Fire Engines Photos

Wasn't this built as an NFS control unit - in which case the colour is wrong but the badges are right...

Added by Davey G on 20 November 2011.

No mate it was not converted into a CU until 1950, long after the NFS was disbanded. The colours are perfectly right. The insignia is wrong. Both my good friend Ian Moore and myself saw it at many fires in its time.

Added by Ron Henderson on 20 November 2011.

This was an Home Office issued appliance I beleave from 1943(Austin Heavy Unit)and certainly would have been delivered with wartime markings in NFS grey.Post war(1945), many(ATV's, HU's, etc)would have been purchased by local brigades, many being repainted in the more civilian brigade colour of red.Appliances known though as special appliances(ie-Hose Layers, Pipe Layers, Control Units, etc)were to remain in the grey livery.
Until 1948 when local authorities took over the running of the newly formed county brigades, and new pumping appliances(post war)from manufactures came available, many of the Home Office appliances were converted to carry out other tasks as was this Austin Heavy Unit by the workshops of the Durham County Fire Brigade into a Control Unit which was to see service into the 1970's.
I must just point out though, this appliance is exactly how an Austin Control Unit(NFS)issued by the Home Office during the war years for the NFS was manufactured.
There is a lovely old picture of this Control Unit in the livery of the Durham County Fire Brigade in the Fire Brigade Handbook'Special Appliances'-Volume 2 by our dear friend Ian Moore.

Added by Pete Matten on 20 November 2011.

The wheelbase looks a bit long for a heavy unit. Was it perhaps an extra heavy unit? (longer wheelbase) Is it a K4 or a K3?

Added by Neal Glover on 21 November 2011.

Just to confirm the information so far is correct apart from it was a Mobile Dam Unit MDU a standard drop side lorry with a dam in a cage and light trailer pump unit on the back, similar to the Dodge unit in preservation and featured on this site. It served at Ferryhill before conversion.

Added by Brett Clayton on 22 November 2011.

With the six stud wheels - K2

Added by Peter McCombie on 21 April 2012.

As Brett says, it was originally an MDU, and as Ron says, he and I saw it many times when it was on the run. As a CU it was "Foxtrot 10" - a fine example of new bodywork by the brigade at the time.

Added by Ian Moore on 22 April 2012.

Please excuse my lack of knowledge on this, but could one of you tell me more about the specs for this vehicle please. Engine size cc, hp, expected mpg, fuel type, dimensions etc.
Thanks

Added by Dee on 20 May 2022.

Hi Dee, the engine would have been 3.5 litre 6 cylinder of about 70 Bhp (28 RAC HP), about 15 mpg petrol depending on driving style. Looks like K2/SL, long wheelbase chassis.

Added by Peter McCombie on 20 May 2022.

It reminds me of the wonderful video of an exercise in Newcastle on Tyne from around 1951 involving a dozen or more bright red painted ex NFS heavy units - and only two "modern" appliances. These were a Merryweather DP in the classic Newcastle maroon livery and one Dennis F12 from another brigade. My home town, Darlington, hung on to their Austin heavy unit until the late fifties, although in its latter years it was relegated to live in the yard and served as a reserve, if at all.

Speaking of Newcastle, they converted their NFS Fordson hose wagon into an ET and it served until 1965, while Cardiff had an old heavy unit converted into a foam tender. It served for many years until it was replaced by a de-commissioned ex AFS Green Goddess - which also got a fresh coat of nice red paint!

Added by Rob Johnson on 21 May 2022.

“Exercise Tyne” for Googling : )

Added by Peter McCombie on 22 May 2022.

Mobile dam unit looks like this before conversion to CU



Added by Petros on 08 April 2023.

The Austin ones tended to be more basic, 2,500gall tanks with ladder gantries on top no crew cab. See MoF part2 1st edition.

Added by Neal Glover on 08 April 2023.

Two thousand five hundred gallons? The Home Office specification for a standard MDU was 400 gallons, or 1,800 litres!

Added by Rob Johnson on 09 April 2023.

Should be 2 of 500 gall tanks

Added by Neal Glover on 09 April 2023.

Neal, that amounts to four and a half tons of water. Were these Austins tandem axle?

Added by Rob Johnson on 10 April 2023.

No a standard K4 3 or 4 Austin dropside. Photo in Manual of Firemanship Vol 2 1st addition.

Added by Neal Glover on 12 April 2023.

Must have been a K 4 with a bit of a wartime overloading….

Added by Rob Johnson on 18 April 2023.

K2 = six stud wheels. K4 would be eight stud. 500 gallons a little over two tons.

Added by Peter McCombie on 24 April 2023.

Thanks Peter. With two 500 gallon tanks we are talking about 4.5 tons of water. Allowing for the weight of the tank itself, the K4 would have been well over its design payload. But of course it would not be the first or last fire appliance to have ended up overloaded!

Added by Rob Johnson on 25 April 2023.

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