The K2/Y could take ten casualties sitting or four stretcher cases. The rear body, known as No. 2 Mk I/L was developed by the Royal Army Medical Corps and built by coachbuilderMann Egerton. Simple canvas closures were used in place of driver's cab doors.
The interior dimensions were approximately 2.6 metres long, 2.0 metres wide and 1.7 metres high. At the rear of the vehicle there were two large doors. From the driver's cab the wounded could also be accessed through a small internal door with a seat. The exterior was mainly made from painted canvas.
The Austin K2/Y was generally regarded as having a widely spaced four-speed gearbox that needed to be "understood", but once mastered provided good service. It had two petrol tanks, one on each side (total capacity: approx. 2×12 Imperial gallons (2×54.5 L)). The top speed was around 50 mph (80 km/h).
A total of 13,102 Austin K2/Y ambulances (the front mudguards ended at the 'doors') were built at the company's Longbridge plant almost continuously from 1940 until the war ended. An estimated 50 or more[1] remain today. The Austin chassis was one of three main designs fitted with Mann Egerton bodies, the others being Morris Commercial CS11/30F (the front mudguards ended underneath the rungs) and BedfordML 54 (the front mudguards ended before the 'doors'). It is estimated there are two remaining Morris Commercials, but no Bedford examples are said to survive.[citation needed]
Service
One veteran of the North African Campaign stated he once managed to carry 27 wounded, with passengers seated on the wings, bonnet, rear steps, and in extra stretchers suspended by rifles across the rear walkway; he was mentioned in dispatches for this feat.[citation needed]
The design was popular with British and Commonwealth troops, as well as American forces which received them in reverse Lend-Lease. The K2 (KTwo) was often affectionately nicknamed "Katy", also by British and US troopers in occupied Germany of the 1950s.
The K2/Y ambulance was also used in the Korean War.
Variants
There were two versions of this ambulance: The early version had two round rotary ventilators on the roof and a spare wheel cover with a large hump. The late version had two square fixed vents on the roof and a spare-wheel cover with a much smaller and rounder hump. The spare wheel was moved further into the body to stop drivers hitting the cover (and wheel) when passing other vehicles. The later version also had a larger cut-out in the internal door.
In media
A K2/Y had a central role in the 1958 film Ice Cold in Alex (a WW II drama) featuring John Mills,[5]Sylvia Syms, Anthony Quayle and Harry Andrews. The film is based on the novel of the same name (1957) by British author Christopher Landon. However, the vehicle used in that film was a one-off special conversion made for the film using a 4 wheel drive Canadian Military Pattern chassis. The standard 2WD K2 would not have been capable of some of the film "stunts".[citation needed]
Three Austin K2/Y ambulances participated in the VE-VJ days 50th anniversary parade down the Mall in London on 19 August 1995.[4][6]
Wounded being transferred from Austin K2/Y ambulances to a hospital ship at the Mulberry artificial harbour, September 1944.
Royal Army Medical Corps, wearing protective clothing, evacuating an inmate suffering from typhus from Bergen-Belsen concentration camp No 1. By 2 May 1945, 6,500 of the sick had been evacuated to hospital.
An injured or sick person on a stretcher is loaded into an Austin K2/Y ambulance at a repatriation center in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, 1945.
Operation Musketeer, 1956, the invasion of Egypt. An Austin K2/Y ambulance (early version) being lowered from flight deck to dockside.
Wounded airmen are taken to an Austin K2/Y ambulance (1943).
Austin K2/Y war ambulance arriving at emergency services day 2014.
Vintage Austin K2/Y ambulance walk around (2014).
Austin K2/Y Ambulance at armyvehicles.dk.
Ice Cold in Alex Austin K2/Y at the Internet Movie Cars Database.
Movies and TV-series where Austin K2/Y appears at the Internet Movie Cars Database.
