Richard Farrant Posted July 27, 2008 Share Posted July 27, 2008 I recollect one of these RAF type Constructors coming in to REME workshops, possibly around 1978-79, having broken down at a Biggin Hill Air Show. It was part of the Infantry Display Team and recall it was pulling a trailer with the Team's 432 on. I think it was on a BT plate, and also carried the name "Jolly Green Giant" on the front. Sadly no photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyFowler Posted July 27, 2008 Share Posted July 27, 2008 I knew you would not be able to resist this topic Tony ! Well done mate ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted July 27, 2008 Author Share Posted July 27, 2008 (edited) N.O.S. Thank you very much indeed for taking the time and trouble to compile your superb post regarding RAF type Constructors. I feel we are all very fortunate to have someone posting here who has such good knowledge of these vehicles and their individual histories. I have a copy of the MV Magazine you refer to and will post 'photos of the Soest Constructors in the next few days unless someone else has already done so. Edited July 28, 2008 by 6 X 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted July 30, 2008 Author Share Posted July 30, 2008 Nick Bullock, who was editor of MV Magazine, has very kindly given us permission to reproduce his photographs of the three Constructors in the yard at Soest in Holland as mentioned by N.O.S. in post 299. These pictures appeared in issue no.26, May/June 2000 of MV Magazine which also had a picture of two "Bedford cab" Constructor ballast tractors on it's front cover as shown below. The first page of Nick's article. The RAF Constructor. The body had been removed but was lying nearby. The following 'photos are of the two FV12102 Constructor semi-trailer tractors that were keeping the RAF type company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevpol Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Nick Bullock, who was editor of MV Magazine, has very kindly given us permission to reproduce his photographs of the three Constructors in the yard at Soest in Holland as mentioned by N.O.S. in post 299. These pictures appeared in issue no.26, May/June 2000 of MV Magazine which also had a picture of two "Bedford cab" Constructor ballast tractors on it's front cover as shown below. The first page of Nick's article. The RAF Constructor. The body had been removed but was lying nearby. The following 'photos are of the two FV12102 Constructor semi-trailer tractors that were keeping the RAF type company. got that one, I sent in some photos of mv's in service, a C9B with my uncle doing his nat service, and some shots of a former workmate with a ferret, never got them back, wrote to the publishers etc, no joy Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.O.S. Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 10/10, 6x6. The colour photo of the body seems to show RAF blue/grey overpainted with green, so this truck must be one of those transferred to army stock. Very atmospheric views of the two 30T tractors, I wonder what has become of these 3 girls some 8 years on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chambers101 Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Got that edition to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyFowler Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 i'VE JUST COME OVER ALL EMOTIONAL !:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.O.S. Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 i'VE JUST COME OVER ALL EMOTIONAL !:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry: You'd best not visit my yard then - you'll need some serious psychotherapy afterwards :-D:-D:-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyFowler Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 I'm beginning to have my suspicions that you may have rather a large collection of large Scammell shaped MV's Tony ! Hope to sneak in for viewing and gentle rubbing of said collection one day ! The moments when I realise how sad I've become are getting fewer and shorter every day ! It is only a question of time before I dress in grey annorak and start having personal hygiene problems and then there will be no going back ! :-D :-D :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted July 31, 2008 Author Share Posted July 31, 2008 I'm beginning to have my suspicions that you may have rather a large collection of large Scammell shaped MV's Tony ! :-D :-D :-D Andy, this is just some of them .... apparently he's got a load more parked up in that shed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.O.S. Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 It is only a question of time before I dress in grey annorak and start having personal hygiene problems and then there will be no going back ! :-D :-D :-D I would just like to apologise to the grey annoraked person smelling a bit high at W+P, who I kept on calling 'Andy' and who obvously thought I was out of my tree.....I didn't think he was very responsive :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
les freathy Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 The RAF constructor POPEYE and a transporter which looks very much to be a export item Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
les freathy Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 You know sometimes ithink i,m away with the fairies at times the second photo should have been this one. i will put the S26 in its proper place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 Les, We're all away with the fairies on here. Thank you for these and the many other wonderful 'photos you've recently posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyFowler Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Beautifull Constructor with crew cab Les ! Thanks for posting ! :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
