📌 Truck, ¼ ton, CT, 4x4 Cargo & FFW, Austin Mk.1 (''Champ'') Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum, Flixton.
AUSTIN WN1 ''CHAMP'' 4X4 -
Firstly identified as Truck, ¼ ton, CT (Combat Truck) 4x4; later Truck, ¼ ton, GS (General Service) 4x4 Cargo and FFR / FFW (fitted for radio / wireless). This vehicle was known as the ''Champ'' the name originally given to the WN3 civilian version which was made in very limited numbers - some were converted to the ''Firefly'' Austin Champ Fire Appliance and Light Rescue vehicles. Only two examples of the earlier WN2 models were built. In 1947, prior to the limited production run of the Wolsley ''Mudlark'', the Nuffield Organisation had experimented with a replacement for the ''Jeep'' in the form of the ''Gutty'', but only went to three prototypes. The FVDE FV1800/FV1801 vehicles (known as the ''Mudlarks'' and the ''Champs'') were designed to be a combat Truck class with high specifications.
The Champ was manufactured from 1951 under contract No. 6 VEH 5531, but some modifications were made. In time 11,700 vehicles were issued to the Army (including the Parachute Brigade) Royal Marines and later the Territorial Army. It was full air-transportable and served in Africa, Germany, Cyprus, Libya and the Suez Campaign, early vehicles were sent for troop trials at the end of the Korean War.
Military needs changed during the 1948-1955 period and resulted in the downgrading of the FV1801 from Combat Truck (CT) to General Service (GS) in 1955. The Champ was quickly overtaken by the superior and far less expensive Land Rover - at around £1,300 each, they were double the price of a Land Rover. The last Champ entered service in 1956 when some were already being sold off. Some of the design features were being incorporated in the Austin ''Gipsy'', 21,208 were built between 1958 and 1967 as a civilian replacement for the Champ and rival for the Land Rover.
This example (Chassis No. 8529 / Body No. 8330) went into Army service 22nd November 1954 (Registration 85 BE 29) was struck off 15th March 1966 and became privately owned. In 1987 it was gifted to the Imperial War Museum, and then gifted to the Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum by their trustees in September 2012 following many years being stored, totally dismantled, at Duxford.
▪︎Engine: Rolls-Royce B40 (No. 60250) 4-cylinder 2,838cc with 69bhp
▪︎Length: 12 ft
▪︎Width: 5 ft 1 in
▪︎Height: 5 ft 10 in.
Information from the Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum.
📌 Truck, ¼ ton, CT, 4x4 Cargo & FFW, Austin Mk.1 (''Champ'') Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum, Flixton.
AUSTIN WN1 ''CHAMP'' 4X4 -
Firstly identified as Truck, ¼ ton, CT (Combat Truck) 4x4; later Truck, ¼ ton, GS (General Service) 4x4 Cargo and FFR / FFW (fitted for radio / wireless). This vehicle was known as the ''Champ'' the name originally given to the WN3 civilian version which was made in very limited numbers - some were converted to the ''Firefly'' Austin Champ Fire Appliance and Light Rescue vehicles. Only two examples of the earlier WN2 models were built. In 1947, prior to the limited production run of the Wolsley ''Mudlark'', the Nuffield Organisation had experimented with a replacement for the ''Jeep'' in the form of the ''Gutty'', but only went to three prototypes. The FVDE FV1800/FV1801 vehicles (known as the ''Mudlarks'' and the ''Champs'') were designed to be a combat Truck class with high specifications.
The Champ was manufactured from 1951 under contract No. 6 VEH 5531, but some modifications were made. In time 11,700 vehicles were issued to the Army (including the Parachute Brigade) Royal Marines and later the Territorial Army. It was full air-transportable and served in Africa, Germany, Cyprus, Libya and the Suez Campaign, early vehicles were sent for troop trials at the end of the Korean War.
Military needs changed during the 1948-1955 period and resulted in the downgrading of the FV1801 from Combat Truck (CT) to General Service (GS) in 1955. The Champ was quickly overtaken by the superior and far less expensive Land Rover - at around £1,300 each, they were double the price of a Land Rover. The last Champ entered service in 1956 when some were already being sold off. Some of the design features were being incorporated in the Austin ''Gipsy'', 21,208 were built between 1958 and 1967 as a civilian replacement for the Champ and rival for the Land Rover.
This example (Chassis No. 8529 / Body No. 8330) went into Army service 22nd November 1954 (Registration 85 BE 29) was struck off 15th March 1966 and became privately owned. In 1987 it was gifted to the Imperial War Museum, and then gifted to the Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum by their trustees in September 2012 following many years being stored, totally dismantled, at Duxford.
▪︎Engine: Rolls-Royce B40 (No. 60250) 4-cylinder 2,838cc with 69bhp
▪︎Length: 12 ft
▪︎Width: 5 ft 1 in
▪︎Height: 5 ft 10 in.
Information from the Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum.