The Fordson Crash Tender vehicle was manufactured at the Ford Dagenham plant from 1940 when the plant’s normal civilian vehicle production line was taken over for the manufacture of military vehicles. The WOT 1 was introduced for a variety of uses during World War II when it carried searchlights, barrage balloons and froth fire extinguishers. It was the mainstay of the RAF’s fire-fighting equipment at fighter and bomber bases during the War as well as afterwards. Its capacity was 300 gallons of water and 65 gallons of foam and was built to carry four crew members.

This release on the Fordson WOT1 (War Office Type 1) major crash tender is RAF Bomber Command whose vehicle is decorated in the traditional RAF blue-grey and features a contrasting bright yellow upper section on the foam filled tanker. The canvas canopy over the driver’s seat and the wheels are also RAF blue grey. The cab interior and seating are both dark grey. The hose attachments along the tank are given a realistic brass finish and to the front, the headlights and sidelights are silver. The RAF roundel is printed on the black front mudguard and the crash tender is registered RAF 108878.