Eaglemoss 1:43 British Bedford OY Cargo Truck - Egypt, 1942, #EM022 For Sale

A radical departure from Bedford\'s design norms came in October 1939, with the development of a four-wheel drive, forward control lorry, which entered service in March 1941 as the QL, quickly nicknamed the \"Queen Lizzie\". As with the MW and OY / OX models, the QL went on to serve in a large number of roles, such as artillery tractor, gun porter, command vehicle, wireless lorry and petrol tanker, as well as the troop-carrying QLD, the most common variant. An experimental version used the track unit of a bren gun carrier, or Universal Carrier, as an answer to the German half-track vehicles, which had superior cross country capacity. Production ran at around 12,000 units per year between 1942 and 1944. Many QLs and other Bedford World War II military vehicles served with the British Army, and other forces into the 1960s, and many others were purchased for civilian use after the war.

After the evacuation of Dunkirk in June 1940, the British Army had around 100 tanks, most of which were obsolete and inferior to the German tanks of the day. Vauxhall Motors was given one year to design and produce a suitable heavy tank. In May 1941, the Churchill tank went into production at Luton, some 5,640 units and 2,000 spare engines being produced at Luton, and other sites under contract to Vauxhall. The resultant need to continue truck production brought about the development of the new Bedford Dunstable plant, which came online in 1942.

Pictured here is a 1:43 scale replica of a British Army Bedford OY Cargo Truck that was attached to the 10th Armoured Division, then deployed to Alam el Halfa, Egypt, during 1942. New for 2015! #EM022

Dimensions:
Width: 2-inches
Length: 4-inches

Features:
- Diecast metal construction
- Authentic markings and insignia
- Etched display base
- Comes with acrylic cover

Historical Account: \"Queen Lizzie\" - In 1935, Bedford began the development of a 15 cwt truck for the British War Office. This entered service as the MW in 1939, and 65,995 examples had been built by the end of World War II in 1945. The MW appeared in a bewildering range of roles, as a water tanker, general duties truck, personnel carrier, petrol tanker, wireless truck and Anti-Aircraft gun tractor - among others. The War Office designated 15 cwt vehicles such as the MW as trucks, and larger vehicles as lorries.

The 1939 K-, M-, and O-series lorries were quickly redesigned for military use. This was largely a matter of styling, involving a sloping bonnet with a flat front with headlights incorporated and a crash bar to protect the radiator in a minor collision. The military versions were designated OX and OY series, and again were put to a wide range of tasks, including mobile canteens, tankers, general purpose lorries, and a version with a Tasker semi-trailer used by the Royal Air Force to transport.

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