Photograph of Lynx

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

What a photo! This begs the question as to when they [the British Army] finally stopped using CMPs and CMP-based vehicles? We know the C15AA was demobbed by 1957 and that's the only such vehicle I know that lasted that long though others may know vehicles that lasted longer. It also seems that by 1957 large numbers of refurbished WW2 Jeeps were being demobbed as well.

I can just about understand the retention of the Lynx because the Ministry of Supply still had in place contracts for refurbishment of Ford V-8s with various companies including Lincoln Cars of Brentford until circa 1951. By then the industrial version of the Pilot V-8 was available and shortly afterwards the industrial versions of the Consul and Zephyr Mk1 4-cylinder and 6-cylinder engines. Ford's industrial engine department in the 'hole in the wall' at Lincoln Cars preferred to sell new engines rather than refurbished old stock. Then they went over to refurbished [at Dagemham] industrial engines on a float basis in late 1953.

GM Limited stopped refurbishing demobbed CMPs at Southampton around 1951 although they continued with a small spare parts operation whilst the rest of the huge building went over to filter production.