The Fordson WOT (from

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

'type' or 'truck') was a military truck produced by

Ford of Britain Ford of Britain (officially Ford Motor Company Limited)The Ford 'companies' or corporate entities referred to in this article are: * Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan, USA, incorporated 16 June 1903 * Ford Motor Company Limited, incorporat ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. From 1939 to 1945, around 130,000 units were produced at the

Ford Dagenham Ford Dagenham is a major automotive factory located in Dagenham, London, operated by the Ford of Britain subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. The plant opened in 1931 and has produced 10,980,368 cars and more than 39,000,000 engines in its histo ...

plant with almost half being the WOT2. Five models, WOT1, WOT2, WOT3, WOT6 and WOT8 were produced. The WOT1, 2 and 3 were rear-wheel drive and had the cab behind the engine; WOT6 and 8 were all-wheel drive with a cab over the engine. The same engine was used across the range - 3.6L Ford

sidevalve A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, as ...

V-8 petrol engine delivering 85 hp at 3,800 rpm. The transmission was a four-speed manual with an additional reduction gearbox for the four wheel drive models.

Models

*WOT1 :6x4, :WOT1A was a wheelbase version. :WOT1 and 1A was mostly used by RAF eg as Fire Tenders *WOT2 :4x2, 15-cwt *WOT3 :4x2, 30-cwt. used by RAF *WOT8 :4x4, 30-cwt. Used as

artillery tractor An artillery tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, is a specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights and calibres. It may be 6x6, wheeled, continuous track, tracked, or half-tracked. Trac ...

in North Africa campaign. Supplied to USSR where it was used for

Katyusha rocket launcher The Katyusha ( rus, Катю́ша, p=kɐˈtʲuʂə, a=Ru-Катюша.ogg) is a type of rocket artillery first built and fielded by the Soviet Union in World War II. Multiple rocket launchers such as these deliver explosives to a target area ...

s *WOT6 :4x4, 60-cwt. longer wheelbase version of WOT8

Notes

References

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External links

Ford WOT6WOT8
{{WWIIBritishSoftVeh Military trucks of the United Kingdom World War II vehicles of the United Kingdom Soft-skinned vehicles Ford of Europe vehicles