Leyland Contractors, ours and yours: Some Qustions

^Lack of development was something the Poms exelled at I think, lol

Many of their basic designs were good but they never had the field people like KW who would go out there, listen to the customer and implement changes where needed. The examples are many but I won't even start...

Time to hit the sack here whilst you chaps go to work, heh.

Cheers,

T

Check out the drawbar "pin" on the one being towed, (pic 3)

Tatra
There is no doubt in my mind that the Scammell Contractor later to become Leyland Contractor is one amazing motor lorry. We have used this rather unusual looking version for some years now and it has never failed to complete the task we demand of it.
You only need to look at the build of these lorries to understand just how much abuse they can tolerate. I am sure everyone who has been involved in heavy haulage will agree it matters little what is up front it is the rear end that matters. These lorries are equipped with a massive suspension and axles the spring pack is 300 mm deep Axles are cast steel with six rod attachment add to this 7.8 : 1 hub reduction axles it is a beast that will simply not give up. The chassis is full depth all the way to the front so we can hook up to it and know there will not be any damage.
In order to give some idea of what can happen when you have a lorry like this on one of the Nacelle deliveries the Tractor driver backed off on a very steep climb, the old girl did not know any different and kept going result both front wheels in the air and still going forward. There was very little possibility of loosing traction as the Nacelle weighed 76 tonnes and we estimated the load to the drive was 32 tonnes the driver on the day has admitted that he should stay with road transport because landing when he lifted his foot of the gas is not so good, (no we did not deliver them to the site on the Drake we used our 7 axle platforms and unloaded them into storage on site) Thinking about this it may well be a toss up if the Contractor or the Drake have had more Birthdays.

Think about this we have several 700 horsepower Volvo Prime movers 6 rod suspension hub reduction and a couple of 2660 Mercedes equally as good that seem to give a breath of relief when the Scammell turns up to take over.

When we get the twin steer restored it will not be subjected to hard labour as as been the case of it's donor cab lorry.
Rex

Recent writings in the Leyland Journal by an ex employee was that Israel wanted a truck manufacturer to set up in Israel and include a high local content. Leyland offered to enter the deal but asked for and got a monopoly as a condition. As they could also supply buses and both light and heavy trucks all bases were covered for both sides.

mammoth, check this out as well: israelmotorindustry.org/leyland-israel-brossel-eng/

Some more piccies from the 1973 war



The ZSU23 again. Nasty things if you were piloting a close support aircraft or chopper and the operators knew what they were doing - your chaps I think did not have to bother with those in Vietnam.



On the way to the Suez canal with barges for the bridgehead to Egypt and the counter-attack (pics: I. Haramati).



Bringing the tanks in



After the bridgehead was established, retrieving a hit(?) Ceturion from the Egyptian mainland.



Captured Egyptian booty, all Russian-made, with recruited civilian Mercedes-Benz and an Israeli assembled Super Beaver. Civilian trucks and cars could always be recruited in the case of war but at least the owners had the choice of going with them (if not having another role in the reserves).

A bit OT, my dad's 1971 Dodge Dart (a bit like the Aussie Valiant) got mobbed also and he went with it (in his case voluntarily - he was invalided out in 1948 after his M3 half-track was mined in the Negev desert). He said he was not going to let any damn IDF driver ruin it after he had it repaired from a total loss wreck... Both came back, the slant six did not miss a beat



well inside Egypt with one of my mom's cousins, an IDF reserve Major, who he uexpectedly met over there



and there were three of them, as they met dad's cousin Pic is in Ismailia, Egypt



deep inside Egypt, crossing a Nile irrigation canal



inspecting a hit T55 before it was retrieved by the IDF

That's all for today

Cheers

T

PS: No idea whose pics are the last 3 Contractor pics and can't remember where I got them but will note if I ever find out... :-[

absolutely fascinating Tatra

^Glad you like it mate, anything to get more people into Leylanditis.

Back on topic, civvy street this time, one of the 1st three imported to Israel, long cab, Cummins 250 and SCG box



(pic scan by I. Nachman)



and how one of them ended in 1971, Tiberias market. Two casualties and the reason trucks are not allowed on tht road anymore. Note the disc to split wheel conversion, popular in France and the Middle East but not in Oz or the US. Scan also by I. Nachman.








Useful to have IDF connections if you forget to lower the legs properly... From an Israeli kibbutz association site.

Cheers

Tatra
There is no doubt in my mind that the Scammell Contractor later to become Leyland Contractor is one amazing motor lorry. We have used this rather unusual looking version for some years now and it has never failed to complete the task we demand of it.
You only need to look at the build of these lorries to understand just how much abuse they can tolerate. I am sure everyone who has been involved in heavy haulage will agree it matters little what is up front it is the rear end that matters. These lorries are equipped with a massive suspension and axles the spring pack is 300 mm deep Axles are cast steel with six rod attachment add to this 7.8 : 1 hub reduction axles it is a beast that will simply not give up. The chassis is full depth all the way to the front so we can hook up to it and know there will not be any damage.
In order to give some idea of what can happen when you have a lorry like this on one of the Nacelle deliveries the Tractor driver backed off on a very steep climb, the old girl did not know any different and kept going result both front wheels in the air and still going forward. There was very little possibility of loosing traction as the Nacelle weighed 76 tonnes and we estimated the load to the drive was 32 tonnes the driver on the day has admitted that he should stay with road transport because landing when he lifted his foot of the gas is not so good, (no we did not deliver them to the site on the Drake we used our 7 axle platforms and unloaded them into storage on site) Thinking about this it may well be a toss up if the Contractor or the Drake have had more Birthdays.

Think about this we have several 700 horsepower Volvo Prime movers 6 rod suspension hub reduction and a couple of 2660 Mercedes equally as good that seem to give a breath of relief when the Scammell turns up to take over.

When we get the twin steer restored it will not be subjected to hard labour as as been the case of it's donor cab lorry.
Rex

Rex,

No argument here. The IDF's current standard heavy prime movers for tank transporters are said Volvos and M-B Actroses and from what I hear they are in some ways a lot more delicate than the Contractors (and the DM800s, and even the

For those with a soft spot for the Contractors, here's another interesting pic - this is how the IDF used to save on expenses when returning empty. The DM800 replaced the Contractor in service but for quite a while they served side by side (happens a lot in the IDF, they still have some DMs and

Some more early Contractor pics from Israel, this one was owned by a plywood factory at Kibbutz Afikim. Pics taken by Hanan Sad

Bumping this to the top with some more pics from Israel...



Posted originally on www.militaryphotos.net this is from the 1973 war, taken near Kibbutz Amiad, where they produce these things ( www.deeco.co.nz/amiad-filtration-auto-indus ). I'm fairly certain the Centurion is one which was hit during the battles in the Golan Heights on its way to be patched up at the Ordnance Corps workshops, probably in Haifa. The truck following is an Israeli Leyland Super Beaver.



That's a civilian one with the Cummins 250 (identifiable I recently learned by the smaller air filter on the LH side). Those were cheaper than the 335 equipped ones by some margin which tempted a few operators. Pic by Max Allony vian H. Lichtig.



Same vehicle at work with 55 Chev escort (same source as above).



Another civilian one owned by Israeli hauliers Mitaanim who had a few. That's a 335 under the bonnet. Pic via I. Nachman.



Last one for today, probably near the end of its life, fitted with Autocar wings after the GRP originals got mangled to buggery. Many Contractors ended as tippers on account of the indestructible nature of the chassis. Pic from the Harvard U Israel collection.

That's all for today...

Cheers

T