The AEC Y Type was a British truck built by the

Associated Equipment Company 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 the AEC and ACLO brands. ...

(AEC), it saw widespread service with the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

Design

The original Y Type was a 3-ton 4x2 truck powered by a

Daimler Daimler is a German surname. It may refer to: People * Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), German inventor, industrialist and namesake of a series of automobile companies * Adolf Daimler (1871–1913), engineer and son of Gottlieb Daimler * Paul Dai ...

four-cylinder inline 5,700 cc petrol engine that developed at 1,300 rpm, it drove the rear wheels through a four-speed gearbox, the wheels having solid rubber tyres. The Y Type had an open, canvas covered cab and a fixed side timber body, typical of military cargo vehicles of the period. The YA, introduced in 1917, replaced the Daimler engine with a

Tylor Tylor is an English surname and given name meaning “tiler”. Tylor (surname) * Charles Tylor (1816–1902), British minister and author *Edward Burnett Tylor (1832–1917), British anthropologist *Jud Tylor (born 1979), Canadian actress *Mary Ty ...

four-cylinder inline 7,700 cc petrol engine that developed at 1,300 rpm, the YB introduced a pressed steel frame whilst the YC used a

David Brown Ltd. David Brown Engineering Limited is an English engineering company, principally engaged in the manufacture of gears and gearboxes. Their major gear manufacturing plant is in Swan Lane, Lockwood, Huddersfield, adjacent to Lockwood railway stat ...

worm-gear

final drive A drivetrain (also frequently spelled as drive train or sometimes drive-train) is the group of components that deliver mechanical power from the prime mover to the driven components. In automotive engineering, the drivetrain is the components o ...

History

The Y Type was introduced by AEC in March 1915, it was a lower geared development of AEC's earlier X Type, the latter in turn a development of the company's W Type with heavier duty hubs. Whilst AEC was founded in 1912, a sales agreement meant that all of its products were marketed by and branded Daimler, in June 1916 the company's factory, at

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London and the ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Charing Cross, the town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and Sou ...

, was placed under direct government control and the lorries were branded AEC from that date, although the Y Type's distinctive Daimler radiator was retained. The Y Type was in high demand by British forces during the First World War, in 1917 AEC installed a moving

assembly line An assembly line is a manufacturing process (often called a ''progressive assembly'') in which parts (usually interchangeable parts) are added as the semi-finished assembly moves from workstation to workstation where the parts are added in sequ ...

to make the type, enabling the factory to produce 130 chassis per week. In addition to British forces the type was also used by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in France. By the Armistice in November 1918, AEC had built 8,821 Y Types, 5200 of which were fitted with the Tylor engine. The

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence (MoD ...

purchased an additional 822 Y Types in 1919 and the type remained in production for civilian customers until 1922. as a 5-ton lorry A number of Y Types were sold to civilian operators after the war, a common conversion saw the military body removed and the chassis used as the basis of an

omnibus Omnibus may refer to: Film and television * ''Omnibus'' (film) * Omnibus (broadcast), a compilation of Radio or TV episodes * ''Omnibus'' (UK TV series), an arts-based documentary programme * ''Omnibus'' (U.S. TV series), an educational progr ...

References

{{WWI US Soft Vehicles, state=collapsed Military trucks of the United Kingdom World War I vehicles of the United Kingdom Y Type