Fordson WOT

The Fordson WOT2 had a nominal 15-cwt (3/4 ton) payload
WOT3 Model D

The Fordson WOT (from War Office 'type' or 'truck') was a military truck line produced by Ford of Britain in the Second World War. From 1939 to 1945, around 130,000 units (almost half being the WOT2) were produced at Ford Dagenham, where Fordson tractors for the British market were produced since 1933.

Five models, WOT1, WOT2, WOT3, WOT6 and WOT8 were produced. The WOT1, 2 and 3 were rear-wheel drive and had the cab behind the engine; WOT6 and 8 were all-wheel drive with a cab forward configuration. The same engine was used across the range - 3.6L Ford sidevalve V-8 petrol engine delivering 85 hp at 3,800 rpm. The transmission was a four-speed manual with an additional reduction gearbox for the four wheel drive models as well as the WOT 3D.

Models

WOT1 fitted out as barrage balloon winch for the Royal Air Force
6x4, 164 in (4.2 m)
WOT1A was a 178 in (4.5 m) wheelbase version.
85 bhp V-8 engine four forward and one reverse gearbox with a x2 transfer box
WOT1 and 1A was mostly used by RAF eg as Fire Tenders

"Ambulance, Heavy, 6x4 (Fordson WOT1)

Conventional "long-nose" 4x2 lines

WOT2
Norwegian soldiers transported in WOT2
Specifications
Mass3.327 t (7,395 lb)
Length14 ft 9 inch (4.50 m)
Width6 ft 7 in (2.00 m)
Height7 ft 6 in (2.28 m)
EngineV8 3.6L petrol
60 hp (45 kW)
Payload capacity15 long hundredweight (760 kg)
Transmission4-speed
Fuel capacity23 imp gal (100 L)
RAF WOT3 used for carrying bomber crews to their aircraft


4x2, 15-cwt
WOT2A - first model
WOT2B and WOT2D - "tilt covered van body"
WOT2C - horizontal windscreen
WOT2E - late style cab
WOT2F - steel body, no tilt
WOT2H - like WOT2E
Fitted with a flatbed rear and 20mm gun it was "Truck, 15cwt, 4x2 AA"
4x2, 30-cwt. used by RAF

Cab-over 4x4 lines

WOT6
Service history
In service1942 -
Used byUK
WarsWorld War II
Production history
ManufacturerFord
Producedto September 1945
No. builtapprox 30,000
Specifications
Mass3.87 long tons (3,930 kg)
Length19 ft 11 in (6.07 m)
Width7 ft 6 in (2.28 m)
Height10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)
EngineV8 petrol
85 hp (63 kW)
Payload capacity60 long hundredweight (3,000 kg)
Drive4 x 4
Transmission4-speed, and 2-speed transfer case
Fuel capacity35 imp gal (160 L)
Operational
range
280 miles (450 km)
References
4x4, 60-cwt (3 ton).
11 ft 11 in wheelbase
Produced January 1942 to September 1945
Cab top could be removed to reduce overall height for shipping
4x4, 30-cwt.
85 bhp V-8 engine four forward and one reverse gearbox
derived from WOT6
9 ft 10 inch wheelbase
16 ft 8 in long, 7 ft 6 in wide, 9 ft 2 in high
3 tons 16 cwt
fixed cab roof
Used as artillery tractor in North African campaign. Also with office body.
Supplied to USSR where it was used for Katyusha rocket launchers

Production

Vehicle production by Ford of Britain, 1939-1945
Load capacity

(cwt)

 Wheelbase Gross Vehicle Weight Total quantity produced Production

period

WOT8 30 cwt 299 cm
9 ft 10 in		 6,900 kg
(6.8 long tons)		 2,516 1941 – 1942
WOT6 60 cwt 360 cm
11 ft 11.5 in		 8,100 kg
(8.0 long tons)		 29,693 January 1942 – September 1945

Notes

  1. ↑ WOT from "War Office" Truck (or Type or Transport lorry)
  2. ↑ Same body and gun on the Bedford MWG and similar on CMP Chevrolet C15 and Ford F15.
  1. ↑ "Fordson WOT (1939)". truck-encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
  2. ↑ "Ford WOT2", www.armyvehicles.dk
  3. ↑ Green 2025, pp. 15–17. "[Ford WOT-3 Models D and E] introduced in early 1940… From 1942 a divided windscreen was fitted.… The RAF 'Tructor' was a short wheelbase WOT-3D conversion … for trailer etc. towing with a two-speed auxiliary gearbox and vacuum trailer braking."
  4. ↑ Graham, Chris (27 November 2020). "Fordson WOT 1 airfield tender". Heritage Machines.
  5. ↑ Vanderveen, Bart H. (1969). The Observer's Fighting Vehicles Directory, World War II. London: F. Warne. p134-135
  6. 1 2 "Ford WOT6". Danish Army Vehicles - past and present. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  7. ↑ Vanderveen 1969 p151
  8. ↑ Reich, Simon (2018). The Fruits of Fascism: Postwar Prosperity in Historical Perspective. Cornell University Press. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-5017-3215-7.
  9. 1 2 "Tableau des characteristiques des vehicules de recuperation agrees". Moniteur Belge/Belgisch staatsblad (in French and Dutch). 27 November 1949. p. 10544.
  10. 1 2 Royal Armoured Corps Tank Museum (1983). Data Book of Wheeled Vehicles: Army Transport, 1939-1945. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-11-290408-3.

References