in the rear. Because of the length of the body, the spare wheel had to
be transferred from behind the cab and placed under the rear of the
chassis.
A post-war fitting was the adoption of a 9092-litre
(2,000-Imp gal) AVTUR refueller body and, with the rear body removed, of
a Coles Mk 7 or Neal Type QMC crane.
