Scammell Contractor

     Notes: This very old design, introduced by Scammell in 1964 and produced for nearly 15 years, was at one time used by the British, Australians, and especially various places in the Middle East and Africa, where they were apparently bought in droves (compared to other trucks of this sort).  British Contractors have been for the most part scrapped or placed in museums; the Australians have some in reserve, but also have for the most part been scrapped in put in museums; Middle Eastern Contractors have largely been replaced with newer semi-tractors and the Contractors sold off to Africa.  Africa is, in fact, the one place where surviving Contractors can be found in active service, though not in the sort of numbers that were once present on that continent, and with most of them being in ill-repair.

     Though there are several variants of the Contractor, most of their components are either identical or almost identical.  They are all of conventional design, with an engine compartment at the front under a hood, a cab in the center, and the fifth wheel at the rear.  The standard cab has space for three crewmembers, but an optional cab has four doors and puts a bench seat behind the front seats for four passengers.  Behind the cab is either a Scammell winch with a capacity of 15.24 tons or a Darlington winch with a capacity of 22.68 tons.  Both are equipped with 131 meters of cable, and are equipped with an interlock connected to a winch brake and cutout device to prevent damage to the winch from overloading.  Other options include an air conditioner, an engine brake, and towing pintles for towing standard trailers.  The Contractors are 6x4 vehicles but have reasonable off-road performance.  The Contractor was introduced with towing tank transporter semi-trailers in mind, but has since been used to tow virtually anything and everything.

     The CT15 C33F47 model is the standard version, equipped with a 335-horsepower turbodiesel engine.  The transmission is “semi-automatic,” having power-assisted shifting and provision for automatic shifting under some circumstances.  The CT19 C33X467 variant is modified to allow the towing of drawbar trailers instead of semi-trailers, and has more torque allowing for the towing of heavier loads.  The CT11 C33F38HD variant is used to tow lighter loads; it uses the same engine, but has less torque.  The CT11 C33X48HD variant is the same, but is used to tow drawbar-equipped trailers.  Both of these use a standard transmission, but with an incredible 15 forward and three reverse gears.  The two have identical towing capacities and performance, and are otherwise identical for game purposes.  The CT24 C33X24 version can pull drawbar-equipped trailers.  It too has the semi-automatic transmission, and has a very high load capacity. 

     The CT24 C42X52 variant, though appearing basically identical to the other versions of the Contractor, uses a 425-horsepower turbocharged engine, and an automatic transmission with a torque converter, locking clutch, and a hydraulic retarder.  It too has a very high towing capacity, but is designed only for towing drawbar-equipped trailers.  A newer design, it is lighter than the older Contractors, yet more capable.

     The last variant of the Contractor was the S24 CA45; this model was introduced in 1981, and is used exclusively in the Middle East.  It has a number of improvements over the earlier Contractors, including more powerful turbocharged engines, a choice of manual, semiautomatic, and automatic transmissions, more powerful brakes, and a higher off-road-type suspension.  This model of the Contractor uses twin 20-ton capacity winches mounted behind the cab.  Despite being of a similar design and appearance to the earlier Contractors, the S24 CA45 is physically a much larger vehicle.

Thornycraft Antar Mk 3

     Notes: This semi-tractor is an updated version of a design originally conceived in the late 1940s for towing tank transporter semi-trailers.  It was known as the FV12004 in British service, but most British Antars have long since been scrapped, sent to museums, or bought by collectors, despite the fact that they were overhauled extensively in mid-1980s.  India, Pakistan, Jordan, and Turkey are believed to still be operating a few Antars, but South Africa’s Antars have had largely the same fate as British Antars.  The design of the Antar is conventional, with an engine compartment at the front under a hood, a cab in the center, a small cargo platform to the rear of the cab (normally occupied by a 20-ton-capacity winch, and able to mount bows and a canvas cover), and the fifth wheel to the rear.  Towing capacity is adequate for lighter tanks, but the newer tanks like the Challenger are a bit too much for the Antar, and in some countries still using it, the Antar has been relegated to towing cargo or other types of semi-trailers.  The cab is considered a bit cramped and has no provision for crew equipment (it is normally stowed on the winch platform or strapped to the bumpers).  The suspension is 6x4 (the middle axle is unpowered), and the Antar has mediocre off-road performance despite the large, heavy-lugged tires.  The Antar is a heavy vehicle for its type and capabilities, and the engine is not too powerful compared with modern engines (though it does have a supercharger); in addition, the transmission is manual (though pneumatically assisted).  The engine itself is a Rolls-Royce C8SFL-843 supercharged diesel developing 333 horsepower, which definitely makes it underpowered. The steering is power assisted. 

Alvis Unipower MH6660 Semi-Tractor

     Notes: Initially designed in two versions (an 8x8 model and a 6x6), the 6x6 model was eventually approved for production by Alvis; not for Britain, but for Oman.  It was acquired in 1995 to carry Oman’s new Challenger 2 tanks.  The American-made Cummings diesel is coupled to manual transmission.  The axles have single sand tires, with differential locks, and has independent suspension for all three axles.  The engine is located behind the cab, and the cab may have two rows of seats or be a sleeper cab.  (Omani models have twin rows of seats, with the back row being used by the crew of the tank being transported.)  The interior is considered to be very comfortable, and also has a suspension of its own to isolate it from the bumps absorbed by the frame and suspension.  Behind the engine compartment are a pair of 25-ton-capacity winches. The engine is a Cummins KTA-19-600 diesel developing 600 horsepower, coupled with a ZF HP1500 automatic transmission with five forward and one reverse gear.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This truck does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Alvis Unipower Commander

     Notes: Formerly a Scammell design, this truck was designed in 1976 to carry the Challenger 1 tank, at that time still in testing.  (Scammell was acquired by Alvis in 1988.)  They were later extensively refurbished in 1988, refurbished again in 2001, and still serve the British Army today.  In 1999, the Oshkosh 1070F was selected to replace the Commander with deliveries beginning in 2003, but acquisition has been slow due to budget problems. 

     The Commander is designed specifically to transport tank-transporter semi-trailers, but is often used to pull other types of trailers.  The front end has the engine up front under a hood, with the cab center and the fifth wheel at the rear.  The cab is insulated against noise and the cab is heated with an additional heating element for the windshield.  There are two front seats with a bench seat behind it.  This bench seat may be split to form two bunks, one above the other.  The chassis is of high-strength reinforced steel.  The suspension is 6x4 but performs reasonably well off-road.  The Commander is equipped with a heavy-duty, 20.3-ton-capacity winch with 110 meters of 26mm rope.  The winch controls are behind the cab, but in a weatherproof enclosure.  The engine of the Commander is a powerful Rolls-Royce CV12 TCE turbodiesel with 625 horsepower. The entire truck is light in weight for its power and size.