les freathy Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Back in the early 1970s the army began to issue contracts for vehicle servicing to civilian concerns, for the life of me i cannot remember who ran this commercial set up at Cobbs Wood in Ashford at the time but think it was Caffyns. it is now operated by Channel Commercials, i,ll bet Richard knows who it was, this construtor was in for repair and also it seems some bodywork Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiomike7 Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Les,We're all away with the fairies on here. Thank you for these and the many other wonderful 'photos you've recently posted. I'll second that:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Back in the early 1970s the army began to issue contracts for vehicle servicing to civilian concerns, for the life of me i cannot remember who ran this commercial set up at Cobbs Wood in Ashford at the time but think it was Caffyns. it is now operated by Channel Commercials, i,ll bet Richard knows who it was, this construtor was in for repair and also it seems some bodywork Les, In early 70's, the Leyland dealership was still Sparshatts of Portsmouth, later changed to Wadham Stringer, then Caffyns. The firm I worked for was opposite side of the road and it was not unusual to see an Explorer on test. Once saw a WW1 AEC Y-type drive out, which was part of Jack Sparshatt's collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antar Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 It ain't over 'till it's over.......... Now then you lot, concerning RAF Constructors: 1) The red one which Paul rolled was Crouch's orange one, which before that was the James Street Motors orange recovery truck (I posted a pic a long while back of it with a radiator fan driven alternator as battery charger) 2) Paul got the green one from ?? and found part of an old work sheet in the cab with the reg no. 21BT41, so assumed quite reasonably that this matched the truck's i.d.. 3) The grey one which Steve acquired - was this not the one from Gun Hill Garage/scrap yard near Colchester? It was grey and had "PSA" (Property or Public Services Agency - a govt department) on the cab door. The body was in the yard I was told, but Steve possibly did not realise at the time. Probably gone by now. I believe he bought it originall for the axles to get the ex. Geoff Rhodes one going again. 4) The red/grey one in Anglesssey was operated by TRS of Porth, north Wales before being bought by a farmer from the island. It has Explorer lockers grafted into the rear of the body. I believe it is still on the island. 5) Cyprus - can anyone say for sure that one has been repatriated from there? There was one on an old isolated and inaccessible airbase in the northern (?) part of the island. There was also one (shown in the photo) used by a transport company. Or were these one and the same?? There is also a civilian Constructor ballast tractor on the island, used with a trailer for carrying electrical transformers about, normally parked up in a layby and looking abandoned, but not! 6) There were 2 x 30T tractors and an RAF one in an old yard, completely surrounded by new housing, in the town of Soest in central Holland. They would have been only removable by (exceedingly) large crane or by dismantling. These were described with really nice photographs in an edition of the now defunct MV Magazine - an article by Nick Bullock - I have a poor photocopy but do not have the date of the magazine, can anyone help and scan pics please? I know someone who went to look at them but decided against, due to difficulty of removal (if anyone could have saved them, he would have!!) 7) The RAF Constructors were transferred to Army service after the RAF airfield construction regiments became part of the Engineer regiments. I have a list of 8 trucks with the new Army number, and (except for 3 case) the old RAF number, also the transfer date and disposal date. The W+P one (21BT41) unfortunately is one which does not have the RAF number (we have been trying to get evidence of both chassis and RAF number in order to establish if the chassis numbers and RAF numbers were consecutive). The reason only 8 trucks were transferred was probably due to the others being elsewhere in the world (e.g. the cyprus pair), these ones were never taken into Army service. 8) So there could be 20 - 8 = 12 RAF trucks unaccounted for so far. If we take the 2 on Cyprus (or maybe only 1 if the one photographed had in fact come from the airbase??), and the 1 in Soest, this leaves 9 or 10 still to be located. And this is assuming that all those known to exist were ex Army ones.... 9) I have a photo of 60AN45 at an RAF open day 'somehere'. This number is not on the transfer list, so might be 21BT41. Only clue in photo is a sign on a shed behind truck "Exhibition of 16 MU Activities" BE CAREFUL WHO YOU CALL AN ANORAK! I can confirm that I sold the green Constructor to Paul Rhodes. John Riley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.O.S. Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 I can confirm that I sold the green Constructor to Paul Rhodes.John Riley Thanks for that, Antar. Can you help with any additional info on the history / ownership of this truck before you acquired her? Denial is just a stage of becoming an anorak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
les freathy Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Demobbed Constructor sorry cant remember where this yard is, its not Pounds is it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Demobbed Constructor sorry cant remember where this yard is, its not Pounds is it Les, If you think it was taken in Portsmouth area, then I think it was taken in a long gone dealers yard just off the A3M as you come down towards Hayling Island. Was it called Southern Counties or something like that :??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted August 4, 2008 Author Share Posted August 4, 2008 Les, did you also take a photograph of the lorry parked behind the Constructor in post 322 ? Was it a gun tractor ? Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiomike7 Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 Les, did you also take a photograph of the lorry parked behind the Constructor in post 322 ? Was it a gun tractor ? Thank you. Could well be 6x6, it looks to have mudflaps which the cargo versions didn't, and wasn't the shaped roof bracing only used on the gun tractors? Would you like me to identify the mechanical malady that caused it to be 'on tow'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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