ted angus

Mike, my best guess at the moment is an RVT 552 MK 2, I believe both the 550 & 552 had those inset panels/ grill in the forward lower body. Re the outlets above the cab, I have a clear front 3/4 picture of an RVT 552 MK 1 which was on a Bedford SLC and it had an identical set of outlets on the front of the body but lower down. I am pretty sure they were a 240v low amperage tap for things such as tent lighting etc. Remember the guys manning the radar convoys these trucks were originally designed to support, relied on tentage for living accomodation. The RVT 552 MK2 mounted on a MAT had the same pair if generators as the 552 MK1 but the switch gear was a bit more complex with the facility to run the pair as a single outlet. Possibly in the latter setup it was easier to run the 240v taps through the body higher up ?? finally if you compare the portion of the vehicle which can be seen with your's in RN service, I feel sure we would be able to see the at least one side window if it was an aircraft Rects Van as the windows are very high. So my conclusion at the moment is an RVT 552 MK2. I will have a dig for more RVT piccies and see what comes up TED

Sure Have see attached. The Brockhouse next to it is not mine. When I left the RAF I was after an ex Army vehicle to tow my ex Army pump, unfortunately my back is now knackered -an accident nearly 30 years ago caught up with me-- so climbing into a high cab put pay to that, i was on the brink of buying an MC C8 . However, I have always been interested in the AFS/NFS/CD /PMC etc in addition to military vehicles so when I saw the gipsy for sale i bought it unseen from a chap in Kent and had it transported up to sunny jockland. It took nearly 3 solid years to restore, some days working 10 hrs a day or till the pain killers stopped working! TEd

MIKE Fantastic pic that would make a great model join the queue on my order books !! trouble is I have the village gala in 2 weeks and have got to get my ex AFS lwb Gipsy up and running and my 1943 ex ARMY trailer pump sorted post winter lay up so models will be on the back burner now til next winter. I have another MAT leaf the steel dropside version tractor used by the RAF on towing duties with units such as 2 MT I will try and scan tonight As I am the new boy on the block ( I like that title better than a knackered old retired WO !! ) would it be prudent to copy my MAT attachments to the MAT gallery ?? TED

Mike, next here is both description and illustration from The Data Book Of RAF MT vehicles of your RVT 550 MK1 after conversion. Both from the illustration and description you will see there were numerous changes. The compressor was a must as all hand drills and powere riveters used on aircraft in -situ work are compressed air driven for safety reasons. Note the windows.

The next attachment is from the RAF Data Book of RVTs showing the RVT 550 MK1

Digging through all the different leafs I have, it may be that only the RVT 550 MK1 utilized the Signals Shell Type P MK2; certainly that is the only example I have a leaf for. On both the Matador and Bedford SLC chassis's, the Signals Shell type P MK3 carried various RVTs all of which were power generators of various ratings and configerations. attached are; the description leaf and illustration leaf from the Data Book of RAF MT vehicles for yours i.e. RVT 550 MK1

Try again !

Mike the small compressor on the front end of the trailer is a "type L compressor set", originally for all types of tyres but using wet air in aircraft tyres was stopped before I joined, dry air or nitrogen being the order of the day; thanks for sharing the shots of the rig. Returning to Your Matador : The Signals Shell Type P was availible in 3 forms; namely Mk1,2 & 3. See the attached description.

Sorry forgot this part of the question into service in 1962 it would have been gloss RAF blue/grey BS 381c tint 633. There is a remote chance if it went to the near east air force it would have been repainted light Stone. BS 381c tint 621, We didn't start using matt green in the RAF until 1974/5 there are dozens of preserved vehicles running round in matt green that left military service before we went matt green. The one exception, but not applicable to your Landie is that vehicles attached to the 2nd Tactical Air Force in north West Europe circa mid to late 1950s were Gloss Deep Bronze Green BS 381c tint 224 including fire trucks. Obviously not everything achieved that colour in the 2TAF area as painting was only to be done as a repaint was due. TED

Mike I have the Radio vehicle data book leaf on the RVT 550 and the data book of MT leaf on the aircraft servicing job. I will scan and post. A complete role and internal fitting change. possibly be later tonight but certainly in the next couple of evenings. regards TED

