B series

Not sure if it helps, but here are photos of my starting handles for vehicles with B series engines. From the top: Champ, Humber 1 Ton Cargo, Alvis Stalwart MkII. Champ detail Humber 1 Ton Cargo detail

Can anyone tell me which British military vehicle these rising pressure switches would have been used on? PS4201/10mm is stamped into the body. Pt No LV6/MT4 5930-99-804-9554 I am thinking oil pressure, but maybe air pressure system. The way these NOS parts are packaged I am thinking 1970/80's but could be wrong.

Hi 74BE81. Unusual vehicle in the UK, but it looks good. A nice compact vehicle. The RAF had approx 216 1 Ton Cargo B2000's purchased around 1956, and also 70 B2000A with 200g water tanker bodies. Just wondered if your vehicle had a RAF background.

I have recently become the owner of a heavy duty storage cabinet with pull out draws. It was going for scrap, so I saved it, now I don't what to do with it! I was told it had been removed from a army vehicle back in the late 1960 or early 1970's. I cannot see any makers name or part numbers on it. There should be 12 drawers, but I only have 6. Each draw contains 4 separate containers, two of which have angled ends. I guess this would have been installed in a machinery / workshop vehicle or maybe a binned vehicle or trailer. Does anybody recognise it from a vehicle or other equipment? It is 41" high x 19 deep x 24 1/2 " wide, very heavy construction.

As Richard mentioned, some of these WW II trailer chassis fitted with the 110v air cooled generators stayed in service for many years. 71YM97 sold at Ruddington April 1979 and 72YM58 sold at Shepshed May 1989.

There is a FBW AX40 currently registred as 954 XVD. JUF 223 E, could be seen as some vehicle shows many years ago. I don't know any other info about them, but attractive looking trucks with a certain style.

FV1609, Thank you the handle dims. I think I will reduce the height and width of my handle to your dims. It is a nice jack and handle, and about the right period for either the Austin K6 or Humber.

To MB1944 I agree with you that imperial data was used back then, but myself, my workshop and my industry upgraded to metric and other ISO & UN Standards early 1970's. So all my measuring equipment is metric. I don't think in imperial, which is why for me buying gasoline in litres and measuring distance in miles is really weird. And miles per gallon is still talked about by some people! And as for buying milk in litres and beer in pints, what's that all about?

I don't know where or when this picture was taken, maybe the vehicle belongs to a forum member. As it is fitted with a front crash bar, I wondered if it had a former life with the RAF as a Crash Rescue vehicle, or even an Ambulance bodied vehicle. It seems to have oversize front tyres and the rear body looks mainly civilian. Maybe had a engine transplant requiring a extra grille on bonnet front. Still it looks in fair condition, and I hope it still around.

Thank you Clive for your observations and offer to measure your 4 Ton jack handle. The pull pin is free, but the handle does not enter the jack to get near the pull pin. The jack handle I have, which is a rectangular steel bar with wooden shaped 1/2 handles riveted to both sides, and notches and a pin at the other end. It measures 915 x 32 x 10 mm. I am sure this is a Lake & Elliot jack handle. However the jack opening for the handle measures 26 x 8mm. Smaller by 6mm and 2mm compared with the handle. So it seems to me that I have a mis matched handle and jack. Maybe I have a jack handle for next size jack? What is general view?

I have been sorting out a corner section of my workshop, and have discovered I own a nice working vehicle Lake & Elliot 4 ton jack. But for some reason the handle does not fit the jack, it is close but is approx 3mm to tall to slide into the jack receptor. Have a got a jack handle for a larger or next size /model jack? This looks the correct size jack for either my Austin K9 or Humber 1 Ton.

Don't know the location or date of this photograph, but I do know from experiance that a loaded 101 can topple when you would least expect it, when traversing off road slopes and ruts etc.

Hi Big S Old thread I know, but The Ruddington catalogue you are looking for is auction No 125 September 1973

It would have been a contract for trailers issued with WWII style numbers, then issued with the later style in the batch mention by Wally. YL was used for re numbered WWII trailers and / or trailers built after the war but prior to the new numbering system being introduced in approx 1948. I cannot answer about the trailer date of manufacture, but I would have thought the YL number was allocated around 1948.

Moving the thread away from trailer dates I know. I cannot see clearly, but trailer appears to have unit marking for the Royal Signals (Air Formation), and with a Union flag might suggest use in Germany or at least outside the UK. I am restoring a Champ that also had these markings. I understand that this unit marking is still in current use by the 21st Signal Regt. Would I be correct in thinking that the poles would be used to support communication cables? I understand that Air Formation tasking was to provide communications to RAF units located at temporary or basic airfields with no fixed communications, and therefore relied on connecting via army supplied equipment.

I know I am replying to a 10 years old post, but.... My father served on HMS Rodney and was off the coast of Normandy on D Day. He operated the then Top Secret Predictor machine which was located in a armoured control room about half way up a mast. The predictor machine was a early mechanical computor full of gear wheels, switches and settings. It was his job to input the ships position, the target co ordernates, shell type, and calculate the aiming information for the 9 16" guns located in A B or C turrets. He always had it in his mind that he had sent shells into Caen town and killed so many civilians. But in the 1990's he watched a tv program which described what he had been aiming at. Many German Tiger tanks and he was pleased after 50 odd years to find out that his shells had been on target. They spent a many days shelling targets of the Normandy coast. He did not talk about the war much, but he would talk about life on ship if pressed. He did travel on the Rodney aka The Rodbox, to Boston USA for a refit, to Murmansk on russian convoy protection, Norway area, the Normandy invasion which he said was amazing for the number of ships and aircraft and the unforgetable noise. The Malta blockade and being bombed, and off the North African coast. When war ended he was sent to Australia to help set up a new base for a British Pacific fleet, but after about 10 weeks he was sent back to the UK were he was demobbed.