January 29, 2023
austin, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, december, 2021, lea. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Austin K2 Y news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Austin K2 Y is a British heavy military ambulance that was used by all Commonwealth services during the Second World War Austin K2 Y AmbulanceAn original fully restored Austin K2 Y ambulanceTypeMilitary ambulancePlace of originUKService historyIn serviceSecond World War and after in a number of countriesProduction historyManufacturerAustin and Mann EgertonProduced1939 1945No built13 102SpecificationsMass3 tons 1 cwt 3124 kg dry Length18 ft 5 49 m Width7 ft 5 in 2 26 m Height9 ft 2 in 2 79 m Crew2 3ArmourNoneEngine6 cylinder 3462 cc Austin D Series petrol engine60 hp at 3000 rpm153 lbfft 207 4 Nm torque at 1200 rpm Payload capacity4 stretchers or 10 walking wounded SuspensionWheels 4 2 10 50 16 tyresMaximum speed50 mph 80 km h Built by Austin it was based on the 1938 Austin K30 30 cwt light truck which as the K2 chassis was built during the war for many uses Contents 1 Design 2 Service 3 Variants 4 In media 5 Gallery 5 1 Exterior and interior 5 2 In action 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksDesign EditThe K2 Y could take ten casualties sitting or four stretcher cases The rear body known as No 2 Mk I L was developed by the Royal Army Medical Corps and built by coachbuilder Mann Egerton Simple canvas closures were used in place of driver s cab doors The interior dimensions were approximately 2 6 metres long 2 0 metres wide and 1 7 metres high At the rear of the vehicle there were two large doors From the driver s cab the wounded could also be accessed through a small internal door with a seat The exterior was mainly made from painted canvas The Austin K2 Y was generally regarded as having a widely spaced four speed gearbox that needed to be understood but once mastered provided good service It had two petrol tanks one on each side total capacity approx 2 12 Imperial gallons 2 54 5 L The top speed was around 50 mph 80 km h A total of 13 102 Austin K2 Y ambulances the front mudguards ended at the doors were built at the company s Longbridge plant almost continuously from 1940 until the war ended An estimated 50 or more 1 remain today The Austin chassis was one of three main designs fitted with Mann Egerton bodies the others being Morris Commercial CS11 30F the front mudguards ended underneath the rungs and Bedford ML 54 the front mudguards ended before the doors It is estimated there are two remaining Morris Commercials but no Bedford examples are said to survive citation needed Service EditOne veteran of the North African Campaign stated he once managed to carry 27 wounded with passengers seated on the wings bonnet rear steps and in extra stretchers suspended by rifles across the rear walkway he was mentioned in dispatches for this feat citation needed The then Princess Elizabeth was trained to drive one during the war 2 3 4 The design was popular with British and Commonwealth troops as well as American forces which received them in reverse Lend Lease The K2 KTwo was often affectionately nicknamed Katy also by British and US troopers in occupied Germany of the 1950s The K2 Y ambulance was also used in the Korean War Variants EditThere were two versions of this ambulance The early version had two round rotary ventilators on the roof and a spare wheel cover with a large hump The late version had two square fixed vents on the roof and a spare wheel cover with a much smaller and rounder hump The spare wheel was moved further into the body to stop drivers hitting the cover and wheel when passing other vehicles The later version also had a larger cut out in the internal door In media EditA K2 Y had a central role in the 1958 film Ice Cold in Alex a WW II drama featuring John Mills 5 Sylvia Syms Anthony Quayle and Harry Andrews The film is based on the novel of the same name 1957 by British author Christopher Landon However the vehicle used in that film was a one off special conversion made for the film using a 4 wheel drive Canadian Military Pattern chassis The standard 2WD K2 would not have been capable of some of the film stunts citation needed Three Austin K2 Y ambulances participated in the VE VJ days 50th anniversary parade down the Mall in London on 19 August 1995 4 6 Gallery EditExterior and interior Edit Princess Elizabeth in the Auxiliary Territorial Service ATS in front of an Austin K2 Y Ambulance April 1945 2 3 Rear of an Austin K2 Y Ambulance Note the bulge for the spare wheel Austin K2 Y Ambulance at the Duxford Military Vehicles Show 6 June 2010 Sideview of an Austin K2 Y Ambulance at the War and Peace show 2010 Cab of an Austin K2 Y Ambulance In action Edit The photographs below show that the Austin K2 Y ambulance was used in many parts of the world during whole WW II and beyond An Austin K2 Y ambulance in France 9 May 1940 Ambulance crews of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry FANYs stowing stretchers aboard their Austin K2 Y ambulances Colchester 3 May 1941 An Austin K2 Y ambulance convoy from the Royal Army Medical Corps moving forwards in the Western Desert 1940 1943 A casualty is carried by Civil Defence stretcher bearers past an Austin K2 Y of the American Ambulance Great Britain following a V 1 flying bomb attack in London 1944 Wounded being transferred from Austin K2 Y ambulances to a hospital ship at the Mulberry artificial harbour September 1944 Royal Army Medical Corps wearing protective clothing evacuating an inmate suffering from typhus from Bergen Belsen concentration camp No 1 By 2 May 1945 6 500 of the sick had been evacuated to hospital An injured or sick person on a stretcher is loaded into an Austin K2 Y ambulance at a repatriation center in Eindhoven the Netherlands 1945 Operation Musketeer 1956 the invasion of Egypt An Austin K2 Y ambulance early version being lowered from flight deck to dockside See also EditHistory of the ambulance Dodge WC54References Edit Austin K2 Y Ambulance Register a b Princess Elizabeth 2nd Subaltern 1945 especially the first 20 seconds British Pathe a b Princess Elizabeth 1945 especially from 3 minutes 10 seconds British Pathe a b THE MALL VE VJ PARADE PART TWO from 8 minutes 14 seconds to the end Sir John and Lady Mills in Colchester together with an Austin K2 Y Ambulance 1994 THE MALL VE VJ PARADE PART ONE all of it External links Edit Media related to Austin K2 at Wikimedia Commons Wounded airmen are taken to an Austin K2 Y ambulance 1943 Austin K2 Y war ambulance arriving at emergency services day 2014 Vintage Austin K2 Y ambulance walk around 2014 Austin K2 Y Ambulance at armyvehicles dk Ice Cold in Alex Austin K2 Y at the Internet Movie Cars Database Movies and TV series where Austin K2 Y appears at the Internet Movie Cars Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Austin K2 Y amp oldid 1110131960, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
