This photo shows a Thornycroft Nubian 6x6 Large Fire Tender (LFT). This 14 ton (16 tonne) all-up-weight tender was powered by a Rolls Royce B.81 straight 8 petrol engine producing 225 hp which enabled acceleration to 50 mph (80 km/h) in one minute.

It carried 3600 litres of water, 200 litres of foam compound and could accommodate a crew of 5 if required. The engine also drove a pump via a power take off (PTO) capable of delivering 18,000 litres per minute of produced foam from either the roof mounted monitor or handlines.

Seventeen Thornycroft Nubians were delivered between April and December 1958, with a further sixteen delivered between October 1959 and early 1960. Click here to see these vehicles in use in 1959. This type of vehicle saw service into the late 1970s.

(Photo: CAHS collection)

Read about the early days of the Airport Fire Service

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