HEAVY ARMY LORRIES

Evening Post, Issue 82, 6 April 1936, Page 10

HEAVY ARMY LORRIES

SHIPMENT OF FOURTEEN

SEVEN FOR WELLINGTON

A consignment of 14 Army motorlorries of British War Office design which are to be used for the carriage of anti-aircraft guns and searchlight units has been brought to New Zealand by the steamer Middlesex. Seven of the lorries were unloaded at Auckland and have since been driven to the Narrow Neck headquarters o£ the First Field Brigade of the New Zealand Artillery; the other seven the Middlesex has brought to Wellington for use at Fort Dorset. Heavy and solidly built, the lorries can be driven over any kind of ground. They have six wheels, but there is a slight difference in their construction. In several a special drive from the engine connects with 24-kilowatt generators to enable the operation of searchlights. The weight of the lorries ranges from five tons to over six tons, and the larger vehicles are fitted with petrol tanks capable of holding about 20 gallons. The petrol consumption of the lorries is heavy, averaging only about seven miles to the gallon, but for the use to which they are to be put they are stated to be ideal.

To transfer three of the lorries from the Middlesex to the wharf at "Wellington the Harbour Board's floating crane had to be used. They were too heavy for the ship's derricks. Since then heavy gear has been specially installed on the Middlesex with the object of the remaining four lorries for Wellington being discharged without resort to the floating crane.

The lorries are the first of their kind to be used by the New Zealand Defence Department.