Associated Equipment Company (AEC) was a British vehicle manufacturer that built buses, motorcoaches and trucks from 1912 until 1979. The name Associated Equipment Company was hardly ever used; instead, it traded under the AEC and ACLO brands. During World War One, AEC was the most prolific British lorry manufacturer, after building London's buses before the war.

History Inception The London General Omnibus Company (LGOC) was founded in 1855 to amalgamate and regulate the horse-drawn omnibus services then operating in London. The company began producing motor omnibuses for its own use in 1909 with the X-type designed by its chief motor engineer, Frank Searle, at works in Blackhorse Lane, Walthamstow. The X-type was followed by Searle's B-type design, considered to be one of the first mass-produced commercial vehicles.

In 1912, LGOC was taken over by the Underground Group of companies, which at that time owned most of the London Underground, and extensive tram operations. As part of the reorganisation following the takeover, a separate concern was set up for the bus manufacturing elements, and was named Associated Equipment Company, better-known as AEC.

AEC's first commercial vehicle was a lorry based on the X-type bus chassis. With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, AEC's ability to produce large numbers of vehicles using moving-track assembly lines, based on American principles, became important in supplying the increasing need for army lorries. AEC commenced large-scale production of their 3-ton Y-type lorry in 1916, including some with Daimler-built engines, badged and supplied as Daimler. Continued beyond the end of the war, over 10,000 Y-type lorries were manufactured – making AEC Britain's largest domestic provider of lorries for the nation's military. From then on, AEC became associated with both lorries and buses.

Interwar years

In 1926, AEC and Daimler formed the Associated Daimler Company, which was dissolved two years later. In 1927, AEC moved its manufacturing from Walthamstow to a new plant at Southall.

G. J. Rackham was appointed Chief Engineer and Designer in 1928. He had previously worked for Leyland Motors. His ideas contributed significantly to AEC's reputation for quality and reliability.

From 1929, AEC produced new models: the names of lorries began with "M" (Majestic, Mammoth, Mercury, and so on), and those of buses began with "R" (Regent, Regal, Renown, and so on). These original "M-models" continued in production until the end of World War II. AEC introduced diesel engines across the range in the mid-1930s.

From 1931 to 1938, AEC and English Electric co-produced trolleybuses. AEC supplied the chassis, and English Electric the electric motors and control equipment.

In 1932, AEC took a controlling interest in the British subsidiary of the American Four Wheel Drive (FWD) company, and began to use more standard AEC components in those vehicles, including the AEC 850 artillery tractor. To avoid confusion, these were marketed under the name Hardy. Production ceased about 1936.

In 1933, AEC collaborated with the GWR to produce a diesel powered railcar with an art deco styled body. This followed on from the successful adaptation of a Regal single-decker bus for rail use. Three more were ordered in 1934, the latter fitted with two sets of engines and transmissions. A further series fitted with a more angular body were supplied in the years leading up to the war.

World War II

Non-military production stopped in 1941. From then until 1944, AEC produced nearly 10,000 vehicles for the war effort. During the war, AEC produced their 10-ton 4x4 Matador artillery tractor (an adaptation of their commercial 4x2 Matador lorry that exploited AEC's experience with the Hardy FWD venture). The Matador was used for towing guns such as the 5.5-inch medium gun and the 3.7-inch AA gun. The Matador chassis was used as the basis for the Deacon a self-propelled 6-pounder anti-tank gun, which was used briefly in North Africa.

A 6x6 version was designated as the "AEC Marshall" but almost always called the Matador.

Four hundred AEC armoured command vehicles, popularly known as the "Dorchester" (after the hotel), were built on the Matador and Marshall chassis.

Production of the AEC armoured car started in 1941. Three marks were built, with guns from 40 mm to 75 mm, totalling 629 vehicles. They remained in use post-war.

Post war

In 1946, AEC and Leyland Motors formed British United Traction as a joint venture to manufacture trolleybuses and traction equipment for diesel railcars since reduced demand would not require the existing capacity of both parents.

In 1946, AEC resumed civilian production with the 0661/20 Regent II and the 0662/20 Regal I. These were not new models but a recommencement of the most basic AEC 1939 specification bus models. The single-decker was going to be marketed as Regal II until somebody at Southall remembered the 1936-8 lightweight 0862 model of that name and as a result the name was corrected after the launch publicity had been printed. At the end of 1946, the postwar 0961 RT was in build, and by 1948 Mammoth Major, Matador and Monarch Mk IIIs were in production, followed by the 'provincial' Regent III and the Regal III.

Also in 1948, AEC acquired Crossley Motors and the Maudslay Motor Company and on 1 October 1948 AEC set up Associated Commercial Vehicles (ACV) as the holding company for the newly acquired businesses and its own manufacturing firm, which was renamed AEC Limited. The initials AEC remained on its vehicles, with the exception of some badge-engineered versions, such as the Crossley Regent bus. In 1949, ACV acquired the bus coachbuilding company Park Royal Vehicles, along with its subsidiary Charles H Roe. Park Royal designed a new cab for the AEC Mercury in the mid-1950s, which appeared on all models across the range about this time.

