Thornycroft Nubian 6x6.

Heavy all wheel drive trucks were relatively rare in Britain before and after World War II, 4x2's and 6x4's being far more common. However Thornycroft did make the Nubian 6x6 which is the basis of this 1955 (+/-) Fire Tender, acquired by the Commonwealth Government for use at Canberra Airport and now owned by Gregor Rusden.

The Nubian has a 6.6L Rolls Royce B81 petrol engine. It can pump 5 tons of foam per minute or 2 tons of water. A second unit would follow along with extra water to transfer to it. The bull bar is fitted with "knife blades" so that it could be driven through a chain-link fence to reach an aircraft that might have crashed outside the airport boundary.

Rear suspension is based on the the War Department's "subsidy scheme" design which allows for good articulation of the two rear axles.

- 4wd.sofcom.com/4WD.html

Go to the Thornycroft, Fire Tender and Airfield pages