Hi all,
If you know or know someone else who knows about the Austrian Alvis Stalwarts - then please drop me a line. I’m keen to see any documents, photos etc to evidence the Austrian Stalwarts.
Sorry this is in English, but your English is probably better than Google’s German.
40 years ago I was in the British Royal Engineers in Germany, driving and teaching others to drive the Alvis Stalwart 6x6 High Mobility Load Carrier (HMLC).
In 2013 I joined the HMLC group on Facebook, and have helped admin the group for some years.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/alvis.h ... wart.group
During Lockdown 1 of Covid in 2020, I was put on Furlough to stay home. I do not own a Stalwart, but started to gather all the British army Workshop and User manuals. These manuals have been declassified by the Ministry Of Defence (MOD), and are free to down load. This was done to help keep the remaining Stalwarts out of the breaker yards. It’s taken me 3 years, but I now have all the Workshop manuals, and most of the User manuals.
I then set up a cheap webpage, to freely share these manuals outside of Facebook.
https://sites.google.com/view/alvis-sta ... es-manuals
At the same time that I started gathering manuals, I also started researching the Stalwart’s history and story.
I got fed up with correcting the incorrect information on Wikipedia, and their editors deleting my corrections because they wouldn’t read the manuals. So I created new web pages for the Stalwart, to record its history. This also expanded to cover the Bedford trucks, the BV202, and British army field cooking equipment.
https://sites.google.com/view/alvis-stalwart-hmlc-files
The website goes into great depth, but to give the main moments
- 1959 the first Stalwart is ready and trialled by MOD.
1960 the first swimming Stalwart is ready for trials.
1962 Sweden buys its first Stalwarts.
1963 Britain receives its first Stalwarts.
1966 the mark 2 Stalwart is produced.
1969 the crane loader version is produced.
1971 the last Stalwart is made.
1985 Sweden takes their last stalwarts out of service.
1993 Britain takes their stalwarts and many other petrol engine vehicles out of service.
- 4 – Austria.
2 – France.
3 – Germany.
1 – Italy.
26 to 28 – Sweden.
1 – Thailand.
1 is also thought to have been sold to Canada, but still researching that.
- A clipping from The Times newspaper of London, dated 14th August 1967 confirming the sale of Stalwarts for £60,000. A mark 2 stalwart was £20,000 in 1966, so that’s the batch of three.
A letter from Alvis to John Rue dated 1993.
A letter to myself from Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, confirming 4 Stalwarts purchased.
An email from a British man, confirming that he bought 4 Stalwarts from Austria, and shipped them back to the UK in the mid 1980s.
I am told that the Stalwarts were with the “Pioniertruppenschule”
- I am told that one soldier fell out of the back as a Stalwart climbed out of the river. The soldier was in full kit, and sadly drowned.
I am also told that one sank in the river Danube, and had to be lifted out.
The Stalwart that Traditionsverband Heereskraftfahrwesen or Army Motorization Historic Society has, is ex British Army, and was obtained to represent the Austrian Stalwarts. Note the side and indicator lights on the front of the cab are the standard fittings.
https://www.hkfw.at/en/our-vehicles/74- ... i-stalwart
This image appears to be a British Mark 2 Stalwart, on display to the Austrians in 1966.
Germany purchased two Alvis Stalwart mark 2 in 1966. These were different to other Stalwarts in that Germany asked for the side and indicator lights at the front of the vehicle to be replaced with a Hella combined light unit – and for that light unit to be mounted on the side of the cab. However, the Germans also asked that the sideboards and tailboard be a few inches higher than the standard ones.
Theses images highlight the Hella combined light, and the higher sides.
The Austrian ones had the same Hella combined front lights, but the side and tailboard were all standard height.
Of the few photos that I do have,
1 is from the Pionere booklet - 1956 to 1981 25 years of the “Pioniertruppenschule” – but there is no text with the image.
2 are from the book by Walter J, Spielberger - Kraftfahrzeuge Und Panzer Des Osterreichischen Heeres 1896 Bis Heute - Motor vehicles and tanks of the Austrian Army 1896 to today. Sadly, Walter J, Spielberger has passed away, so I cannot follow that line of enquiry any further.
Any information or images that you have on these Stalwarts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I hope you can see all the images now. Please do let me know if you cannot see the photos