Armstrong-Saurer Commercial Vehicles Ltd

 Commercial vehicle manufacturer Newcastle-upon-Tyne England 1931 to 1937

Armstrong-Saurer was a Commercial vehicle manufacturer during the pre-war years of the 1930s.

History

In 1931, Sir W G Armstrong- Whitworth & Co Ltd took over manufacture under licence of the Swiss Saurer truck range, establishing Armstrong-Saurer Commercial Vehicles Ltd, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, to assemble these and develop new models for the UK market.

The first were displayed at the 1931 Commercial Motor Show, comprising 4- and 6- wheeled rigid chassis with petrol or diesel engines. By 1933 only 6- cyl diesel vehicles were listed,
ranging from the 4x 2 'Defiant' to the 12-ton 6-wheeled 'Dominant’, which had a pressed-steel rear bogie conforming to UK weight replaced by the lightweight, 8-ton payload 'Dynamic' 4-wheeler in' Active' 4-wheeler for 7/8-ton pay- loads and the 'Effective' 4-wheeler for drawbar work.

Passenger models were not listed, so the company gave Dennis Bros sole rights to fit Armstrong-Saurer diesels in theirs. Most famous of all Armstrong-Saurers, however, was the 22-ton GVW 'Samson' rigid 8-wheeler, announced in 1934. This was very advanced, having a full air braking system acting on all wheels, and a fully- floating double-reduction spiral-bevel third axle with trailing fourth, drive being via a 4-speed crash box with optional 2-speed auxiliary.

In 1935 the company began experimenting with an unusual dual-turbulence 3.62-litre diesel engine that develops 120 h.p. at 1.800 r.p.m. with the intention of fitting this in a medium weight truck. Additional finance was needed if this was to be successful, but none was forthcoming and the company went out of business.