The above photo is also featured in Bart V's book. I have been trying to work out for years now what this truck represented because there is an odd painted-on number that made no sense to me..what was "SND"? Canadian order trucks, Jeeps, cars assembled inn the UK had "CMD12345" style numbers representing "Canadian Mechanization Depot", even though the original one, Southampton, was blitzed 30 November 1940 and the replacement one in Slough became just one facility in several as we al know. There is no evidence of any F60H trucks to British order until 1942[?] so what is it doing at Kidbrooke, South East London with a British Gantry body? The answer appears to be in the DND papers from Ottawa that I have studied. I quote from my research paper:
"The M.E.E. or Mechanical Engineering Establishment at Farnborough, Hampshire, tested a Ford F.60H 6 x 4 D.N.D.-pattern truck loaned or seconded to the Ministry of Supply: reputedly serial CMD 4903, a Pilot Model, with Engine/chassis number 1C3685F. M.E.E. Report No. B.571 dated 31 December 1940 referred to a trial of the truck between 15 August and 28 November 1940, under Ministry of Supply file 257/Veh/956. This might well have been the F.60H with # 11 Cab photographed at Kidbrooke, and fitted with a breakdown gantry body similar if not identical to British bodies supplied to the M. of S. on Austin and other 6 x 4 chassis: there is no record of any British contract or Census number for a F.60H. The report stated that a Ford 6-wheeled chassis with driven front and middle axle and trailing rear axle as supplied to the ‘Canadian Military Department’ {sic.}was received for test. The truck was trialled over 947 road and 201 cross-country miles, total 1,148 in order to ascertain its suitability for W.D. use. However, the test revealed that the steering was very stiff at slow speeds in either 6 x 2 and 6 x 4 drive; The front springs bottomed badly on rough roads; the driver’s seat was too low for an average man and it was impossible for him to see the road properly or gauge the width of the vehicle which made driving down narrow roads hazardous [raising the seat 3 inches made a considerable difference]; the windscreen wiper was useless when accelerating, and the exhaust tail pipe grounded. The truck was then to be subjected to further trials: 7,500 road and 2,500 cross-country miles. A copy of the report found itself in the hands of the D.N.D. in Ottawa and was referred to in the negotiations for the development of a 6 x 6 truck". I believe that this truck was never actually on British stocks and may have just been passed back to the Canadian forces in due course, not that they were enamoured with the F60H. The answer of course lay in a 6 x 6 design, and that led to purchase of White and Mack trucks, and then the contract for the design of what became the C.60X.
Unless anyone knows otherwise, I am drawing a line underneath this particular engima! I still have no idea what the numbers painted on are..also note that there is "L.106 B/D" written on the passenger's door. "L.103" has been seen on a C.15 to S/M 2002 photo'd at Kidbrooke..I have always though that this was indicative of assembly either by London Transport Executive at Chiswick or Lep Transport Limited at Chiswick, west London, but now I have my doubts....it may just have been an internal stock number for testing. It is possible that the F60H shown was in fact the actual F.60H prototype from February or March 1940.....
14-03-03, 10:32
F60H Enigma solved?
Linear Mode
