Fordson wot 3 tructor

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by Larry Hayward

Richard, I assumed the camo was applied in more recent years by a previous owner, as I'm sure I saw this vehicle at Thruxton in the 1980s.

Larry,
What I meant was the b&w photo of the WOT towing an aircraft through Liverpool is the very same number as Tony's, and you can make out a camo pattern on it.

[Larry Hayward]

Richard you have better eyes than me!

Obviously Tony's Fordson is not the one I photographed at Thruxton, which was pretending to be an Army vehicle. Where is it now I wonder?

[A CORBIN]

The one in yhe picture at Thruxton is mine .Can just see reg No WOT 3 .It was their in RAF BLUE late 70s . I may be wrong .But I think it came out of the ford factory mid 1941 in RAF blue . Went 5 MT LIVERPOOL & was then painter the same camerflarge as the aircraft. Then would look the same as the picture coming out of the tunnel & would been in brown/ green .That's wot I think may be wrong ???? It had lots coats of paint on it & GERMAN cross on both doors so might have been in a film at some time ? T CORBIN

[David Dunlop]

What are the odds finding a vehicle postwar and then actual pictures of it in wartime service!


David

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Dave

You asked "What are the odds finding a vehicle postwar and then actual pictures of it in wartime service?" well it does happen and when it does it is just plain dumb luck.

I found film of my HUP.

Cheers Phil

[Larry Hayward]

I might be a good subject for a separate thread, as some people think that all the WW2 vehicles still around today were the ones held in store that never saw action!

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Larry

Agree it would make an interesting separate thread.

I think that special vehicles like the WOT Tractor, stood a better chance of having seen actual service and survived the war, than a front line cargo carrier or combat vehicle. The WOT service use to move aircraft being important would likely have been better maintenance with a lower risk of damage to have survived in some cases from the early days of war through the war and into peace time use. From some of the photos that Tony Corbin share with me years ago these WOT Tractors and other tow vehicles were moving fragile aircraft through very congested areas where hitting a tunnel wall with a wing tip would caused a lot of damage. So these trucks were likely very carefully driven. The driver who hit something with a wing tip would likely find him/herself as a walking wing guide next day.

Also I sort of suspect that year of the vehicle with early war years vs those built in 1945 would see that the early years that have survived stand a better chance of having seen active military use than those rolling out of the plant in spring 1945.

Cheers Phil