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 AEC Southall Works in 1973 | |
| Industry | Automotive |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1912 |
| Defunct | 1979 |
| Fate | Closed down byBritish Leyland |
| Headquarters | , England |
| Products | Lorries, buses, motorcoaches |
| Parent | British Leyland (1968–1979) |
Associated Equipment Company (AEC) was a British vehicle manufacturer that built buses, motorcoaches and trucks from 1912 until 1979. The name Associated Equipment Company was hardly ever used; instead, it traded under theAEC andACLO brands. DuringWorld War One, AEC was the most prolific British lorry manufacturer, after building London's buses before the war.[1]
TheLondon General Omnibus Company (LGOC) was founded in 1855 to amalgamate and regulate the horse-drawnomnibus services then operating inLondon. The company began producing motor omnibuses for its own use in 1909 with theX-type designed by its chief motor engineer,Frank Searle, at works in Blackhorse Lane,Walthamstow. The X-type was followed by Searle'sB-type design, considered to be one of the first mass-produced commercial vehicles.[2][3]
In 1912, LGOC was taken over by theUnderground Group of companies, which at that time owned most of theLondon Underground, and extensive tram operations. As part of the reorganisation following the takeover, a separate concern was set up for the bus manufacturing elements, and was named Associated Equipment Company, better-known as AEC.[4][5]
AEC's firstcommercial vehicle was a lorry based on the X-type bus chassis. With the outbreak ofWorld War I in 1914, AEC's ability to produce large numbers of vehicles using moving-track assembly lines, based on American principles,[1] became important in supplying the increasing need for army lorries. AEC commenced large-scale production of their 3-tonY-type lorry in 1916, including some withDaimler-built engines, badged and supplied as Daimler. Continued beyond the end of the war, over 10,000 Y-type lorries were manufactured – making AEC Britain's largest domestic provider of lorries for the nation's military.[1] From then on, AEC became associated with both lorries and buses.
In 1926, AEC andDaimler formed theAssociated Daimler Company, which was dissolved two years later. In 1927, AEC moved its manufacturing from Walthamstow to a new plant atSouthall.[5]
G. J. Rackham was appointed Chief Engineer and Designer in 1928. He had previously worked for Leyland Motors. His ideas contributed significantly to AEC's reputation for quality and reliability.
From 1929, AEC produced new models: the names of lorries began with "M" (Majestic, Mammoth, Mercury, and so on), and those of buses began with "R" (Regent, Regal, Renown, and so on). These original "M-models" continued in production until the end ofWorld War II. AEC introduceddiesel engines across the range in the mid-1930s.
From 1931 to 1938, AEC andEnglish Electric co-producedtrolleybuses. AEC supplied the chassis, and English Electric the electric motors and control equipment.
In 1932, AEC took a controlling interest in the British subsidiary of the AmericanFour Wheel Drive (FWD) company, and began to use more standard AEC components in those vehicles, including theAEC 850 artillery tractor. To avoid confusion, these were marketed under the nameHardy. Production ceased about 1936.
In 1933, AEC collaborated with theGWR to produce a diesel poweredrailcar with anart deco styled body. This followed on from the successful adaptation of a Regal single-decker bus for rail use. Three more were ordered in 1934, the latter fitted with two sets of engines and transmissions. A further series fitted with a more angular body were supplied in the years leading up to the war.[6]
Non-military production stopped in 1941, from then until 1944 AEC produced nearly 10,000 vehicles for the war effort.[7] During the war, AEC produced their 10-ton 4x4Matadorartillery tractor (an adaptation of their commercial 4x2 Matador lorry that exploited AEC's experience with the Hardy FWD venture).[8] The Matador was used for towing guns such as the 5.5-inch medium gun and the 3.7-inch AA gun. The Matador chassis was used as the basis for theDeacon a self-propelled 6-pounder anti-tank gun, which was used briefly in North Africa.[8]
A6x6 version was designated as the "AEC Marshall" but almost always called the Matador.
Four hundredAEC armoured command vehicles, popularly known as the "Dorchester" (after the hotel), were built on the Matador and Marshall chassis.[8]
Production of theAEC armoured car started in 1941.[8] Three marks were built, with guns from 40 mm to 75 mm, totalling 629 vehicles. They remained in use post-war.
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In 1946 AEC andLeyland Motors formedBritish United Traction as a joint venture to manufacturetrolleybuses and traction equipment for diesel railcars since reduced demand would not require the existing capacity of both parents.
In 1946 AEC resumed civilian production with the 0661/20 Regent II and the 0662/20 Regal I. These were not new models but a recommencement of the most basic AEC 1939 specification bus models. The single-decker was going to be marketed as Regal II until somebody at Southall remembered the 1936-8 lightweight 0862 model of that name and as a result the name was corrected after the launch publicity had been printed. At the end of 1946 the postwar 0961RT was in build and by 1948 Mammoth Major, Matador and Monarch Mk IIIs were in production, followed by the 'provincial' Regent III and the Regal III.
