Scammell Pioneers

Richard Furniss continues his series, looking at another ex-military vehicle which enjoyed a second career with showmen.

- Richard Furniss

EX-WORLD WAR II MILITARY VEHICLES ON THE FAIRGROUND - PART 2

Of all the British-built military vehicles released by the War Department after the end of World War II, the Scammell Pioneer was possibly only second in popularity with British showmen to the AEC Matador. The Pioneer was originally developed in the mid-1920s, for use as an articulated tractor unit in the oil fields of the Middle East, both in 6x4 and 6x6 forms, powered by a 7 litre petrol engine of around 85 bhp.

Having proved itself in the arduous conditions in the Jordanian desert and elsewhere, Scammell management was keen to promote the Pioneer to the military sector, where they thought that its extraordinary traction, thanks to it’s walking-beam suspension and massive axle articulation, would prove ideal for military applications. However, at that time, the military authorities failed to recognise the need for such a vehicle, so Scammell was forced to concentrate on the civilian market.

However, all this was to change in the mid1930s, as the War Office began to realise that motorised transport was the way forward, so the Scammell Pioneer which, by that time, was fitted with the Gardner 6LW diesel engine with 102 bhp, came into its thinking, especially with the threat of World War II on the horizon.

With the advent of war, there was a need for tank transporters, heavy recovery vehicles and artillery tractors, suitable for towing the heaviest portable guns. The Contracts Department of the War Office estimated that there would be a requirement for some 1,025 six-wheeled tractors of all weight ratings, during the first year of war. As it happened, this figure fell well short of the eventual requirements and, consequently, the military were forced to accept vehicles which were not entirely suitable for the job in hand.