Motor vehicles played a crucial role during World War II - the first major conflict where they were widely used. Thanks to innovations in mechanics during the 1930s, the motor industry helped the Allies to win the war.
The British rose to the challenges, with new manufacturing techniques creating tanks and other vehicles that were vastly superior to those used during the Great War. During the second world war, the British Army went through a complete transformation.
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What changes took place since WW1?
At the beginning of the Great War in 1914, the mounted cavalry was still used as a major offensive tactic - thousands of soldiers on horseback would ride into battle together. However, this conflict was like no other. Trench warfare, machine guns, barbed wire and other modern tactical developments made the cavalry charges ineffective.
By the end of the war in 1918, horses were still used to transport supplies and guns behind the Frontline, but their role in leading a mounted attack became obsolete. More motor vehicles were used by the British Army by the end of the war and the number grew to around 40,000.
Around two decades later, at the start of World War II on 1st September 1939, large numbers of motor vehicles were used including tanks, giant transporter vehicles, scout cars, Tilly jeeps, staff cars and even mobile offices. Some 1.5 million vehicles were in use by the British armed forces during WW2.
The British motor manufacturing industry, with some help from the United States, switched production from private to military vehicles to meet the ever-growing urgent demand for transport. As well as making tanks and other vehicles, the British automotive sector produced everything from jerry-cans to tin helmets and weapons.
Tanks and armoured cars
The luxury car maker Daimler built more than 6,000 four-wheel-drive Dingo scout cars and almost 3,000 large, armoured cars fitted with a two-pounder gun. The company also manufactured around 2,500 Cavalier, Crusader and Covenanter tanks, more than ten million aircraft parts and tank components, including epicyclic gearboxes.
Daimler also made 50,800 Bristol radial aero-engines for Hercules, Mercury and Pegasus aircraft; 74,000 Bren guns; propellers for Rolls-Royce aeroplane engine; and more than 14,000 gun-turrets for bomber planes, including the famous Browning machine guns.
Leyland Motors, based in north west England, developed and produced a recovery vehicle that was also used as a mobile machinery and stores truck.
Tilly jeeps
One British vehicle that became a vital tool in the war effort was the light utility car known as the Tilly jeep. The Ministry of Supply, recognising a shortage of basic vehicles, collaborated with several British car manufacturers to produce a military version of an existing medium-size saloon car.
The front end of the vehicle was retained, but the rear was swapped for a basic pick-up load bed. The name was based on a shortened form of "utility" and the vehicle was modelled on a late-1930s 10 hp saloon model, made by the top British car makers Hillman, Austin, Morris and Standard and the American subsidiaries of Ford and Vauxhall.
Cheap and simple to make, the resulting Tilly jeeps were mass-produced and used for almost any military purpose. Eventually, towards the end of the war, some were replaced by the purpose-built American jeep.
Transporter vehicles and mobile offices
London-based heavy commercial vehicle maker Scammel manufactured Pioneer recovery trucks and tank transporters. They also made smaller vehicles, known as "mechanical horses", to carry out essential depot work.
Ford Motors' UK plant made War Office lorries, code named WOT6 and WOT1. These ranged from huge three-ton cargo trucks down to reinforced staff and command cars. Some vehicles became mobile offices, with high-powered mobile radio sets becoming commonplace at divisional and regimental level.
Thanks to this new electronic equipment, the forces could communicate at distances of more than 100 miles, while the vehicle was mobile on the road. Telephone switchboards with a greater capacity were provided and used at all tactical HQ to coordinate the movements of the field units.
Were cars still manufactured for the public?
Across Europe, no new commercial trucks, private cars or automotive parts were made for personal use during the war. Fuel was strictly rationed, and many private owners' cars were decommissioned and put away in storage if they were deemed non-essential.
With many British car makers turning their production facilities into factories to help the war effort, it wasn't possible to make private vehicles. Vauxhall made mainly tanks, while Ford and Austin made aircraft and plane engines. Morris, Austin and Ford also built military cars and trucks.
Producing this vast array of vehicles was a huge challenge, as the right vehicle had to arrive at the right place on time and in full working order, both in Britain and Europe. It was also crucial that every type of vehicle had a support workshop behind it, stocked with the right parts.
What happened to the vehicles after WW2?
The massive logistical task and the people behind it helped ensure the Allied victory in World War II. After the war, the surviving jeeps were a source of pride. However, there was a massive surplus of ex-military vehicles that were now out of service.
The French made particularly good use of around 20,000 surplus jeeps, converting them into station wagon-style vehicles with a timber frame and wood panels. In the UK, John Burleigh Automobiles, in Kensington, started building station wagon bodies for jeeps in 1947, stretching the WW2 jeep chassis to create a wooden-bodied, three-door vehicle in 1949.
In post-war Britain, having the facilities in place to produce massive amounts of vehicles during peacetime resulted in vehicle exports rocketing to record levels: the UK became one of the largest motor vehicle exporters in the world.
Before the war, in 1937, Britain had provided 15% of the world's vehicle exports. In 1950, 75% of all passenger cars were manufactured in the UK and 60% of commercial vehicles were exported overseas.
Autologics will be joining people all over the world to observe the 2-minute silence at 11 am on 11th November. We will remember them.