Also in 1948 AEC acquiredCrossley Motors and theMaudslay Motor Company and on 1 October 1948 AEC set upAssociated Commercial Vehicles (ACV) as the holding company for the newly acquired businesses and its own manufacturing firm, which was renamed AEC Limited.[5] The initials AEC remained on its vehicles, with the exception of somebadge-engineered versions, such as the Crossley Regent bus. In 1949 ACV acquired the bus coachbuilding companyPark Royal Vehicles, along with its subsidiaryCharles H Roe. Park Royal designed a new cab for the AEC Mercury in the mid-1950s, which appeared on all models across the range about this time.
In 1961 ACV acquiredThornycroft.[9] The Thornycroft name disappeared from all the vehicles except the specialistairport crash tenders, such as theNubian, and theAntar off-road tractor unit. Production of the AEC Dumptruk was transferred toBasingstoke, and the Thornycroft six-speed constant-mesh gearbox and later nine and ten-speed range-change versions were fitted to AEC,Albion andLeyland buses and lorries.
The AEC engines were used in FinnishVanaja lorries and buses in the 1960s.
Leyland Motors acquired ACV in 1962. AEC lorries were given the same "Ergomatic" cabs used across several Leyland marques (includingAlbion). In 1968, all AECdouble-decker buses ceased production with the completion of the lastRoutemasters, and its last buses, motorcoaches and lorries were built in 1979. The AEC name actually disappeared from commercial vehicles in 1977, but the Leyland Marathon was built at the Southall plant untilBritish Leyland closed it in 1979.[10][11] In 1979, the production of Leyland (AEC) vehicles was transferred to remaining Leyland Truck and Bus plants.
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ACLO (Associated Company Lorries & Omnibuses) was the brand name used by AEC in Latin America and in Spain to sell all their products.[citation needed]
ACLOs were principally found in Argentina, Brazil, and particularly in Uruguay, where there were two ACLO fleets (150 buses in total) built by Verheul in the Netherlands on the Regal Mark IV chassis.[12] They were interesting buses, faster thanLeyland Tiger in use by other fleets. It was said at the time (early '60s) that the main reason was inter-urban gearing instead of purely urban gearing present in Leylands. An interesting feature was the preselector gear-change, similar to those in Leyland buses, controlled by a small gated lever installed by the steering wheel, with a reversed gate, with first gear to the right and up, and fourth gear to the bottom and left. In Argentina, 25 Verheul buses also built on the Regal Mark IV chassis were sold in 1961.[13]
In Spain, ACLOs could be seen mainly as double-deck buses inBarcelona, and as line coaches inALSA fleet.[citation needed]
In Portugal, the AEC vehicles, mainly coaches and buses but also lorries, were assembled and bodied byUTIC, a large coachbuilding firm based inLisbon andPorto, and were marketed under the UTIC-AEC badge. AEC based vehicles were market leaders in Portugal, for instance, by the time of creation ofRodoviária Nacional, in 1975, those accounted for 67.5% of the more than 2500 buses and coaches inherited fleet.[14] Production remained strong throughout the late 1970s and would cease in the end of 1980.[15][16]
From 1971 to 1973 theLoughborough based dealer Moseley[17] imported nine UTIC U2043 coaches which were marketed as the Moseley Continental Tagus. They were mechanically equivalent to a rear-enginedReliance or a coach version of theSwift 691 which AEC had planned but never marketed. They were expensive to buy new and the square sided styling looked dated to British eyes in the age of the Elite and Dominant coaches, thus they were slow selling. These were probably the only right hand drive coaches built by UTIC. At the time Moseley also marketedSalvador Caetano Coaches under its own name.
In the late 1950s, Spanish government restrictions on imports reduced AEC sales in Spain to virtually nil. As a consequence, AEC approached a Spanish truck manufacturer,Barreiros Diesel, to jointly produce buses and coaches based on AEC designs. The venture started in 1961, usedBarreiros AEC as brand name, disregarding ACLO, and seemed promising; production of the AEC off-roaddump trucks being planned too. Nevertheless, the Leyland takeover in 1962 soon undermined the agreement, as Leyland was partnering with Barreiros's Spanish arch-rival,Pegaso; and eventually Barreiros looked for another collaborator in the bus arena, signing in 1967 an agreement with Belgian companyVan Hool.
AEC's first purpose-built commercial vehicle, theY Type was introduced in 1915. The improved YA Type appeared in 1917. More than ten thousand of these vehicles were supplied to theWar Department by 1919. Many of these were acquired by civilian operators following the war. YB and YC Types continued in production until 1921.
TheAEC Roadtrain was an experimental early 1930sroad train.
