Commer Q2 30-cwt
 

Commer Q2 30-cwt with census number L3922025

From contract C4663 with WD No. L-3921890 - L-3922028, all for Commer Q2 30cwt 4x2 Truck GS.

Attachment 114060

Mr Anderson's Commer Q2 30-cwt
 

The Anderson 30-cwt Q2 was recently sold on to Kevin:

Attachment 116348

Here's another picture of the same 30-cwt truck:

Attachment 116350

Raf 8373
 

Another Commer Q2 15-cwt Van, courtesy of Les Freathy:

Attachment 117433 Attachment 126927

More pics of Commer Q2 radio vehicles, courtesy of Les Freathy.

As they seem to have post-war registrations, these were pics must have been made post-1949.

Attachment 117628 Attachment 117627

Editd to add: The second picture is captioned "Mobile D/F Station from the early early 1950s. On site in RAF Jever, Germany" at http://www.vintageradio.me.uk/military/r1132_a.htm

Commer Q2 Type 105 Radio Van
 

The Nevington War Museum lists it as "Commer Q2 Type 105 Radio Van"

Attachment 117633

Attachment 117629 Attachment 117630

Attachment 117631 Attachment 117634

Type 105 Radio Vehicle: mobile VHF direction finder station
 

The Type 105 Radio Vehicle's purpose was a mobile VHF direction finder station:

Ref. https://hmvf.co.uk/topic/7705-light-...comment=106646

Publication NO. 237D
 

Eric Delcomenne had a copy of this spare parts list, he was so kind to sell it to me. My copy is "Publication NO. 237D" dated "[5/42]"

Attachment 117696

Type 105 Radio Vehicle
 

The Commer Q2 "RVT 105" is mentioned here: http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads...r-force.23810/

So it seems 100 of these Commer Type 105 Radio Vehicles were built.

Commer in Royal New Zealand Air Force
 

Here's one in RNZAF use. I'll have to find out where No. 489 Sqn operated to pinpoint a possible location.

Note the writing on the door:
"Maximum speed 35 mph
Cruising speed 30 mph"

post-war Commer van
 

Interestingly, the RNZAF had a similar pick-up/van in use in the 1950s-1960s based on a postwar Commer model.

Just out of curiosity.....Does anyone know more about the interchangability of 1950's Commer parts with WW2 ones?
At first sight it looks like the cab, including doors and windscreen might be the same?.....what about engine, gearbox, axles, chassis? Can a 1950's civvy Commer be used as a parts donor for a WW2 Commer Q2, Q15, Q4?

Nowadays it seems WW2 era Commers are very rare.....which seems strange if you see the rows of trucks in period pictures......so, were they that bad? or were they that good, resulting in them being worked to death in post-war civvy life?

I know it's not a Q2, but it's a nice Q4 photo which may be of interest to follower of this thread ? Nicked it from FaceBook...

Attachment 120459

Thanks, pictures of Commer trucks are far and few between, so bring them on.

Mr Higgins's Commer Q2 30-cwt
 

Here's a more recent picture of Tomas Higgins' Q2 30-cwt:

Attachment 120504

'Tractor, 4x2, Light, 10'0" WB, Type Q2'
 

Commer Q2 Tractor with a Hawker Tempest on a Queen Mary trailer during the Victory parade in London, 8th june 1946.

This is a Militarised Superpoise, officially known as 'Tractor, 4x2, Light, 10'0" WB, Type Q2', also referred to (by RAF) as '4-ton tractor'. Produced in 1945, chiefly for towing 'Queen Mary' aircraft-transporter semi-trailers.

Attachment 121038


There is only one known survivor of this type of Tractor. It was last seen for sale in the Netherlands ca. 2016 and has since disappeared off the radar.

Attachment 121039 Attachment 121040

Just a Hello from me, I have just joined the forum and this is my Commer. She is proving to be a difficult one at the moment, the restoration is well underway but getting her to start and run are troublesome.

We will keep at it though, we spent an awful lot if time finding a wartime Commer, we have other Rootes vehicles too, but our aim is to preserve rare Commers and Hillmans of this period.

Hello Kevin, welcome on here.

Here’s another photo of your truck taken by Dave Boxall at the Southsea 50th anniversary D-Day show at the end of May 1994.

Attachment 121541

Les Clanchy wrote: “Commer Q2 15cwt warming van being used to warm up the engines and de-ice the cockpit windscreen of a Hudson belonging to 233 squadron (Coastal Command) at Thorney Island, 19th January 1942“

Attachment 121653

This one was pictured in Greece in 1947, reportedly. Photo courtesy of Dimis Parousis.

Attachment 121746

RAF Commer and captured Commer.
Photos from my collection.

So, I have a dilema.

We have removed the body from our Q2 and we are still left wondering about what body would have been fitted.

The chassis rails are very short and have a heavy duty fitted wartime towbar arrangement. We have rubbed the chassis down and can confirm it has not been cut down or welded at any position.

Attachment 121891
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ffa7de03ba.jpg

So, the options.

1. The GS truck chassis rails should extend at least 1 foot past the rear cross member, ours clearly does not do this. I notice in photos of Tomas truck his do extend much further than ours.
2. The Pre-heater truck does have the shortened chassis but this would also mean the truck has a PTO which ours definitely does not have.
3. What about an aircraft towing tug? That would require the hefty towbar and a shortened body as to not cause any obstructions? I have seen photos of both normal control Fordsons and Bedfords being used in this capacity?
4. Are there any special bodies made in much smaller or one off situations for towing? Most RAF contracts are simply supplied as 'Cab and Chassis' so other bodies could be a possibility?

Any thoughts?

Hello Kevin!
The towbar looks like a standard WD pintle hook as fitted to many British and Canadian W.D. trucks. The Tructor - see below - has a beefed up version compared to the one on your Commer.
IIRC Thomas' truck was repurposed as a fire truck after the war, it could well be its chassis was lengthened.

The 30-cwt truck side view above shows the chassis is considerably shorter than the body.

You mean like a Tructor? I don't think I have ever seen Commer trucks in that role.

I am not aware of any other body types than listed in this thread.

Hi Hanno,

Thanks for replying and giving your thoughts.

Mine definitely has the Pintle Hook and its good to see photos of the Tructor towbar that is a lot more substantial.

I have compared the photos I have for the GS bodied truck with mine and the chassis is a lot shorter. Agreed, the body has quite an overhang on the GS truck but the rails do extend quite far behind the rear wing. If you look at mine from the side the chassis stops roughly in line with the back edge of the rear wing.

It simply doesn't look right, and also the GS body made for mine is considerably shorter than the original but this was made postwar as far as I know so is not original.

Thanks, Kevin.

Hi Kevin,

It could be that your chassis was a GS truck which was shortened, or a Pre-heater truck which was rebuilt for another role, including the replacement of the gearbox with PTO. I think the former is more likely than the latter.
I have seen other ex-MVs which had their chassis bobbed when they were converted to garage break down trucks, for example.

Q2 tractor photographed at Beltring, c.1995. Where is it now?

Attachment 122260 Attachment 122261

I thought it was this beauty.....but the licence plate is different....

source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/boblov...-brUxas-jsQCh6

Very attractive colour scheme! Although during WW2 they would be painted in the same colour scheme as army vehicles.

Raf 8373
 

Another shot of Commer Q2 Van "RAF 8373", courtesy of Les Clancy.

Note the tilt has remains of some sort of camouflage scheme while the Van has not.

Attachment 122326

Commer Q4, pictures courtesy of Stuart Watson:

Attachment 124271 Attachment 124272