early british ww2 Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Does anyone have or know of the existance of a definitive listing of what models of Austin 7 were used by the Military - I know they used the APD Model military tourers but did they ever use the AK Model Chummy tourers ? Is there a listing anywhere that has details of what chassis numbers were supplied to what contract numbers as I know there were several contracts placed up to the beginning of the war . Finally does anyone have any details and or pictures of the different types used as i believe that there were different uses such as a wireless car , scout car , and machine gun equipped scout car . Sorry if i have repeated something that has been asked before but any info will be greatly appreciated cheers :coffee: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gritineye Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Sorry if i have repeated something that has been asked before but any info will be greatly appreciated cheers :coffee: These have been discussed before but perhaps not your specific questions, this link may help, more links at the bottom of this page... http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?21584-Military-Austin-7-s&highlight=Military+austin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
early british ww2 Posted August 30, 2011 Author Share Posted August 30, 2011 Hi Mate , Thanks for the quick reply - I had seen the thread details before which you have kindly posted a link to , but didn't really get any of the answers I wanted regarding these great little vehicles - I am really after initially any info as to the production data etc and if anyone has any correlation between the chassis numbers to the contract numbers or even to the reg numbers they were issued with as being pre ww2 they would have worn registration numbers as well as census numbers as per the larger trucks i.e. were they all registered as "HAE" , "CMM" , "SV" , "AMP" etc - Also I know they were used for different roles and one or two were quite specific such as a wireless car and the ones which were fitted with a gun mounting between the seats - what equipment did they carry (I know not a lot!) , what wireless gear , what weaponry etc .? Their doesn't seem to be an awful lot of info about regarding these vehicles unless someone can show me the error of my ways and point me in the right direction:blush: - Any help would be greatly appreciated as they have always been a vehicle that I have been curious about and decided to have a look into them - Many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferret1958uk Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Have you tried speaking to the Motor Heritage museum at Gaydon? They do have microfiche build records for almost all of the non-commercial Austins, and if anyone has been there to do similar research then they tend to know about it. As I have a small collection of 3 or 4 Austin 7's it was something I had previously wanted to know, but never thought to ask about when I went there recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
79x100 Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Have you asked Bovington if they've got the ex-Chilwell contract receipt cards for the Austins ? The cards are filed by make so easy enough to check. Chassis number info on the cards is unusual unless they were issued en-bloc and if the cars were ordered on RASC contracts then the information will be even less complete. For RAOC vehicles, there should at least be delivery dates and some idea of the split between body types. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runflat Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Bryan Purves' book "The Austin Seven Source Book", has information on 329 different A7 variants, including the military variants. I can't remember though whether it contains info on the relevant chassis numbers. One of the owners of the surviving military sevens (I think he owns two of them) has done much digging around for information, and has probably shared the information around. So it may be short cut to go along to the national A7 rally and chat to some owners. One year about seven or eight of the military sevens turned up! Looking at some pictures here, registration numbers include HX6529, AMP929 and EME686. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runflat Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 What is said to be a military 7 (reg BNF551) is for sale on Ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Austin-7-Milatary-Open-Tourer-one-of-14-made-with-3-known-cars-left-/151123438767?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item232fa8acaf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rewdco Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 A picture from the 1930's (?): Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT 6101 Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 I am the current custodian of MT 6101, a 1929 Mulliner bodied military. The information on these vehicles is hard to find, with just one paragraph in most Austin 7 books. In reference to the original question I have a poster entitled 'The Longbridge Produced Austin 7 Bodies 1922-39, Published by the Austin 7 Clubs Assn. 1985.' Which reveals the following information: 1) Mulliner Bodied Military Type – March 1929, 158 Produced 1929-30 2) Later Mulliner Bodied Military Type – Early 1932, Longer Bonnet, Louvered 3) Austin Military Type – 1932 Sole restored example (No.69) in blanford forum royal signals museum, one other known. 4) PD 2 seater – Also known as Military 2 Seater, India Office Variants. My personal understanding is as follows. The prototypes produced by Mulliners were used to allow the military to asses the abilities of cars compared to horses and to find what they could be used for. The Austin 7 is supposed to have been chosen for this because it was cheap, readily available and billed by Austin as capable of reaching every corner of the empire. The further developments were due to there most common role as artillery spotters coinciding with the development of the radio. The first cars returned to a lorry to relay their messages, before the type 3, as at blandford, could be fitted with a radio, rather defeating the low profile of the car. As far as chassis numbers I think the motor heritage museum is your best bet. Equipment carried would also interest me, there’s definitely no space for any. The boot is divided into two and I'm told the bottom part is an ammunition locker. This seems like overkill given the only armament is the two Enfields on the boot lid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willyslancs Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 one on here I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rewdco Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Some more Austin 7 pictures. All from the Dunkirk area (May 1940). Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
79x100 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 This apprears to be the '7' on the beach at Malo before it was moved. It had already lost its wheels but still had doors and displays the Middlesex registration HMY 372 which would suggest a 1936 in-service date based on my motorcycle records. The '15' AoS serial indicates a battalion within the senior brigade of an infantry division but I can see no formation sign. The casualty appears to be French The original can be seen on a German site :- https://www.dhm.de/lemo/bestand/objekt/tote-soldaten-bei-duenkirchen-1940.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8_10 Brass Cleaner Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 I have a list of chassis/car numbers for the late batch. Its in a handbook I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerJ Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Back in 1962 I bought my first car. If only I'd kept it ! 79x100, above, remarks on HMY372 and my car was HMY362 and was first registered in 1937. I remember she was was equipped with "military" wheels like the ones just discernible in MT 6101's photo, above. These have the little "bollards" projecting from the hub centres - for attaching chains when being pulled from soft ground, I was told. It also had 17" wheels if I remember correctly. The dashboard was central and wide, with two small dash pockets at either side. Sadly, a couple of years later it ended up in a Bristol scrapyard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rootes75 Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 That would have been one to keep! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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