Military Vehicles Part 2

Prior to the war, the Bedford company had produced a number of light commercial vehicles, based on Chevrolet of Canada's - straight 6 engine. Being the same capacity engine as that of the Bedford QL, it produces 72 Horse-power - with a top speed of 40 miles per hour. In 1939, Bedford redesigned the “O” series for military use. Mainly a styling alteration, it introduced a sloping bonnet and flat front - with inset headlights and a crash-bar - as well as reducing to single rear tyres. There were 72,000 O-Y’s built, with two variants, the O-Y-D, General service truck, and the O-Y-C tanker version. The Armadillo, an O-Y fitted for airfield defence with Lewis-guns - and an ex-aircraft C-O-W 37 mm gun was also produced. 

 

Between the years of 1939 and 1953, Bedford also produced a total of 24,429 O-X trucks, a shortened wheelbase version of the O-Y, with two types, the O-X-D - General purpose truck - and the O-X-C, the type you see before you.

In association with Scammell, the O-X-C has a “fifth wheel, articulated trailer plate - used together with a special trailer for dismantled or crashed aircraft - known as the “Queen Mary” trailer. You may have seen one - behind the flightline - opposite Hangar42. It is difficult to use the truck and long trailer on the roads today, so one of our volunteers, Carlo DeVito, converted the vehicle to an O-X-D, allowing it to be displayed at various Military enactments and shows around the local area.

This vehicle was first registered in July 1953 – though this is not necessarily the date of manufacture, as records from this era are somewhat scant. We obtained the vehicle - along with the trailer - in 2016 and it has been used in various film and TV productions, the last of which was the BBC drama - “World on Fire” – which also featured our VERY own star – Carlo!

 

Moving on to the Fordson Model N Tractor:

The Model F, was Ford's first true production tractor, designed for affordability and use by the farming community. 750,000 were built from 1917 to 1928 at Ford's Cork plant - in Ireland. It took just 31 hours to convert the raw materials - into the 4,000 parts required for assembly - under Ford's typical production-line techniques. Derived from the Model F, Model N production ran from 1927 to 1945 - with 220,000 tractors being built at a rate of up-to 130 a day.

Powered by a 4 point 4 Litre engine - and producing 26 horse-power, it had 3 forward and one reverse gear - and gave a speed of 5 to 8 mph. The model N had a dual fuel system, petrol to start - and then - when warm, was switched over to Tractor Vaporising Oil, or T-V-O. Having no carburettor or magneto, the engine used a hand crank to start - and a vaporising system for fuel mixing, with consumption rates of around 3 gallons per hour.

With the U-boat menace causing a shortage of food, the ministry of agriculture demanded that an additional 61 million acres of land be bought into arable production. The need for farmers to increase in yield was heavily dependent on the use of the Fordson. The Model N was the most numerous tractor in use and, being used by the Women's Land Army, became known as the tractor that won the war. The RAF was a big user of the Model “N”, and the driving seat was usually occupied by Women's Auxiliary Air Force personnel, who carried out many airfield functions, from towing bomb-trolleys and fuel-trailers, to towing aircraft. 

This particular tractor - known as “Susie” - was built in February 1939. Little is known about her past, but we believe she spent time in the Essex area within the RAF. She had lain idle for over 30 years, until she was brought back to life in 2016, when Mark Gaskell, one of our Volunteers, brought her to Hangar 42, and finished the restoration in 2017. You may have seen "Susie" at the annual Lytham 1940's weekend, or on television – in dramas such as "World on Fire".

Moving on to our Brockhouse Bowser:

This trailer is an example of a rare Brockhouse 5 ton, Mark 2, 4-wheeled Bowser trailer. Manufactured from 1935 to 1945, around 10,000 of these trailers were produced - although not exclusively for the Armed forces. With the trailer manufactured by J Brockhouse and Co - of West Bromwich - the Butterfields company completed the conversion with the 900 gallon tank and Zwicky fuelling equipment fit. Powered by a Bradford gas petrol engine that produced 2 point 5 horse-power and provided power to the Zwicky fuelling pumps.

Towed by either Bedford QL's or Fordson tractors, the Brockhouse bowser was utilised across the RAF in both Bomber and Fighter Command, and enabled additional capacity to fuel Lancasters – 2,154 - and Hurricanes - 97 gallons respectively. We are unsure when this unit was produced - but know that the leaf spring suspension arrangement was only available post war. Pre and war-time units having a torsion bar suspension.

We are about to start a refurbishment - with the intention to get as far back to standard as possible. We are expecting it to take 2 to 3 years, paced by funding availability.

By leaving a donation, you will help us maintain our progress towards keeping these rare and important historical artifacts in a condition that will educate future generations as to what happened during the turbulent time of the 19 40’s.