Canadian and Australian Trucks

To meet her urgent need for motor transport the UK turned to the Commonwealth for a degree of support, the major supplier to the UK from the Commonwealth being Canada. Canada herself once on a war footing had urgent need to supply her own armies with equipment as every transport vehicle then in service was of civil origin. During early 1937 Ford of Canada had been approached to produce 15-cwt trucks based on Similar ones to those of British design General Motors of Canada also participated Ford's experimental vehicle was produced in no great haste at the Windsor plant, the pilot model being built up around a Ford V-8 chassis With wheels and tyres Imported from England.

A 1940 Chevrolet WA is seen in the configuration developed by the LRDG for their operations in North Africa. The vehicle illustrated carries a Lewis gun behind the cab and a Browning .30 cal M1919 with AA barrel above the dashboard.

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When completed in 1937 the vehicle was tested at the then small army testing ground at Camp Petawawa, near Ottawa. On arrival it was discovered that the specification had changed to a four-wheel drive application Nevertheless, the type gave a good account of Itself, and the Canadian Military Pattern Chassis formed the basis of many 15-cwt and 8-cwt trucks During early 1940 the standard pattern of Canadian truck began to emerge With four-wheel drive, and in July of 1940, after Dunkirk, the UK placed a preliminary order for 7,000 vehicles. By 1941 Canada was the Empire's main supplier of light and medium trucks. Standardisation was again of the utmost Importance Within a range of trucks including 8-cwt, 15-cwt, 30-cwt and 3-ton 4x4, 3-ton 6x4 and 3-ton 6x6 vehicles.

Two Chevrolet trucks pass through a rocky area of the desert carrying an interesting assortment of weapons, including a Boys Anti- Tank rifle.

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Various Canadian cabs were produced through the different stages of development: the number 11 cab was Identifiable by the radiator externally mounted to the bonnet; the number 12 cab had the radiator mounted inside the bonnet; the number 13 cab was a complete revision in design to allow more cab interior space and better placing of the foot pedals, and also had a forward sloping windscreen; and the number 43 was basically a number 13 With a soft top. The 3-ton 4x4 became the mainstay of Canadian production, and was a reliable vehicle produced by both Ford and Chevrolet. All models were produced In the general service role, some with timber and some with all-pressed-steel bodies, and other types included water and petrol tankers, mobile gun carriages, wireless house bodies, machinery vehicles (various types from 15-cwt mounted welding units to 6x6 fully equipped workshops), office bodies, ambulances and other medical requirement vehicles, and breakdown and recovery vehicles Canada also supplied many conventional types from all the large manufacturers, fitted with military tyres/wheels and bodies. Over 900,000 Canadian vehicles were produced within the five-year period.

The Chevrolet C60L GS truck became the mainstay of Canadian production and was built in a bewildering variety of different models including water and petrol tankers, ambulances and recovery vehicles.

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The Australian commitment was not on so grand a scale, the majority of production trucks being In the light range Most of the medium to heavy trucks were supplied in kit or chassis and cab form, usually from Canada to which locally-built bodies were added Some of the conventional trucks supplied were used In half track conversions, but this never progressed beyond the experimental stage. All Canadian fords were reassembled at the Ford subsidiary plant at Geelong, In Victoria state some 48 km (30 miles) west of Melbourne.

This Canadian-built Ford 3-ton truck is carrying a curious cargo of lighting equipment. Canadian Fords were also produced in Australia, the Ford subsidiary plant in Victoria State re-assembling vehicles for use in the Pacific theatre.

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Specification Ford F60

Engine: one 70.8-kW (95-bhp) Ford V-8 petrol engine
Dimensions: length 6.20m (20ft 4in)
Width: 2.29m (7ft 6in)
Height: 3.05m (10ft)
Performance: max speed 80 km/h (50 mph); range 270km (168mlles)