RAF vehicles

[Larry Hayward]

Anyone who has studied Bedford OXA Armoured 30 cwt Lorries in WW2 will know that they were built as an expedient in 1940 due to the loss of so much at Dunkirk etc. And yet here we are in spring 1942 or later with a Bedford Armoured Lorry on guard in the background?

I doubt this is an Avro Lancaster factory airfield and more like an RAF one, as suggested by the RAF personnel. Incidentally many of these Bedfords, including the 3 tonners with COW guns, were passed to the RAF, so I consider it to be an RAF vehicle.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

“RAF road haulage in North Africa”.

Found some copies of article in Wheels & Tracks magazine.

0AFE00D9-CB0B-42C6-B674-E0056D0E6C85.jpeg 9E38CCD2-561B-4EAD-B4F1-D1419939555C.jpeg 0356A26A-71AE-4758-98EB-23C19A2F1B5D.jpeg 5DE9995E-5CA1-49A0-ABCB-883174842D8F.jpeg 71761640-07CA-4533-B940-D72EA2C617E5.jpeg

[Larry Hayward]

Thanks Hanno

[dcrfan]

Some photos off the net showing RAF vehicles in Singapore/Malaya during the Malayan Emergency.

RAF Regiment or RAF Malayan Regiment?

m30-when-moving-base-pilots-repositioned-aircraft-rest-of-the-personnel-and-eqpt-had-to-travel by tankienz, on Flickr

Red with black mudguards?

59dcd7492598a_FiresectionJeepOfficialPhoto.jpg.a98 5b9731a725502a3960a67dabcf572 by tankienz, on Flickr

59dcd7764d824_JeepTowingPlane.jpg.baf246eb99e725ad a17be2d2432de741 by tankienz, on Flickr

59dcd79a7ff31_HoseTruck.jpg.209cff77090986377547fb ac88a18681 by tankienz, on Flickr

59dcd79aaf5e9_FireTruckandBedfordQL.jpg.24245e368e e55cec58206dab67b95b1d by tankienz, on Flickr

obb052617_davidtaylor_26 by tankienz, on Flickr

54113-39831687511574122 by tankienz, on Flickr

And these which are technically Army Air Corps but they were combined Army/RAF tradesmen manned units.

mt section by tankienz, on Flickr

mers2 by tankienz, on Flickr

[ted angus]

Originally Posted by Larry Hayward

Anyone who has studied Bedford OXA Armoured 30 cwt Lorries in WW2 will know that they were built as an expedient in 1940 due to the loss of so much at Dunkirk etc. And yet here we are in spring 1942 or later with a Bedford Armoured Lorry on guard in the background?

I doubt this is an Avro Lancaster factory airfield and more like an RAF one, as suggested by the RAF personnel. Incidentally many of these Bedfords, including the 3 tonners with COW guns, were passed to the RAF, so I consider it to be an RAF vehicle.

This photo was taken in 1942 at RAF Bottesford. A number of RAF stations were handed down these small Bedfords. The Larger vehicles titled AMADILLOs were built soley for the RAF & RN for airfield defence, In the Lineup picture these are MK 1s.

[Larry Hayward]

Thanks Ted.

Regarding the Bedford 3 tonner with a COW gun in the attached, it is interesting that it was built for RAF & RN airfield defence as it has an Army WD registration. I have the shell casing from the example used at RAF Christchurch in WW2.

Let me know your thoughts Ted, on the Bedford MSC above this post.

[Larry Hayward]

It has been suggested to me that the Bedford MSC (as in post number 279) that were used by the RAF were all impressed civilian vehicles and that none were ordered, as the RAF had Bedford ML with GS bodied and other variants.

Does anyone have production contract details for both?

[rupert condick]

Hi Larry,
I found that the RAF impressed, MoS vehicles,
for example,
Austin K2Y Ambulance, A5417729 MoS contract S.2797,
became RAF 161805 for Impressed vehicles, in fact I have only found
one RAF contract for 42 Austin Ambulances ( A.1782), the rest were Impressed
WD Austin K2Y'S.
So the Bedfords my have had a similar outcome.

regs
Rupert

[ted angus]

The MSC in post 279 was an Air Ministry 1939 contract with bodies by Spurling, I don't have a figure for the size of the contract but there appears to have been a fair few. Again in 1939 the Air Ministry received 183 end tippers on the MLC chassis with bodies again by Spurling for the Air Ministry works directorate.
Ted

[Larry Hayward]

Mike Starmer is of the opinion that the Bedford MSC in post 279 are civi trucks as its a drop sided vehicle of which there were very few in the RAF. He also suggests that the MSC with a man leaning out of the cab is in RAF Blue Grey that has been painted with some kind of paint that stuck to the wood body but not the cab. It certainly looks worn off the cab door.