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417:. In the mid-1960s a decision was taken to withdraw the type from service completely, with all military Champs being sold off by 1968 although there is a record of one being sold by government auction as late as 1973. These mass sales made them cheap to buy (£150 being typical in 1966) and with fuel at low 1960s prices, many were bought as "fun" vehicles and used with little regard to the routine maintenance that the complex design required.
27:
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359:" (FFW) vehicles. Rolls-Royce Ltd built engines for the early production vehicles, but later ones were fitted with a virtually identical engine built under licence by Austin itself. In order to obtain some commercial benefit from the contract, Austin was given permission to use the design for a simplified civilian version to be sold as the Austin Champ. This version, designated model WN3, was mostly fitted with a modified
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differential which incorporated a simple dog clutch to enable four-wheel drive when required. A conventional separate transfer case was not possible due to the cruciform layout of the vehicle chassis which placed the junction of the cruciform where the transfer box would reside on a conventional ladder-type chassis.
543:
the army one. A standard radio fitting kit for 1/4-ton vehicles comprising a 50-inch table running on sliding runners, battery mountings and appropriate fittings was introduced in 1956. When this kit was fitted, the vehicle was re-designated as Fitted For Radio (FFR) to differentiate it from the basic FFW version.
347:, was fitted out for the work. The first production vehicle was completed on 1 September 1951. The formal title: "Truck, 1/4 Ton, 4×4, CT, Austin Mk.1" was assigned (CT being a contraction of CombaT, both a designation of function and also the title of a planned family of vehicles designed by FVRDE). The
542:
Various bolt-on kits were produced to convert basic vehicles for specialist roles, for example tactical radio carrier, telephone line laying, field ambulance with two stretchers, and an appliqué armour kit. Strangely, the armour components were listed in the Austin civilian parts catalogue but not in
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The suspension system was based on longitudinal torsion bars for primary springing and featured fully independent suspension at all four wheels using double wishbones. Each wheel station was also fitted with a rubber cone and cup system to buffer extreme upward suspension travel with energy control
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As the Champ entered service it became apparent that although it had an outstanding cross-country performance, it was too expensive (£1200 at 1951 prices), too complex and had limited use outside of the narrow field combat role for which it had been designed. Consequently, the contract with Austin
487:
on all gears. A conventional Borg & Beck clutch with mechanical linkage was used and drive from the gearbox was by shaft to the rear combined transfer box and differential assembly which incorporated reverse gear, thereby allowing five reverse gears also, and then by a long shaft to the front
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Around 500 of the civilian version are thought to have been made, including at least one left-hand-drive version. They were priced at £750 in
November 1952, and at £1000 in November 1954. Many went to Australia, where some can still be found. Two are known to have survived in the UK. Some of the
412:
The Champ cost far more than the Land Rover, and was never as popular with troops, probably because the Land Rover with its enclosed cab offered better protection from the elements and greater flexibility in use. With the reduction in size of the post-war army, many Champs were consigned to bulk
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attached to the air cleaner and normally carried horizontally on the right wing (US = fender) could be raised during wading operations. Maintaining this level of capability was found to be expensive and of limited value, and the policy of CT vehicles was abandoned in 1956 and the CT family were
554:
Champs made for the civilian market (model WN3) could be specified with the Rolls-Royce engine or, as was much more usual, a modified version of Austin's 2660 cc A90 engine. Military body fittings such as rifle clips were omitted and the windscreen was a fixed assembly. Commercial 12-volt
479:
Rolls-Royce produced engines at Crewe early in the contract but did not have the capacity for volume production at the rate required, therefore Austin was lent tooling and licensed to build a virtually identical engine, and Austin-made engines were fitted in the great majority of Champs built.
534:
layout although unlike the Jeep, the Champ body is designed to carry part of the vehicle stresses and chassis flexing. A simple hood (top) made from PVC coated cloth (trade name Rexine) was provided and a set of weather screens with hinged doors on a simple frame were available for issue in
578:
The civilian WN3 was adapted as a small fire engine by Fire Armour Ltd of London for use in commercial premises and for locations where large vehicle access was difficult. This version was known as the
Firefly and carried a 60-gallon water tank, pump and ladders. One still exists today in
355:. This military version was designated model WN1 by Austin. Approximately half of the contract were to be basic vehicles known as Cargo trucks and the remainder were to be fitted with high-output generators and additional batteries in order to power radio equipment. These were known as "
366:
In military service, the vehicles were given the official designation FV1801A and were generally referred to as "Trucks, 1/4 ton, Austin". A few were fitted with additional equipment for use as field ambulances, telephone line-laying vehicles or equipped with armour and a
393:, which had entered army service before the Champ (as early as 1949), was half the price, simpler to maintain and could do 80% of the tasks the Champ could do. Ultimately it replaced the Champ in all roles. The Champ served with the British Army in the UK,
518:
Electrical equipment fitted on military Champs was a 24-volt system in accordance with agreements reached in 1948 with the US and
Canadian armies and comprised standardised military pattern equipment used on many British post-war vehicles, supplied by
297:"Jeep" but able to perform in all theatres of operation of the British Army. It was considered important that a British-made vehicle was produced in order to reduce the reliance on American vehicles and the foreign expenditure that entailed.
