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XS650

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Posts posted by XS650

    Oldest Bedford OY

    in British Vehicles

    Posted

    I suppose the very early OY's will be quite rare as the vast majority were left in France after Dunkirk.

    I have seen hundreds of 'Soldiers Photos ' of abandoned OY's in France and the majority seem to be on single tyres , does anyone know when they swapped from Twin Rears to big singles ? Couple of  IWM pics here of early twin rears one at a French port dated 28/01/40.

    BEF transport french port 28 jan 1940Bedford OY 3-ton trucks of 1st Armoured Division parked under trees at Pacy-sur-Eure 23 May 1940.BEF BEDFORD OY 3 TONNER GS 2ND DIV 2 FIELD HYGIENE SECTION

     

    Stalwart Road Driving

    in British Vehicles

    Posted · Edited by XS650
    Clarity

    I worked with an ex RAF fireman who drove Alvis 6x6 fire crash trucks and in service they had a pile of sleepers near the  fire station which they drove over to unwind their Salamanders ( not a euphemism😊). This was part of their routine.

    Why was the Universal Carrier successful, when many other Carden Lyod types weren't

    in Archaeology - WW1 to the end of the cold war

    Posted

    Universal Carriers were used more for transporting men and equipment, like a tracked jeep. They could do some support roles in combat but they were not to be considered as armoured 'tank' type vehicles.

     

    Hit the nail on the head here , clues in the name ' carrier' not a fighting vehicle , designed to carry the infantry's heavy weapons ( not The Infantry) in the field .

    However they did give the infantry an armoured vehicle of their own and certainly with the BEF were used to good effect in offensive roles against German infantry, specially in rearguard actions .

    Being so small , low and fast they were also difficult vehicles to hit. Despite the bright BEF idea of painting large white 'target' squares centre front and sides for recognition !

    C/O RAF Fire Fighting Museum - Alvis Salamder

    in Introductions & Welcomes

    Posted

    That is very interesting! I am given to understand that one of the three of these I currently own is one the of former Skegness pair. As time goes by, I am less and less sure that I will be able to restore any of these, so if anyone is interested.....

     

    I would be very interested in seeing a picture of your ex Skegness machine. I assume it's not on your flickr site as can't see it.

     

    Craig

    C/O RAF Fire Fighting Museum - Alvis Salamder

    in Introductions & Welcomes

    Posted · Edited by XS650

    Hello, Dave. I visited Scampton with my son James in Dec 2011 and spoke to Steve. We had a great day there. Our primary goal then was to look at the foam system on the Mk10. But the Mk6 has been an obsession with me for years. I own the heavily modified one that used to do beach rides at Skegness, then did the rounds on off-road shows, Avon Bassett, etc; a shame, but at least it survives. Then, about 3 years ago, I had a lucky find. One ~complete and one shell - minus engine and fire-fighting equipment that had been hacked around but that might one day be able to be made to resemble the driver training vehicle. I will set about copying this manual. I have between 1/2 and 3/4 tonne of spare parts (Mk6 parts), obviously I will want first pick for my restorations, but at the end of the day I don't want the stuff scrapped. . Kind regards, Dan W.

     

    Took these pictures of Alvis Mk6 's in Skegness in 1988 recently scanned them in and have been trying to find some info about them , pleased to hear one may still survive !:D

     

    Craig

    A1.jpg

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    I know this may upset some folk....

    in I may be stupid, but......

    Posted · Edited by XS650

    A lot of the Brit stuff was the best IN ITS TIME Land Rover Series 11a's , AEC Trucks , Bedford Trucks , Morris Minors, Triumph Bonnevilles! all the best in the 1950's ,1960's and the world couldn't get enough of ' em .

    Problem was we never updated the designs and carried on building the same stuff.

    A big USA dealer in the 70's wanted to buy the Triumph Motorcycle factory because he said he could sell Triumphs to the guys who wanted to tinker with their bikes and Hondas to to the guys who just wanted to ride them. Think the tinkering aspect is why brit stuff still adored.

    B Vehicles, 1970s, Chevrons?

    in British Vehicles

    Posted · Edited by XS650

    I remember seeing plenty of army Bedford RL's in UK with them fitted on the road in the 70's. When they were introduced they were a UK only thing , we were still quite an independent nation in the 1970's:D . The army tends to (has to ?) follow the letter of the law regarding road traffic acts.

    The Dept. of Transport was trying to reduce the number of incidents of cars driving under the back of parked lorries at night , often decapitating the driver.

    What happned to vehicles after the war?

    in MV Chatter

    Posted

    The tracks don't look anything like a Bren Carrier's. To me it looks as if it is a Burford Kegresse half track, like the one in these photos.

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]27200[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]27201[/ATTACH]

     

    Fyll

    Think you've nailed it there , the tracks do look like the rubberised ones and the rear door layouts the same.Never seen one of these before.

    What happned to vehicles after the war?

    in MV Chatter

    Bren Gun Carriers

    in Tracked vehicles

    Posted · Edited by XS650

     

    Can anyone tell me what exactly Bren Gun Carriers were for? My Grandfather always complained about them being next to useless for protecting the men in side of them, so this is telling that they were a front line vehicle, were they a small gun tractor?........

     

    Catching up with old threads , I know 5 years later! but you often see this question asked , the purpose of carriers is in their name , to carry things . They were not designed to carry infantry but to carry their heavy equipment mortars , hmg's , brens , ammunition, rations etc right up to the front line. They were very successfull in this role as they were small , fast , very low profile and hard to hit , and could travel almost anywhere a foot soldier could. Problems came when they were used for other things they weren't designed for.

    In fact I reckon the infantry would be able to use a carrier platoon on the front line in Afghanistan today!

    Royal Navy 'Transit Crane' Truck

    in British Vehicles

    Posted

    Too much time on my hands, had to look this thing up.

     

    Quote from Fred Crismon's excellent "US MILITARY WHEELED VEHICLES" page 429 There is a very small photo of an almost identical unit, but with a solid boom and cable-operated bucket. It looks from the text below that these things were made for the US Army and Navy from WW2 into the early 1950's at least, so the 1953 registration could be spot on for a new vehicle, or it could be slightly earlier US Navy surplus transferred?

     

    Quote

     

    " In 1946 the Harnischfeger Corporation (P&H) built numerous examples of this model 150 truck crane for the Army on their 10 ton 6 x 4 chassis. They had provided the same vehicles to the Navy during WWII. The wide mustachio-type brush guard became a trademark for the P&H Cranes, which in this version were powered by a six-cylinder Waukesha Model 145 engine coupled to a five-speed Fuller transmission and three-speed transfer, and drove into the Timken rear axles. A separate Waukesha 6-MZA engine powered the crane unit, which is seen here dropping a load of dirt from the shovel attachment. A 6 x 6 model known as the model 255A was delivered to the Navy in 1951 ( P&H ) "

     

    end quote

    Thanks for info,to me it sounds like a wartime issue to RN ,Haven't heard of that book have to look it up.

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