There were three distinct incarnations of the AEC Majestic:
The AEC Mammoth was introduced in 1930, being largest truck in the AEC range and the first to be available as a cabover. It was originally a 7/8 ton 4x2 lorry with asix-cylinderoverhead valve engine developing 110 bhp (82 kW) on awheelbase of 16 ft 7 in. A 6x4 variant was the "Mammoth Major". From 1934 a distinction was made between the lighter Mammoth Minor, and the heavier Mammoth Major 6 (6x4) and Mammoth Major 8 (8x2 or 8x4), which appeared in 1934. The Mammoth Major Mk II was introduced in 1935; the eight-wheeler could carry 15-ton loads. It remained in production until 1948 when it was superseded by the Mk III, which was mechanically similar, but had the Park Royalcab. Subsequent Mammoth Majors featured the Mk V cab, and finally the tilting Ergomatic cab. The original 4x2 Mammoth and lightweight Mammoth Minor were relatively short-lived models, but both names were later re-used.
Normal control variants of the Mammoth family were also available, although much less common that the cabovers:
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The AEC Mandator name was originally used for medium-duty models in the 1930s, but in 1949 the Matador 4x2 was renamed Mandator. The name was used for the heavier AEC 4x2s until the end of production in the 1970s, and was especially popular as a tractor unit.
The Leyland Marathon (1973–79) was a high powered 4x2 or 6x4 tractor unit with a modified Ergomatic cab, which was built at the AEC factory in Southall. A few were given AEC badges to satisfy individual customer preferences. The Marathon name had formerly been used on a Maudslay bus chassis.
Pre-war 6x4 3ton military lorry built with various body styles – some were employed by the Royal Air Force as cranes (using the Coles Crane). The name was reintroduced for 6x2 and 6x4 medium-duty lorries from the 1960s–1970s.
The originalAEC Matador five-ton 4x2 commercial lorry was introduced in 1932, but the name was most famously used for the 4x4artillery tractor version introduced in 1938. These vehicles exploited AEC's experience withfour-wheel drive that it had gained from its involvement in the BritishFour Wheel Drive vehicles marketed under the nameHardy. AEC produced 9,620 artillery tractors; 514 6x6bowsers for theRoyal Air Force; 192 6x6 lorries (some of which had Coles Cranes mounted); and 185 similar vehicles, but 6x4, for mobile oxygen plants. They were known by the nickname "Mat". New civilian Matadors appeared after the war, and many ex-military Matadors were adapted for post-war commercial use, especially as timber lorries and recovery vehicles. There was a final short run of the 0853 4x4 Matador for the Army in the early fifties, due to ongoing issues with the introduction of the replacement Leyland. The last Matador was a 4x4 variant of the Mercury, introduced in 1960.
The Matador name is often used for the 10-ton 6x6 military vehicles of Model 854/O854 (built 1940–44), but this model was never given an official name. It was an extended Matador chassis, mated to a Marshal double-drive bogie.
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The AEC Mercury (Model 440) was first built in 1928. This was a forward-control lorry with a wheelbase of 14 ft (4.3 m) for 4 ton payloads. The Model 640 was introduced in 1930, with afour-cylinderpetrol engine developing 65 bhp.
The name was resurrected for medium-duty 4x2 lorries and tractors built from the 1950s to the 1970s.
TheAEC Militant – or "Milly" – was the 1952 replacement for the Matador; a 6x4 or 6x6 artillery tractor/military lorry which continued in various forms until the 1970s. The Militant name had earlier been used by Maudslay in the 1930s.
The AEC Mogul model GM4 (1959–67) was a normal-control 4x2 built primarily for export markets. The Mogul name had originally been used on Maudslay lorries.
The original AEC Monarch was built from 1931 to 1939 at AEC's Southall works. The first version had payload of 7 tons (increased to7+1⁄2 tons from 1933) and was fitted with either an 85 hp (63 kW) four-cylinder 5.1-litre diesel engine or an 80 hp four-cylinder 5.1-litre petrol engine. This was a robust and well-designed lorry, popular with both drivers and operators. The model was discontinued in the 1950s, although the name lived on into the 1970s in some export markets.
TL 3513 (1934)KYE 402 (1949)
The AEC Mustang model GM6 (1956–61) was a medium-weight, twin-steer ("Chinese six") 6x2 cabover, derived from the Mercury
From 1957 to 1971 AEC built a series of large off-road dump trucks:
2012 was the centenary of the founding of AEC Ltd, and to mark this, a number of events took place throughout the year. By far the biggest was hosted by The AEC Society, and was held over the weekend of 26 and 27 May 2012 at Newark Showground in Nottinghamshire. It was the biggest ever gathering of AECs vehicles, and over 225 attended, as well as more than 350 vehicles of other marques. It was the biggest rally ever held by The AEC Society and was closed by a flypast by the Battle of Britain memorial flight.[citation needed]
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