535:
intemperate climates. The inner windscreen opened forwards for ventilation or the whole frame and glass assembly could be folded down onto the bonnet (hood). Military items such as a shovel, pickaxe and a carrier for a standard 20-litre
276:
in the 1950s. The army version was officially known as "Truck, 1/4 ton, CT, 4×4, Cargo & FFW, Austin Mk.1" however the civilian name "Champ" was universally, if unofficially, applied to it. The majority of Champs produced went to the
500:
exercised by double-acting telescopic hydraulic dampers. This system gave an exceptional cross-country performance. Front and rear axles were constructed into a cradle sub-assembly, which could be rapidly exchanged in the field.
475:
standards, the engine was re-designed and simplified to ease manufacture; a cast-iron cylinder head was used in this version which can be most easily identified by the letters "UNF" cast or pressed into the rocker cover.
378:
utilising the built-in pintle mount forward of the windscreen, but the majority served as cargo/personnel carriers or were fitted with radios. A version armed with a single, dashboard-mounted .30 in
546:
Some prototype vehicles with a Land Rover-style rear body with tailgate rear access were constructed in an attempt to improve the versatility of the basic design but were not put into production.
539:(for the carriage of water not fuel) were normally fitted. A 20-gallon (91 litre) fuel tank was located at the rear of the vehicle, giving an operational range of approximately 300 miles.
363:
4-cylinder engine as a cheaper option than the more complex B40 but the vehicle attracted few customers and only about 500 were built, the great majority of these being exported.
456:
of 1922, but with the demands of the war, development was not proceeded with until the late 1940s by the Rolls-Royce
Chassis Division, then based at Clan Foundry in
309:
444:
The engine was a four-cylinder in-line petrol unit of 2838 cc capacity (3.5-inch-diameter (89 mm) pistons × 4.5-inch (110 mm) stroke) designed by
530:
The body was a utilitarian open four-seater tub of welded pressed steel panels, supplied by the
Pressed Steel Company, and similar in style to the war-time
428:
who bought 400 new and about the same number of ex-British Army ones. One or two examples were also used by a mercenary unit in the Congo in the mid-1960s.
510:
The engine, fuel system and all electrical items were waterproofed so the vehicle could wade to a depth of 6 feet (2 m) with minimal preparation; a
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and Simms. Instrumentation was a system common to many other military vehicles of the period and supplied by Smiths
Instruments of London.
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496:" type constant velocity joints were fitted at all wheel stations. All transmission assemblies were sealed against the entry of water.
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ton trailers on tarmac roads at about 30mph but in the desert sand they were too heavy and just dug in." Paddy Tharme RAOC s/sec
460:. The engine was designed with absolute reliability as a prime criterion with fuel economy a secondary consideration, and using
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and was the smallest of the standardised B-Range military engines. These engines had their origin in a 1936 design produced at
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FV1801 (Military): Rolls-Royce B40, either built by RR (4 digit engine numbers) or by Austin (5 digit engine numbers)
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vehicle storage and those employed in the
Regular Army had relatively short careers before being redeployed to the
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was amended and finally prematurely terminated some 4,000 vehicles short of the 15,000 originally contracted.
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under the name "Wolseley
Mudlark", and after further refinement the design was formalised as FV1801(a). The
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312:(FVRDE) under the leadership of Charles William "Rex" Sewell. The suspension system was designed by
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preservation. Specialist chemical incident and a light rescue version were offered by the company.
308:". Testing revealed serious shortcomings and the design was improved by a team at the government
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351:-designed B40 four-cylinder engine of 2838 cc was fitted, the smallest of the standardised
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and employed drums and a simple single-line hydraulic layout without power assistance.
