British Military Trucks of the Cold War - Manufacturers, Types, Variants and Service of Trucks in the British Armed Forces 1945-79

British Military Trucks of the Cold War
Manufacturers, Types, Variants and Service of Trucks in the British Armed Forces 1945-79

The end of hostilities in 1945 left the British forces with a massive surplus of military vehicles placed throughout the many countries involved in the conflict. Much of this equipment after six years of war was in a very poor state of repair, and a lot was only fit for scrapping. The development and use of military trucks in the post-war period was therefore dominated by the feverish search for the ideal military vehicle. Moves had been made between the War Office and British manufacturers to produce a family of standard types to avoid the logistical nightmare that had occurred during the war with so many different makes. This search for much more suitable tactical-truck designs in the early 1950s created a period that was brimming with new ideas. The upcoming Cold War ushered in an incredible demand for a future, potentially nuclear clash between NATO and the Warsaw Pact on European soil. The fear of World War Three made possible one of the most creative design periods in military technology ever. The introduction of the FV numbering system additionally aimed at standardising the British military vehicle. After the war it blossomed into the idea of idealised military truck designs. The result of this heyday of military vehicle development was amazing trucks taking shape on drawing boards.

This book aims at illustrating this amazing story for the very first time in one comprehensive publication.

Hardcover, DIN A4, 184 pages, illustrated throughout with 333 black&white photographs and 55 colour photographs