allways fancied one of these, ever since I went to RAF Manston for a Air Training Corps camp and was given the privalidge of a guided tour of the store sheds by Sgt Steve Shirly, this was before the museum was opened
These Bedfords were fitted out for the RAF by HCB Angus in the early seventies to replace an older model Bedford "domestic" pump. They were basically a "b type" and were well liked by most crews. A later version was made with a higher roofline and less locker space and equipment.
The "TK" of "Bedford TK" refers to the Model of the Truck Chassis, as produced by General Motors in Britain, from 1959 to 1980's. It is not designator, for the type of Fire Appliance [Yeah, I did some puzzling over that, too - "Truck Krash ?"] - we Overseas Readers (<;]
Looks like it is a Pump, Ladder; and maybe a Water-Tank - to protect structures on the air-base.
It is a neat, tidy rig - really typifies the British fully-enclosed van-type Fire Engine; and that's got it into show-biz......
Hi Pat, it had a 400 gallon water tank, Godiva 450 to 650 gpm pump and carried a 35 feet alloy extension ladder. A "b type" appliance refers to the Home Office specifications for pump / ladders. The TK series were one of the most popular appliances in the UK in their day and still have many devotees!
Hi john, lots of useful info there! yes, yes and yes on pump, tank ladder etc, etc. My appliance was first road registered in 1984 but had obviously been in raf service for many years. Despite googling hcb angus and godiva I have been unable to find any further history - so thank you very much and if you have any other info I would love to hear it.
Lee, if you have the RAF registration it might be possible to get a full history for you, feel free to e mail. (There were some in Army Fire Service use as well)
there are three museums at Manston, The spitfire and hurricane memorial building, The manston fire museum, and the RAF Manston museum, they all have fire engines, but are seperate museums.
Please note the above are not part of the Manston Fire museum collection they are owned by ex RAF Firemen, and are stored at RAF Barkeston Heath in Lincolnshire
I think the thing that makes this vehicle look odd, is the small wheels, most TK Bedfords, had larger ones. I would assume this one carries much less weight too. If you look at the wheel arches you can see the extended bodywork panels, to cover in the gap (fill the space above the small wheels) It also looks to me as if the front an rear locker shutters are not as wide as a standard appliance, so this too could indicate less stowage, so less weight.
Added by Bomba Boy on 15 July 2008.