1943 Fordson WOT 2H

The Collection’s Exhibit

Fordson was originally the separate tractor division of the British Ford company, but the name was then applied to commercial vehicles. The WOT (War Office Truck) range was designed at the start of the Second World War to meet military requirements for a light to heavy truck and was available in five basic models ranging from 15cwt weight to 3.5 tons.

All the WOT models utilised the same 3621cc V8 side-valve engine, the models WOT1,2 and 3 being solely rear-drive, models WOT6 and 8 being all-wheel-drive with a forward control cab. The design was basic and rugged and saw action with the Royal Navy and RAF as well as the Army.

Many vehicles were used for troop and stores carrying duties, whilst others were modified to meet specialist requirements such as water carriers, mobile field radio stations, ambulances and airfield fire engines. The WOT8 was in use as a field gun tractor, famously through the North Africa campaign. The WOT2, made in versions A to H, was the ‘workhorse’, making up almost half of the 130,000 vehicles produced during the war years.

The Fordson trucks were designed and made at Ford, Dagenham, but also produced at the Morris Commercial and Bedford factories.

This Fordson WOT2H is a Shuttleworth parade regular, and was generously donated to The Collection by Mrs Evelyn Hirst.