 Preserved 1934 Thornycroft Handy dropside lorry | |
| Company type | Manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Industry | Road vehicles |
| Founded | 1896; 129 years ago (1896) inChiswick, England |
| Founder | John Isaac Thornycroft |
| Defunct | 1977 (1977) |
| Fate | Taken over |
| Successor | Scammell |
| Headquarters | , United Kingdom  |
| Owner | British Leyland |
Thornycroft was an English vehicle manufacturer which builtcoaches,buses, andtrucks from 1896 until 1977.
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In 1896, naval engineerJohn Isaac Thornycroft formed theThornycroft Steam Carriage and Van Company which built its firststeam van. This was exhibited at the Crystal Palace Show, and could carry a load of 1 ton. It was fitted with a Thornycroft marinelaunch-type boiler (Thornycroft announced a new boiler designed for its steam carriages in October 1897[1]). The engine was a twin-cylindercompound engine arranged so that high-pressure steam could be admitted to the low-pressure cylinder to give extra power for hill-climbing.[2] A modified version of the steam wagon with a 6-cubic-yard tipper body was developed forChiswick council in 1896 and went into service as a very early self-propelleddust-cart. While the original 1896 wagon had front-wheel drive with rear-wheel steering, the tipper dust-cart had rear-wheel drive and front-wheel steering. The Thornycroft tipper was built by theBristol Wagon & Carriage Works, though engined by Thornycroft.[3]
Thornycroft's firstpetrol vehicle was built in 1902,[4] and the company completed the move into internal combustion engine power in 1907.
Thornycroft'sBasingstoke factory supplied nearly 5,000 motor vehicles for theWorld War I effort. It also provided large numbers of engines of various powers to theAdmiralty,War Office and other government departments at the beginning of the war and for the next two years. Thereafter the Basingstoke factory manufactured marine engines for theCoastal Motor Boats being built at theJohn I. Thornycroft & Company works inWoolston, Southampton. The 180HP 6-cylinder Thornycroft marine engine was also used in 20 petrol shunters made for war use byManning Wardle & Co.[citation needed] Thornycroft also made the Thornycroftdepth-charge thrower foranti-submarine warfare.[5]
In 1924, theWar Office, anticipating the immediate need for motorised transport in the event of another war, set up asubsidy scheme whereby purchasers of approved vehicles would receive a £120 subsidy per vehicle with the proviso that the War Office could buy the vehicles at a pre-arranged price when needed. The Thornycroft A1 chassis was chosen for this scheme.[6]
From 1931, Thornycroft used descriptive names for its vehicle range. DuringWorld War II the company designed theTerrapin[7] and other war-related vehicles.
In 1948, the company name was changed toTransport Equipment (Thornycroft) Ltd to prevent confusion with theshipbuilding Thornycroft company. The company was well known for providingfire engine chassis, with multi-axle drive for uses such as airports. A limited number of4x4 chassis were also provided toWorcester-based fire engine manufacturer, Carmichael for sale to civilian brigades in the 1950s.[citation needed]
Thornycroft was taken over on 1 March 1961 byAEC parentAssociated Commercial Vehicles (ACV),[8][9][10] with production limited toAntars, Big Bens and Nubians, although the Thornycroft-designed six-speedconstant mesh gearbox was used in AEC and later medium weightAlbion andLeyland trucks.[11] ACV was taken over by Leyland in 1962. Leyland already had a specialist vehicle unit inScammell. Vehicle production at Basingstoke ceased in 1969 with production transferred to Scammell atWatford.[12] The factory continued to manufacture gearboxes. It was sold in 1972 toEaton Corporation.[13]
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