The AEC Matador was a heavy 4×4 truck and medium artillery tractor built by the Associated Equipment Company for British and Commonwealth forces during World War II. AEC had already built a 4×2 lorry, also known as the Matador (all AEC lorries received 'M' names) in 1931.[2]
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.[i] Two transverse bench seats were provided for the gun crew, reached through the side doors, at the 1st side bay on the left and the 2nd on the right.
The cab was framed in 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.
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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
Service
Over 9,600 Matadors were built,[3] some going to the Royal Air Force (RAF).
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 (11,000 L; 3,000 US gal) of fuel and also for towing ashore Short Sunderlandflying boats at their stations.
Six armoured flamethrowers, the 'Heavy Cockatrice' on the 6×6 chassis, were used by the RAF for airfield defence.
The Canadian Army 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.
See also
Bedford QLD - 3 ton general service truck four wheel drive, 4WD, introduced 1941.
^Ware, Pat. The AEC military vehicles. Yalding, Kent: Kelsey Media, 2021. p 37.
^Thackray, Brian (2012). "17 The Matador Types 645 and 646". The AEC Story – From the Regent to the Monarch. Amberley Publishing. pp. 173–178. ISBN9781445603902.
^Ward, Rod (2017). AEC Album Part One: to 1945. Zeteo Publishing. p. 24. OCLC1014414977.