Thank you for the additional information Ash Collection. (when this covid stuff is over, I will pop over again for another visit to catch up). Further info on Smiths cranes: 00 EX 10 served with 408 Bridge Tp, RE based at Hameln, Germany 03 FX 46 served with Port Division, Army School of Transport 03 FX 56 was sold at 178th Ruddington sale April 1983 03 FX 46, 47, 50, 51, 54 & 55 were sold at 179th Ruddington sale. I was at that sale, and impressive they looked all lined up, but many of the tyres were completely deflated, so much so that some vehicles lent against the next one. If I remember correctly, they were all in deep bronze green, and some did not look as if they had been used very often. 03 FX 48 does not appear in the Ruddington catalogues, cannot find it in many other MOD sales catalogues. I presume therefore it was donated by Army/MOD to the Museum of Army Transport.

Regarding the Smiths cranes. I know of the following ERM: 00EX10, 03FX15, 03FX46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 54, 55 and 03FX56.

Richard Farrant & Radiomike7 I think you are correct, found an image of spares parts book. I am not that familiar with plant, I just thought it looked an unusual machine. In the pictures I posted did not appear to have a military / ERM registration, but it did have a bridge plate, was green and was being operated by RE staff, so appeared military. All the other plant working on the airfield site had military registrations. There always seems an answer to any question on this forum.

Just wondered if any one could identify the make / type of road roller being used by the RE on airfield construction in Germany during 1973, it is not a type I have seen photo's of in the past. Very stylish with what looks like a slide back roof / cab assy. It might say Vitroil on the side bodywork, maybe a lubricant refilling point, and it is RHD in this photo which might be a clue, but maybe the steering can be swopped RHD to LHD depending on workscope.

Hi 07BE16 In my opinion the way you have you have attached the 50mm coupling to the NATO towing eye is not a good engineering practice. Hard to tell from the photos, but the metal sheet with the four bolts going through would need to be maybe 1/2 inch plate to take the bending forces generated by a loaded trailer. I cannot see via the photo how the 50mm coupling is attached to the square of sheet metal, but it does not give a good impression. Also what would stop the coupling rotating on the NATO tow eye, the clamping force of the four bolts will not stop rotation. Basically your modified hitch conversion / design is not a safe solution in my opinion. Regards B series

Unless the regulations (Construction and Use) have changed recently, you have an option to fit a breakaway cable to the trailer parking brake, OR fit a robust safety chain (I think two is good) that should attach to the chassis of the trailer, and two fixed points on the towing vehicle. Personally if using a NATO hitch (always with the safety pin in place), and two safety chains crossed under the hitch, is the best way and has some built in system redundancy. Reducing the loaded or unloaded weight of the trailer does not change alter the technical requirements. There is no reason to remove brake shoes or any other part of the braking system, which should be fully operational. The above is my opinion, and you should confirm current technical requirements by reading the UK Construction and Use regulation which can be found on line somewhere.

Hello Citroman, They are some nice clear period photos of a Terrapin in service. It looks a difficult vehicle to use on the road, and loading it with cargo must have been difficult. I imagine a set of ladders would have been part of the vehicle equipment. Would be nice to see one working in water, I assume the water level would be at the top of the tyres. I wonder why the British invested in the design of this vehicle, when I would have thought that "unlimited" supplies of the DUKW could have been available which was a tried and tested design and produced in volume and therefore low price. I have travelled often in the area of Vlissengen Flushing / Middelburg /Goes very flat and a nice area to visit, but I was not aware of the WW II history. Tot ziens

The Morris Commercial / Thornycroft Terrapin was a unusual vehicle design, and in my opinion over complicated compared with a GMC DKUW. The Terrapin had twin engines driving 4 axles. The leading axle was positioned so that the wheels were not on the ground when on road driving. This feature was to allow for better water egress over river banks etc, but it meant that there was a lot of front over hang when turning corners as the turning radii was determined by the 2nd axle. The Terrapin was not a common vehicle, in fact I suspect that the majority of British army soldiers never saw one in the flesh, but someone took some time to construct a sand casting and made at least one model made from cast aluminium. Maybe it was made by Thornycroft? This model is cast aluminium with brass propellers and weighs 0.7kg It has no markings, and I don't know it age, but I have owned it for several decades. I have not seen another like it.

The Montgomery Bridge is an impressive structure and there must be hundreds of Bailey bridge panel sections used because it appears to be 12 panels across bridge width, and it is a long bridge. I wonder how many years this bridge was in use? At war end there must have been so many bridges that needed rebuilding, and until that happened some other ideas were tried to facilitate either crossing rivers or transporting cargo along waterways. Somewhere I have photos taken in Germany or Holland in 1945 showing barges / ferries powered by British army Ford / Willys 4x4 vehicles using the drive from rear axles to power propellers, or if I remember correctly 3 vehicles with rear wheels driving a large paddle wheel arrangement. I guess the barges and vehicles would have been modified by the RE.