Bedford QL Armoured Trucks?

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

I have just finished an article for Heritage Commercials magazine on the Bedford QLR, and I noticed in the census listing 10 3-ton 4 x 4 Armoured Trucks under Bedford. Does anyone know of any QL armoured trucks? There were of course two batches of 30-cwt OXA.

[Richard Farrant]

Originally posted by David_Hayward
I noticed in the census listing 10 3-ton 4 x 4 Armoured Trucks under Bedford. Does anyone know of any QL armoured trucks?

David,
As a long time QL owner, I am not aware of any armoured versions. Very doubtful, if they would have enough power to drag themselves along with the extra weight on.
The census is probably refering to some conversions of the RL, I seem to remember they were done in the REME workshops in Malaya. What was the date of the Census list?

Richard

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

Contract S5907: L5593510 to 5594434 Contract 3-ton 4 x 4 Wireless [QLR}
L6171625 to 6171635 S5907 3-ton 4 x 4 Armoured..
List dated 1944.

Weird this, because it can't be the OXA...so was this an error or were there indeed 9 QL Armoured trucks? There was of course The Giraffe of 1942, with a 7-foot high cab lift and the Bedford-Bren QLD with the Bren Carrier rear tracks...

[Richard Farrant]

Originally posted by David_Hayward
Contract S5907: L5593510 to 5594434 Contract 3-ton 4 x 4 Wireless [QLR}
L6171625 to 6171635 S5907 3-ton 4 x 4 Armoured..
List dated 1944.

David,
Just noticed that on my copy of census, odd. The only thing I have come up with is in the early part of the war, the RN had some armoured flamethrowers built on QL chassis to protect their airfields, 60 were built, but this is definitly not these because the WD number denotes late '44 era. The fact that they are part of a QLR contract could mean they were meant as armoured command vehicles, because of the PTO generator fitted to these chassis.

Richard

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

Interesting about the RN trucks...the OXA 30-cwt. Armoured Trucks were apparently allocated to airfield defence after presumably not being found able to be effective at the original Ant-tank role. I can't see any reference so far to RN QLs, though they did have QLT troop carriers, and Corgi offer one as a companion to the RASC QLR.

[Richard Farrant]

Originally posted by David_Hayward
I can't see any reference so far to RN QLs

David,
Take a look at Bart Vanderveen's book on Vauxhall and Bedford military vehicles, for the RN QL flamethrower.

Richard

[Javier de Luelmo - Diesel]

Hello all and greetings from too sunny Spain, this is my first post here.

Richard, you are right, there was a batch of QLs with an armoured command body (very like the usual QLRs, but with bulletproof plate all around). Cab was not armoured and it seems they were builtfor the RA. There is text and a set of plans in an old Tankette magazine from the MAFVA, i'll try to locate it.

Regards

[Keith Webb]

Originally posted by Javier de Luelmo - Diesel
Hello all and greetings from too sunny Spain, this is my first post here.

Hi Javier

Very nice to see you've joined this forum and a warm welcome to you!

Regards, Keith

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

...Ford country!!

[Javier de Luelmo - Diesel]

Hello Keith (sorry, a long, long time not writing to you!) David (yes, I'm in Ford country, but hey, today "edge design" is not for me!) and all the crew!

Here is the plan and text for the QL, hope it shows:

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally posted by Javier de Luelmo - Diesel
yes, I'm in Ford country, but hey, today "edge design" is not for me!

Welcome Javier!

"Edge design" not for you? And I thought you liked CMPs?
Anyway, here's a pic of a Ford CMP in Spain. Was this the beginning of "Ford country"?

Regards,
Hanno

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Classy truck. White walled tyres??

Impressed Bob

[Javier de Luelmo - Diesel]

Hello Hanno and Bob!

Oh, yes, if "that" thing in your message is what in this forum we understand as "edge design", perfect!

If I remember well, Ford first arrived to Spain with an assembly line in Cádiz, in Andaluacia, around 1919. In the early 20s the company moved to Barcelona and years after it was decided to build a complete factory, but our civil war put an end to this project (anyway Ford soldiered under the two sides: the assembly line more or less continued to produce vehicles for the republican government, and the nationalist side got it seems huge numbers directly from the USA). I have a book about the history of the company, but have leased it to a friend (who's building a replica UNL-35 armoured car on a ZIS-5 chasis truck... UNL-35 was a nice vehicle built here in Valencia in a variety of chasis, Ford included, I will write another day about this if you like...). Well, the fact is that after the war the line in Barcelona came under state control as Motor Iberica, but even in this way the new company arrived to really build the british Thames ET6 and some other models more or less based in Ford ideas under the Ebro name (also a river like the Thames).

But talking only about CMPs, yes, we had some of them, in company of C15TAs. It seems all they came arrived as "farm equipment" under some strange treaty before the USA started to send us military material. There were Fords and Chevys, it seems only the 60 cargo type, but I was surprised years back when I saw an F30 ambulance starring in a spanish movie! The history was about an episode in the civil war (!!!), there was a conversation between some pilots walking in an airport and the F30 was continually runnning left and right in the background! I will talk to a friend I think he has the movie and maybe we can get some stills!

My own father worked with them, he remembers them quite well from his early 60s in the army ("those ugly, ugly trucks with reversed windscreen and Ford Canada at the front..." said smiling to me a day. "Ugly, dad? They are wonderful!!!")

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Hi Javier!

Originally posted by Javier de Luelmo - Diesel
But talking only about CMPs, yes, we had some of them, in company of C15TAs. It seems all they came arrived as "farm equipment" under some strange treaty before the USA started to send us military material.

Ah, the Spanish 'Trumphys'! Any of these surviving in museums, private collections, scrap yards even? Or were they left out in the Sahara?

My own father worked with them, he remembers them quite well from his early 60s in the army ("those ugly, ugly trucks with reversed windscreen and Ford Canada at the front..." said smiling to me a day. "Ugly, dad? They are wonderful!!!")

Always good to hear there's a family connection with CMPs. My dad was a small boy when the war ended in Indonesia and remembers those trucks with reversed windscreens the British liberators drove in. My wife thinks my CMP is ugly too

Cheers,
Hanno

[DaveCox]

Plate 21 in Blandford's 'Military Transport of World War 2' by C.Ellis & D.Bishop (ISBN 0 7137 0702 X) shows a vehicle known as an Armadillo.
Following the loss of most of the BEFs equipment at Dunkirk various strange vehicles were concocted in case of the invasion of Britain by Germany. Bedford 30cwt and 3-ton trucks were armoured, initially using a double skinned wall of planks with the gap filled with pebbles etc., and later the Armadillo mark111,which had an open topped box rear body of steel armour. Flat plates were used around the cab and radiator as well. Armament was one Boys anti-tank rifle or a Bren gun.

Official designations I believe were :
Lorry 4x2 30cwt Anti-tank Bedford (armoured)
Lorry 4x4 3ton Anti-tank Bedford (armoured)