WW2 KV-1 Heavy Tank

What is your favourite WW2 tank?

The KV series arose from the need t have a heavy tank to batter through fixed defences, and in 1939 Soviet Russia was the only country in the world to have such a tank in production. The KV (Klim Voroshilov) was designed in 1938 to replace the T-35 with its many turrets. Gun design had improved to the point where the 76.2mm gun could fire both HE and armour-piercing shell, alleviating the need for more than one turret. The main gun could now do all the tasks need. This allowed a smaller and better protected vehicle to be produced, and the crew was reduced by half.

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WW2 M4 Medium Tank (Sherman Tank)

M4 Sherman Tank

What is your favourite WW2 tank?

The M4 series was the most widely produced, most widely used, and most important of all tanks in service with American, British and Allied forces in WW2. While not the best Allied tank in qualitative terms, and certainly inferior in armour and hitting power to the best German and Soviet tanks, the M4 (popularly known by its British name of Sherman) had the virtues of simplicity of maintenance, reliability, speed, ruggedness and an uncomplicated design. Total M4 production was 49,234.

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Guy Arab G Type Old WW2 Wartime London Bus

Guy Arab G Type Bus

What is your favourite bus of all time?

Only 435 wartime Guy Arab buses were allocated to London Transport and most were of the Arab II type with forward-mounted radiator. All had the Gardner 5LW engine and therefore rather limited performance with their increased weight due to the non-availability of aluminium together with a rather ponderous gearchange.

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WW2 Cromwell Cruiser Tank 1944, 1945

Cromwell Cruiser Tank

What is your favourite military tank of all time?

The Cromwell was the most important British cruiser tank of WWII, forming the main equipment of British armoured divisions in 1944-1945 together with the America-built M4 Sherman. However, even with a 75mm gun it was still, by 1944 standards, inferior to the best German tanks. Fitted with a Meteor engine it was then the fastest and most powerful of British tank designs, but the narrow hull prevented it being up-gunned further and considerable redesign was necessary to turn it into a vehicle capable of carrying the very desirable 17pdr gun armament.

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Vickers Bren-Gun Carrier 1937, 1938

Vickers Bren-Gun Carrier

What is your favourite military vehicle of all time?

The Bren Carrier began as a spin-off from the Vickers development work done on the light Dragon gun tractor. In 1934 this company developed a tracked vehicle which could double as a gun-tower or machine-gun carrier (for the Vickers medium machine gun) and also carry a complete four-man squad. Following the introduction of the Bren light machine gun in 1937 the concept was slightly changed. The Vickers gun was replaced by the Bren gun and the superstructure and interior armaments suitably modified. Issues began in 1938 on the scale of 10 carriers per infantry battalion, as the Carrier, Bren, No.2 Mark 1.

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Morris CS8 15-cwt 4x2 General Service Truck 1934,1936

Morris CS8 Service Truck

What is your favourite military vehicle of all time?

The 15cwt GS truck was the first type of vehicle to go into mass production when full mechanisation of the British Army was undertaken in the 1930s. It was designed to carry the heavy personal equipment of an infantry platoon, such as blanket rolls, large packs, extra ammunition and rations. Morris-Commercial were first into production in 1934, with their CS8 Mk1, which was in quantity service by 1936. Minor changes were made to the front wings, bonnet and radiator during its production life before it was replaced by the C4 Mk 1, which had better weather protection.

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WW2 Morris-Commercial C8 4x4 Field Artillery Tractor

Morris-Commercial Tractor

What is your favourite military vehicle of all time?

Although the Quad gun tractor was originally developed by Guy Motors, by far the greatest number of vehicles to this basic design were produced by Morris-Commercial Motors. Designed for towing the 25-pdr gun-howitzer, it became the standard towing vehicle in all British field artillery regiments, and was widely used also by Commonwealth artillery and as a towing vehicle for the 17-pdr. anti tank gun. The peculiar shape and metallic sheathing of the Quad led to a common belief that it was bullet-proof - this was never so, the metal too thin to even keep out shell splinters.

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WW2 Daimler Armoured Car Mk1 1938, 1939

Daimler Armoured Car

What is your favourite military vehicle?

By 1938-39 the BSA Company had developed a light scout car, later known as the Daimler Dingo, and its good results on trials led to the suggestion that it could be scaled-up to become a full-sized armoured car. Work on this idea began in April 1939 and the prototypes were running before the end of the year. Due to initial troubles with transmission and other components, it was not until April 1941 that the Daimler Armoured Car Mk 1 entered service.

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WW2 Bedford QL Three-ton 4x4 Troop Carrier Truck 1941

Bedford Troop Truck 1941

What is your favourite military vehicle?

At the outbreak of World War II, Bedford was contracted by the British War Office to produce a 3-ton 4x4 general service truck, the first production vehicles arriving in early 1941. There were a number of variants on the basic design, including the GLT troop carrier with room for 29 troops and kit, popularly known as the Drooper and the QLR wireless truck, a vehicle specifically adapted to carry and fire the 6-pounder anti-tank gun from the body. The QL was probably the best known British 4x4 3-tonner.

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WW2 Austin K2/Y 4x2 Heavy Ambulance

Austin Heavy Ambulance

What is your favourite military vehicle?

The most numerous British ambulance during WW2 was the Austin K2/Y 4x2 Heavy Ambulance. Affectionately known as the "Katie", some 13,000 were produced for the Allies. The body was of simple construction, a wood frame covered with leathercloth, well insulated, heated and accommodating four stretcher or eight sitting cases, or combinations of both, plus a medical attendant. The body design was the result of much pre-war development work by the Royal Army Medical Corps. It was produced by Mann Egerton, the specialist luxury car body builders.

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WW2 AEC Matador 4x4 Artillery Tractor 1938

AEC Matador

What is your favourite military vehicle?

In the medium Artillery class the British had a good vehicle in the AEC Matador, which first entered service in 1938. The Matador was developed from original FWD designs, by way of Hardy Motors 4/4 4x4 chassis which utilised many AEC components. The Matador was also pressed into service as a tank transporter in the Western Desert, towing Rogers trailers, often with the top half of the cab removed. Total production was 8,612, the last ones auctioned off as late as the mid-1970s.

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