Brownhall Prime Mover

[sloegin57]

Does anyone know what this thing looked like. It seems that my old Squadron, 543, used one during a detachment to an airfield at Vaenga in the Soviet Union in September/ October 1943.

This item had to be towed from Murmansk to Grasnaya, the engine having been stripped by the Russians for spares. Facilities provided by the trailer were quite good, apart from a spell of dampness about the 9th September which necessitated a drying room for the prints being provided in the Airmen‟s billets.

It seems that it had been left over from a previous detachment.

I'd just like to now what it looked like.

Thanks in advance

Dennis

Edited December 11, 2015 by sloegin57

[Sgt.Squarehead]

I'd just like to now what it looked like.

Me too now.....I've drawn a total blank, absolutely nothing! Zip! Zero! Nada!

PS - If you are after a vehicle for a diorama, it looks like they had Matadors:

[old thumper]

This is only a guess, perhaps it was a conversion of a David Brown tractor by a coach body builder or engineering company. Such firms were common back then.

[smaug8u]

I don't think the vehicle in the picture is a Matador it looks more like a Crossley.

I unfortunately have no idea what a Brownhall prime mover is, could it be a RAF slang for a Russian vehicle that no one could pronounce, so called a 'Brownhaul'?

Hopefully the answer is out there some where!

[SleeperService]

Can't help but I came across THIS while looking for other things. It may help if you can get access.

[waistgunner]

I found a Scammell that may be what you are asking about. Here is a link to what you may be asking about . I hope this helps .

http://freespace.virgin.net/scammell.man/Pioneer.html

Respectfully, Fred

[Graham Boak]

Scammells would be a bit big for the job, and (being very slow in production) a bit too precious. I agree that the photo shows a Crossley GS truck which would be used as a tractor - a model is available from MMS models. The photographic trailer may be more difficult to find. Les Freathy's book British Military Trucks of WW2 (Tankograd) includes trailers in a number of photos, as the RAF were fond of such things. The book really is looking at the trucks, rather than what they may tow, so there are a number of office bodies which perhaps could be seen on trailers as opposed to the trucks themselves. It does include a rather distant (and largely unhelpful) photo body on a Crossley, and another much better view of a Leyland Retriever (see Matchbox/Revell's Monty's caravan) with photo body. There is a semi-trailer Signals body used for photo processing behind an Bedford OXC tractor - Airfix Recovery Set perhaps but replace the Bedford with one from the Bomber Support Set. There's a comment implying that they would come in pairs - a Camera and a Darkroom/Processor.

Older trucks used by the RAF were Albions, which are probably too early for this, and Bedford QLs, which may be too late.

In all of these, it is difficult to see why the Russians would have stripped them for spares for their own use, but it could have been done for supporting the other vehicles in the detachment - which takes us back to the Crossley, perhaps.

PS the book also has the Fordson Sussex with a Photographic body.

Edited February 11, 2016 by Graham Boak

[Selwyn]

Does anyone know what this thing looked like. It seems that my old Squadron, 543, used one during a detachment to an airfield at Vaenga in the Soviet Union in September/ October 1943.

This item had to be towed from Murmansk to Grasnaya, the engine having been stripped by the Russians for spares. Facilities provided by the trailer were quite good, apart from a spell of dampness about the 9th September which necessitated a drying room for the prints being provided in the Airmen‟s billets.

It seems that it had been left over from a previous detachment.

I'd just like to now what it looked like.

Thanks in advance

Dennis

Try this!

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205212778

Sounds like the statement in the history was a bit of a memory blip somewhere, its just a specialist photo processing trailer and the Russians had probably canniblised the prime mover that towed it.

Selwyn

Edited February 14, 2016 by Selwyn

[old thumper]

Try this!

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205212778

Sounds like the statement in the history was a bit of a memory blip somewhere, its just a specialist photo processing trailer and the Russians had probably canniblised the prime mover that towed it.

Selwyn

So the vehicle was only the Brownhall's prime mover by purpose and not a Brownhall prime mover by name. Mystery solved, well done.