Ursus A was a series of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

lorries and buses produced by

Ursus Ursus is Latin for bear. It may also refer to: Animals * ''Ursus'' (mammal), a genus of bears People * Ursus of Aosta, 6th-century evangelist * Ursus of Auxerre, 6th-century bishop * Ursus of Solothurn, 3rd-century martyr * Ursus (''praefectus ...

. It was a license-built modification of the Italian SPA 25C Polonia trucks. In 1924 the Polish government ordered a large series of license-built 3-ton

Berliet CBA Berliet was a French manufacturer of automobiles, buses, trucks and military vehicles among other vehicles based in Vénissieux, outside of Lyon, France. Founded in 1899, and apart from a five-year period from 1944 to 1949 when it was put into 'ad ...

lorries and 1.5-ton SPA 25C Polonia trucks. Ursus was to deliver 1050 trucks in three batches of 200 Berliets and 150 SPAs each. The first batch was to be imported from France and Italy, the second locally assembled from imported parts, while the final batch was to be produced locally in Poland. The company started building a new factory in Czechowice near

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

to accommodate the new production lines, but construction was slow. Eventually the Polish Army agreed to buy 400 Berliets from France and allowed the Ursus company to focus on SPA production. On 11 July 1928 the first 52 Ursus A trucks left the factory. Ursus A was basically a modification of the Italian truck, adapted to harsh Polish weather and poor roads. Initially modifications were minor, the basic difference was a larger payload (2.5 tons instead of 2) and a simplified cooler. Over time, additional modifications were added (notably three types of cabs), which led to a variety of variants being produced. The earliest variant had an open cab, with a folding canvas top, quickly replaced with a cab with a fixed roof and open side windows. The final variant featured a closed cab. Until 1931, when production was phased out in favour of

Polski Fiat 621 Polski Fiat 621 was a Polish 2.5-tonne truck, the basic lorry of the Polish Army during the 1930s. A licence-built version of the Italian Fiat 621, it was heavily modified to better suit Polish needs and cope with the bad roads in Poland. The un ...

, 884 vehicles were delivered, including 509 for the civilian market.

Variants

; Ursus A : basic type, undercarriage and cab only ; Ursus A30 : modernised undercarriage ; Ursus AW : lengthened frame adapted to up to 3 tonnes of payload, mostly used for bus construction ; Ursus AT 3 : All-terrain version with three axles (prototype) ;

Samochód pancerny wz. 29 Samochód Pancerny wzór 29 ("armoured car year 1929 model"), commonly known as Ursus or CWS, was a Polish interwar heavy armored car. A handful of these vehicles saw combat during the Polish-German War of 1939. History and description The ca ...

: an armoured car on Ursus A chassis.

Variants

References

See also