[T17E1]

The 2 Pdr. C8 AT Portee was not the Morris CS8. The CS8 was a 4 x 2 vehicle with the 6 cylinder Morris Engine. They were used to tow 2 pdrs. on occasions and also sometimes 2 pdrs. were mounted on the rear load bed (after modification) but with the gun firing backwards. The C8 Portee was “invented” by MCC in January 1940 and a patent was applied for towards the end of February 1940. They were in production during the summer of 1940 but most seem to have been produced in 1941, 42.

The C8 Portee was a heavily modified C8 4x4. It had an uprated E series Morris engine (using a larger induction Manifold) to take the power from 55hp to 70/75hp (as per the FATs), and an open cab for 3 with a 6” gap between the driver and his mate into which was fitted an angle iron support for a winch wheel over the rear bed. The cab was otherwise open but with canvas weather doors and covers. The rear was heavily modified with a heavy duty rear chassis cross member and a rectangular 15 Gal (as opposed to 30 gal for C8GS) fuel tank fitted horizontally into a U channel carry over structure above the rear axle. This structure allowed the 2 pdr gun to be winched over the fuel tank and could well have been designed by Messers Heath and Robinson!). There were two wheel channels from the rear of the chassis to a heavy U channel above the fuel tank (remember this bit!) at 53” centres for the 2 pdr. gun. There were two further longer channels on the rear chassis which could be dropped to allow the gun to run up and would be lifted and stowed when not in use.

The rear body was then built around two side mounted U channels, hinged and braced at the back of the chassis, joined by a front cross member and which could be lifted up and lowered. At the front was another cross member with two rollers which ran inside the side channels and was also equipped with a cast steel wheel beneath. It was attached to a pair of scalloped 2 pdr. wheel channels, which ran back to the heavy duty fuel tank U channel (remember) where they were hinged. Fitted to the chassis, just behind the cab was a purpose built hand winch with two detachable handles and a ½” wire rope. The scalloped front wheel channels each had a hinged prop to hold them up and mounted beside them on each side on an extended cross member were a pair of wheel locks for the gun. Each could be turned 90 degrees (out of the way) when the gun was being winched up and could be ratchetted down over the guns tyres to hold it in place. The ratchet handles are the same as the FAT winch brake.

To load the gun the two rear ramps were dropped to the floor and the wire winch rope was attached to either the 2 pdr. gun axle ring or the tow bar of the truck (I’ll tell you which later on in my project!). The winch was then drawn in using the two handles stowed one on each side of the cab. This caused the wire to run over the winch wheel behind the cab and under the cast roller underneath the heavy cross member. As this tightened, the cross member lifted along with the whole of both sides of the rear bed and the front most scalloped pair of wheel channels. The props were then dropped and the elevated rear of the truck propped up in position. The winch wire was then re-run to the gun axle ring and the winch drew the gun, facing forwards, up the rear ramps over the fixed ramps over the fuel tank (that big U channel again) and then onto the front scalloped ramps. The gun trail was then attached to a lock mechanism beside the tow hook, the wire re attached to lift the rear body, the props folded and the body dropped back into the low normal position. The gun wheel locks were then turned back 90 degrees and ratchetted down to hold the gun wheel in what were now a pair of deeply scalloped wheel wells. This and the rear trail support stopped the gun moving during firing. The barrel protruded into the driver’s area and a pair of tubular supports stopped the gun crew traversing the gun to bash the drivers head. Gun loaded and you could now drive around the battlefield irritating German Tanks. They went to the middle east and the desert in 1941 and 2 and I believe some may have continued on into Italy but I am not sure of this. By this time the 2 pdr. was obsolete against German armour and so they were given (sold?) to the NZ and Aussie troops who took them home. Some went to the Far East where the Japanese armour was still easily defeated by the 2 pdr. The remainder ended up back in the UK. The best being converted to 17 Pdr. “Portees”. This was achieved by removing the winch and winch wheels, moving the fuel tank, bolting the lifting rear bed portion down and installing a wooden floor, seats, ammunition stowage and lastly widening the cab in a real “cut and shut: job to accommodate an extra crew member beside the driver. They then continued to tow 17 Pdr. until the end of the war. MKII carriage 17 Pdrs. had Warner electric trailer brakes fitted and the Portees pulling them were fitted with a brake activating handle beside the steering column and a trailer power connector and cable.

I have a 17 Pdr. “Portee” and 17 Pdr. and have driven the combination for many miles including two Arnhem trips. It is an able combination and far better balanced and easier to deploy than history records. I can only speak for myself but I have also always found the C8 to be very reliable which is not the recorded verdict of the airborne users. Once I have finished rebuilding my 2 Pdr. Portee I will let you know how easy and practical it is to use. I don’t know how many Morris C8 Portees still exist but I only know of two in the UK. The best identifier is the up across and down mudguards and or a rectangular fuel tank. There must be more out there.