Vehicle ID help please

[Bill Murray]

This vehicle has been posted on another forum where we play "what is this tune" and is stated to be a Royal Navy anti-aircraft gun mounted on a British lorry chassis.

The Gun has been identified as a 47mm AA unit and the poster has said that is correct.

I cannot for the life of me find a British lorry that looks like this one in all of my stuff. The front wheels look very distinctly German as do the rear wheels and tyres but I cannot get a match in my German reference stuff. The vehicle also looks like it may be RHD due to the absence of mirrors etc. on the left side but I can not go any further with an ID

Any ideas?
Bill

[mike mckinley]

hi bill

i'm no expert on british vehicles, but that cab looks to me like a leyland?

cheers!!
mike

I think its an Austin K3. . . . . . .

R.

[Jan Mostek]

The truck (or should I say lorry? :-) ) on the picture below is Leyland Cub. I bet it is the same truck like on the top picture.

happy searching, Jan.

[Bill Murray]

Thanks all:
It is in fact a Leyland Cub.
I stumbled across a similar photo in Wheels & Tracks in a story on Baltic States vehicles about 0200 this morning.
Isn't multi tasking research fun??
Bill

[Nick Balmer]

Hello Bill,

It's a Leyland fitted a 3 Pdr gun manned by sailors probably from either HMS Sussex or possibly HMS Valiant.

There were at least three hired in civilian trucks fitted with naval guns and splinter mattresses in Palestine in 1936. One has "American" type wheels, and had a 2 pdr pom pom on it and a latge shield.

These three trucks were called Pip, Squeak and Wilfred.

The Brits were trying to implement a League of Nations Mandate and to keep the Arabs and Jewish settlers apart.

The roads between Tulkarm and Deir Sharaf were being ambushed nightly, so these trucks accompanied by one with a searchlight, and Rolls Royce armoured cars set out to separate them.

I have a horrible feeling that UN troops will be placed in just such a situation days from now,

See Wheels & Tracks No. 22 for an excellent article by David Fletcher.

Regards

Nick Balmer

[Nick Balmer]

Hello Bill,

There is quite an interesting soldiers album from 1936 here

http://www.hafla.org/palestine/album.html

On the second page there is a Ford? mounted on railwheels, and a good overhead of a Rolls Royce.

Regards

Nick Balmer

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Nick Balmer

There is quite an interesting soldiers album from 1936 here
http://www.hafla.org/palestine/album.html

Here are some more soldier's snapshots taken in Palestine, this time just after WWII:
http://www.3para1945-48palestine.com/index.html

H.

[lynx42]

Ford Railway truck