Mike most interesting many thanks, I see by the card your Mat started as a RVT 550 Mk1 with the Leyland generating set, I was in Cyprus 70-74 and part of the near east air force contingency store of kit at 103MU was a fleet of these mainy with ultra low mileage, I see yours later had the gen set removed and converted to an ac servicing truck by Ashchurch. I never saw one of these but I believe it was just the original RVT body with some basic workshop gear inside for use on flightlines. The first time I did a course at Cardington the MPBW/DoE/PSA had a huge facility opposite the airfield, training school, task planning etc. We used to learn HV & MV power supplies skills to be used post nuclear attack LOL !! I saw your piccies of the Antar at the Airship shed : on all my courses at cardington the northern shed was used by the RAE Farnborough parachute test flight, with Airship industries using a portion. the southern shed was in use as the fire research station and i saw the reconstruction of the multi fatal dublin disco fire. When yours was acting as door opener was it still on ministry charge ? thanks again for the info regards TED

I also meant to add 2 MT at 16MU Stafford were still operating Matadors flat bed (like yours) and GS bodies when I went there in 67. At that time St Athan and Luqa Malta were operating topless Mats with stake side bodies in the aircraft towing and recovery role. But pictureas seem few and far between .

Mike slightly different tack but re reg number related : is your Antar an FUL reg ? and is ex MPBW ? and prior to that RAF ?At the time I joined ACB was being wound down and a lot of vehicles went to the MPBW later to be known as DoE then PSA etc etc I have heard it has an interesting history but cannot find it on the Forums. TED

Mike , I am not going to get into a bun fight but: both RAF and Army vehicles carried county council reg numbers until 1941, they even displayed a tax disc. Army vehicles concurrently displayed a census number. The RAF introduced its own numbering system RAF 1234etc in 1941. From that time CC registration for both services ceased. In 49 RAF serials and Army census numbers were replaced by the letter pairs. Yes, in the RAF each pair had a register. When a batch (or single vehicle ) was ordered/procured etc the ordering authority requested issue of a reg number from the register to each vehicle in the order. I have a copy of the bulk of the AG register the left hand column is titled you guessed Registration Number. AS I previously said I was involved daily for 39 years we only ever called it a reg number. ERM is only a Politically correct title falling in line with the civvy term VRM. re trailers only the army & RAF individually register trailers the RN normally affix the reg of the towing vehicle. The MT regulations JSP which, only part of is recognised by the RN uses the term re RAF & Army trailers "trailers will bear their own registration mark. " Mark being the "PC" modern term for number. AS for the gent getting the card : do a google for Hendon museum all the contact detail and how to request a card is on there good luck. In conclusion its all just down to the interpretation of words, i don't know how long your service was Mike or how close it was involved with MT but on the ground floor and on the bulk of documents the term is registration number issued by the relevant RAF or Army registration authority and is reflected on all documents of the subject period. TED

78 AA 46 is part of a batch of 88" in service 1962. Hendon may have a card for it. Mike if you look at an RAF MT record card depending on its format, either line one or three is titled : RAF Registration No. Sorry to contradict. So in this case the owner is quite corect in describing 78AA 46 as its registration number. In my 39 years service it was never described or formally recorded as anything else. Army and RAF vehicles are registered with the relevant authority at Chilwell just as civillian vehicles are registered at DVLA . Attached is a sample card . TED

If at first you don't succeed !!!!!!!

Try Again the PUNDIT ident beacon at RAF Halfpenny Green. !"!

Attached is the PUNDIT at RAF Halfpenny Green. I think it can be seen it matches the underwater picture. In the previous picture I posted showing both types of trailer, the CHANCE light on the left has been illuminated for the benefit of an incoming aircraft. They were named CHANCE lights after the Lense manufacturer.

There were 2 very similar trailers in RAF and RN airfield service, both carried a generator set, switchgear and light units; one was a "Chance light" which was a area illumination light, the other we called a PUNDIT, from the right hand picture I would say this is a PUNDIT. The coils and dial are part of a mechanism which flashes 3 letters in morse code. The letters are the I.D. code of the airfield. Once deployed the ID code was set on the control panel and when required ground staff would start up the gene and then activate the beacon in accordance to the instructions of ATC or flying control. With both the CHANCE & the PUNDIT during WW 2 there were variations in the exact shape and dimension. Both could be trailer or vehicle mounted. The last PUNDIT mobile unit I worked on was on a 1 ton single axle Brockhouse trailer with a gen set powered by a 4 cyl horizontally opposed Coventry Victor engine. Most of the WW2 variants had Ford V8 engines.

Mike nothing odd about the white cab top, from post WW2 until very recently the majority of RAF vehicles in Cyprus had white cab tops, the same practise applied in many hot climates. I have a photo of vehicles in Khartoum in the early 1950 with complete white cabs TED