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was awarded the contract to produce 15,000 vehicles and a former aircraft factory at
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A project to design a "Car 4×4 5 cwt FV1800-Series" was launched in 1947, and the
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specification for a light truck was issued in the late 1940s, inspired by the
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Cylinder blocks for both manufacturers were supplied by
Leyland Motors.
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464:(BSF) thread standards. A feature of this engine was the use of a cast
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used Champs in Cyprus and Jordan (57-60). They would pull 4
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cylinder head with screwed-in hardened steel valve seats.
452:, with the concept and dimensions first developed for the
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About 30 prototypes of the improved vehicle were built by
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was a military and civilian jeep-like vehicle made by the
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Fighting
Vehicles Research and Development Establishment
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design features of the Champ were carried over to the
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Truck, 1/4 ton, CT, 4×4, Cargo & FFW, Austin Mk.1
575:, of which some 21,000 were made from 1958 to 1967.
51:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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420:The only other forces to use the Champ were the
602:Champ (civilian): Austin A90 engine or the B40
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304:built three prototype designs known as the "
515:downgraded to General Service (GS) status.
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916:Military vehicles introduced in the 1950s
111:Learn how and when to remove this message
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906:Military vehicles of the United Kingdom
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382:was in limited use as late as 1967.
49:adding citations to reliable sources
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503:The braking system was supplied by
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839:Tracked vehicles without armament
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663:Brief history of the Austin Champ
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559:were provided and facilities for
483:The gearbox had five ratios with
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901:Military light utility vehicles
36:needs additional citations for
748:Land Rover 101 Forward Control
743:Land Rover 1/2 ton Lightweight
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1:
872:UK armoured fighting vehicles
856:FV180 Combat Engineer Tractor
804:MAN Logistics Support Vehicle
471:With the adoption in 1949 of
591:Austin Champ Rolls Royce B40
316:, who went on to design the
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171:1 September 1951 – May 1956
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621:FV from "Fighting Vehicle"
372:Vickers medium machine gun
339:, on the edge of Austin's
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186:Four-seat "Jeep"-style tub
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690:Austin Champ Owners' Club
555:electrical components by
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163:FV1801(a), WN1, WN2, WN3.
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16:British jeep-like vehicle
911:All-wheel-drive vehicles
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204:80 hp (60 kW)
329:Wolseley Motors Limited
846:Oxford Tracked Carrier
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376:Bren light machine gun
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462:British Standard Fine
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302:Nuffield Organization
725:UK military vehicles
380:Browning machine gun
333:Austin Motor Company
274:Austin Motor Company
154:Austin Motor Company
45:improve this article
789:Bedford MK/MJ 4 ton
660:Mastrangelo, John,
630:"16 para workshops
424:who had 30 and the
361:Austin A90 Atlantic
357:Fitted For Wireless
237:1.87 m (6 ft 1½ in)
202:Rolls-Royce 2838 cc
825:Scammell Commander
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567:, were available.
563:, driven from the
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229:1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
896:Off-road vehicles
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753:Snatch Land Rover
454:Rolls-Royce 20 HP
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557:Lucas Industries
550:Civilian version
415:Territorial Army
401:, Libya and the
341:Longbridge plant
251:Wolseley Mudlark
176:Body and chassis
160:Also called
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670:on 5 March 2011
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440:An Austin Champ
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101:September 2007
60:"Austin Champ"
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62: –
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56:Find sources:
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34:This article
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813:Transporters
731:Light-weight
668:the original
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573:Austin Gipsy
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270:Austin Champ
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261:Austin Gipsy
150:Manufacturer
131:Austin Champ
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43:Please help
38:verification
35:
18:
485:synchromesh
446:Rolls-Royce
397:, Germany,
349:Rolls-Royce
247:Predecessor
885:Categories
794:Bedford RL
738:Land Rover
525:Delco-Remy
407:Korean War
391:Land Rover
345:Birmingham
242:Chronology
213:Dimensions
191:Powertrain
168:Production
71:newspapers
851:Beach ARV
763:Pinzgauer
466:aluminium
295:Willys MB
257:Successor
596:Engine:
537:jerrycan
374:or .303
320:and the
145:Overview
639:⁄
523:, CAV,
512:snorkel
505:Girling
369:.303 in
285:History
85:scholar
494:Tracta
490:Bendix
458:Belper
432:Design
399:Cyprus
395:Africa
234:Height
218:Length
208:petrol
197:Engine
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609:Notes
521:Lucas
450:Derby
226:Width
92:JSTOR
78:books
768:Wolf
632:REME
532:Jeep
389:The
322:Mini
268:The
64:news
343:in
47:by
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206:I4
718:e
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