The outbreak of World War One boosted production of the FWD Model B truck – Tim Gosling recounts the story
My greatest pleasure when attending the War and Peace show is to look out for new vehicles, something different or out of the ordinary. I was not disappointed this year and was thrilled to see a World War One FWD Model B truck which had served with the US Army in France.
I have a great affection for the FWD as we have had one in our family collection for about 25 years and this was a rare opportunity to study another example.
The current owner Xavier Guerin explained that he had owned it for about five years and had bought it from a museum when the contents were sold off. This FWD would have been operated by the US Army Ordnance Corps for the transportation of ammunition.
The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company of Clintonville, Wisconsin did not develop the first four-wheel drive vehicle but the first that was commercially successful. The reason for this success was due to the army’s requirement for a vehicle which could tow artillery or haul a heavy load in muddy conditions. It was the right product at exactly the right time. If it was not for the first large order by the British War Department in 1915…
