The AEC Matador was a heavy 4×4

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

and medium artillery tractor built by the Associated Equipment Company for British and Commonwealth forces during

World War II 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 ...

. AEC had already built a 4×2 lorry, also known as the Matador (all AEC lorries received 'M' names).

Description

The Matador was distinctive with its flat fronted cab with gently curved roof, wheels at the corners and a flat load carrying area covered by a canvas or tarpaulin tilt. As an artillery tractor, rather than a cargo vehicle, the wooden sides were fixed in place without folding down, but did have a narrow crew door on each side. Two transverse bench seats were provided for the gun crew, accessed through the side doors, at the 1st side bay on the left and the 2nd on the right. The cab was framed in

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

and clad in steel. It was equipped with a winch (7-ton load in its case) like all artillery tractors. The O853 provided the basis for the 'Dorchester'

armoured command vehicle Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especial ...

. AEC also produced a larger 6×6 vehicle, model O854, based on components from both the AEC Marshal 6x4 and the 4×4 Matador. These were produced in both petrol and diesel and were also referred to as Matadors. The O854 provided the basis for the O857. A small number of Petrol engined 4x4 Matadors were also built. These were given the model number 853.

Service

About 9,000 Matadors were built, some going to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(RAF). For the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, it fulfilled a role between field artillery tractors (FATs) such as the

Morris C8 The Morris Commercial C8 FAT (Field Artillery Tractor), commonly known as a ''Quad'', is an artillery tractor used by the British and Commonwealth (including Canadian Army) forces during the Second World War. It was used to tow field artillery pi ...

''Quad'', which towed smaller guns such as the

25-pounder The Ordnance QF 25-pounder, or more simply 25-pounder or 25-pdr, was the major British field gun and howitzer during the Second World War. Its calibre is 3.45-inch (87.6 mm). It was introduced into service just before the war started, combin ...

gun-howitzer, and the Scammell Pioneer, used for towing the 7.2-inch howitzer. It was commonly used to tow the 5.5-inch medium gun and the

QF 3.7-inch AA gun The QF 3.7-inch AA was Britain's primary heavy anti-aircraft gun during World War II. It was roughly the equivalent of the German Flak 8.8 cm and American 90 mm, but with a slightly larger calibre of 3.7 inches, approximately 94 mm. ...

. The Matador was found to be a generally useful vehicle and was adapted for other roles, including carrying a 25-pounder gun.The West Country Historic Omnibus and Transport Trust
/ref> The Royal Air Force during the Second World War CH13151

The Royal Air Force during the Second World War CH13151

The RAF used Matadors in the flat bed form for load carrying. The 6-wheeler Matador Type A with refuelling pumps and equipment by Zwicky Ltd, was used as a refuelling tanker, capable of carrying 2,500 Imperial gallons of fuel and also for towing ashore

Short Sunderland The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of Sunderland in North East ...

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

s at their stations. Six armoured flamethrowers, the '

Heavy Cockatrice The Petroleum Warfare Department (PWD) was a government department established in Britain in 1940 in response to the invasion crisis during World War II, when Germany apparently would invade the country. The department was initially tasked with ...

' on the 6×6 chassis, were used by the RAF for airfield defence. In 1942/43, for the North African campaign, some Matadors mounted the 6-pounder anti-tank gun to give the AEC Mk1 Gun Carrier "Deacon". The

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

used the Matador during World War II.

Post-war

Post-war, the Matador was found in civilian use as a recovery truck, a showman's vehicle, and general contractor use. It was also useful for forestry work because of its good off-road performance. When used as a bus fleet recovery truck, many were fitted with lifting jibs for suspended towing and re-bodied with semi-enclosed bodies, often based on bodywork from scrapped buses.

References

* Steve Richards, ''AEC Matador: Taking The Rough With The Smooth'', Japonica Press, 2009, .

External links

AEC Militant and Matador owners
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Military trucks of the United Kingdom Artillery tractors Off-road vehicles World War II vehicles of the United Kingdom

Matador A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...

Soft-skinned vehicles Military vehicles introduced in the 1930s

Description

Service

Post-war

See also

References

External links