Australian Army Heavy Trucks

I believe they were known as a Burma Dodge, the ones that made it to Australia accidentally made it

A ship run aground and they were rescued off the ship

Paul

That photo of the two men and the wheat bags on the truck MUST have been taken in Britain. The men appear to be wearing ties, long trousers and jackets. Not likely you would dress like that when doing hard physical work in about 40 degrees Celsius (about 103 Fahrenheit) in the shade but there is no shade.

As it happens i have the remains of a Bedford QL in my yard and can only guess how it got to Aus - either as Lang said came back with the middle east armies, or more likely to have been part of the equipment brought over by the poms for their atomic tests. Quite a few AEC Matadors were imported by dealers (and converted from 14.00 singles to 10.00 with duals on the rear) post war but never heard of the ex army Bedfords being imported.

As Paul says they call these "Burma Dodges". I think they were the equivalent of the International K6 or K7. Very rare in Australia, I only know of one restored one that goes to military vehicle meetings. I will try to find a photo.

Morris wrote:

That photo of the two men and the wheat bags on the truck MUST have been taken in Britain. The men appear to be wearing ties, long trousers and jackets. Not likely you would dress like that when doing hard physical work in about 40 degrees Celsius (about 103 Fahrenheit) in the shade but there is no shade.

Morris. I could be wrong. I quite often am,(just ask My Wife) But. I Think It MAY be in Australia In the Autumn on a farm & they're sowing the Crop. The Bags are Seed & fertilizer The 44 Drum is to Fuel the Tractor up, & there looks to be other Farm related paraphernalia on the Truck.. BISTBC

https://www.hcvc.com.au/forum/attachment/33644

According to Don Bunn in his book DODGE TRUCKS page 111 the trucks were built for the Chinese Army by Dodge. The contract was for 15000 trucks and production started in Oct 44 ran into early 46. They were built extra heavy duty and were right hand drive. GVW rating of 20000lb. Had a Clark 5 speed transmission, 9.00/20 tires, ten-stud Budd disc wheels, 331 ci 128 hp L-head six cyclinder engine, 13in clutch, 170in wheelbase and a maximun payload capacity of 11,200 lbs. The front clip most likely inspired the design of the post war Dodge 4x4 power wagons. Another article makes mention that a ship carrying Burma Dodges was sinking off Australia during WWII. Some of the trucks were off loaded to Australia which explains why the Tank Museum had a Burma Dodge truck and a couple wrecks. The article had mention that a large dairy in Australia had used these trucks at one time.

This is the restored one at the Corowa military show. Right hand drive from new. I have started a separate Burma Dodge thread as these were never Australian Army vehicles.

Bedford QLT 3 ton 4x4 Troop Transport TruckThe Bedford QL was a series of trucks, manufactured by Bedford for use by the British Armed Forces during World War Two. At the outbreak of WW2, Bedford was contracted by the British War Office to produce a 3 ton 4×4 general service truck. A pilot model was ready in February 1940 and quantity production started in March 1941. The Bedford QL was in production from 1941 to 1945 and was Bedford’s first vehicle series built for the military. A total of 52,240 were built.

This was Malaya 1956. As there was an Australian Army component attached to the poms I suppose you could classify them as an Australian Army "use" vehicle

.Two rows of British Bedford QL, three ton, 4x4 general purpose trucks lined up at the 3 Company, Royal Army Service Corps base at Ipoh, in central Perak. The first vehicle in the front row has an armoured body and cabin, and is used as a convoy escort vehicle. All the remaining vehicles are used to transport troops, supplies, stores and ammunition to the military and police units stationed in the area. Approximately 75 members of the Royal Australian Army Service Corps are also stationed at this base.