In 1961, ACV acquired Thornycroft.AEC-Thornycroft Merger Announced in England Truck & Bus Transportation March 1961 page 5 The Thornycroft name disappeared from all the vehicles except the specialist airport crash tenders, such as the Nubian, and the Antar off-road tractor unit. Production of the AEC Dumptruk was transferred to Basingstoke, and the Thornycroft six-speed constant-mesh gearbox and later nine and ten-speed range-change versions were fitted to AEC, Albion and Leyland buses and lorries.

The AEC engines were used in Finnish Vanaja lorries and buses in the 1960s.

Leyland takeover Leyland Motors acquired ACV in 1962. AEC lorries were given the same "Ergomatic" cabs used across several Leyland marques (including Albion). In 1968, all AEC double-decker buses ceased production with the completion of the last Routemasters, and its last buses, motorcoaches and lorries were built in 1979. The AEC name actually disappeared from commercial vehicles in 1977, but the Leyland Marathon was built at the Southall plant until British Leyland closed it in 1979.AEC plant closes as Marathon moves Commercial Motor 17 November 1978Southall's last TL12 Marathon Commercial Motor 20 April 1979 In 1979, the production of Leyland (AEC) vehicles was transferred to remaining Leyland Truck and Bus plants.

Foreign operations

ACLO ACLO (Associated Company Lorries & Omnibuses) was the brand name used by AEC in Latin America and in Spain to sell all their products.

ACLOs were principally found in Argentina, Brazil, and particularly in Uruguay, where there were two ACLO fleets (150 buses in total) built by Verheul in the Netherlands on the Regal Mark IV chassis. They were interesting buses, faster than Leyland Tiger in use by other fleets. It was said at the time (early '60s) that the main reason was inter-urban gearing instead of purely urban gearing present in Leylands. An interesting feature was the preselector gear-change, similar to those in Leyland buses, controlled by a small gated lever installed by the steering wheel, with a reversed gate, with first gear to the right and up, and fourth gear to the bottom and left. In Argentina, 25 Verheul buses also built on the Regal Mark IV chassis were sold in 1961.

In Spain, ACLOs could be seen mainly as double-deck buses in Barcelona, and as line coaches in ALSA fleet.

UTIC-AEC In Portugal, the AEC vehicles, mainly coaches and buses but also lorries, were assembled and bodied by UTIC, a large coachbuilding firm based in Lisbon and Porto, and were marketed under the UTIC-AEC badge. AEC based vehicles were market leaders in Portugal, for instance, by the time of creation of Rodoviária Nacional, in 1975, those accounted for 67.5% of the more than 2500 buses and coaches inherited fleet. Production remained strong throughout the late 1970s and would cease in the end of 1980.

From 1971 to 1973 the Loughborough based dealer Moseley imported nine UTIC U2043 coaches which were marketed as the Moseley Continental Tagus. They were mechanically equivalent to a rear-engined Reliance or a coach version of the Swift 691 which AEC had planned but never marketed. They were expensive to buy new and the square sided styling looked dated to British eyes in the age of the Elite and Dominant coaches, thus they were slow selling. These were probably the only right hand drive coaches built by UTIC. At the time Moseley also marketed Salvador Caetano Coaches under its own name.

Barreiros AEC In the late 1950s, Spanish government restrictions on imports reduced AEC sales in Spain to virtually nil. As a consequence, AEC approached a Spanish truck manufacturer, Barreiros Diesel, to jointly produce buses and coaches based on AEC designs. The venture started in 1961, used Barreiros AEC as brand name, disregarding ACLO, and seemed promising; production of the AEC off-road dump trucks being planned too. Nevertheless, the Leyland takeover in 1962 soon undermined the agreement, as Leyland was partnering with Barreiros's Spanish arch-rival, Pegaso. Eventually, Barreiros looked for another collaborator in the bus arena, signing in 1967 an agreement with Belgian company Van Hool.

Vehicles

Buses

Lorries and other commercial vehicles

Y Type AEC's first purpose-built commercial vehicle, the Y Type was introduced in 1915. The improved YA Type appeared in 1917. More than ten thousand of these vehicles were supplied to the War Department by 1919. Many of these were acquired by civilian operators following the war. YB and YC Types continued in production until 1921.

Model 201

Model 428

Model 501 & 506

Model 701

Roadtrain The AEC Roadtrain was an experimental early 1930s road train.

Majestic There were three distinct incarnations of the AEC Majestic: Majestic, model 666 (built 1930–36) – 6 ton normal-control lorry. Majestic, models 3521/3531 (1950–57) – 10-ton twin-steer ("Chinese six") 6x2 cabover. Majestic, model GB6 (1959–68), – 6x4 variant of heavy normal-control Mogul, built primarily for export and specialist uses.

Mammoth The AEC Mammoth was introduced in 1930, being largest truck in the AEC range and the first to be available as a cabover. It was originally a 7/8 ton 4x2 lorry with a six-cylinder overhead valve engine developing on a wheelbase of 16 ft 7 in. A 6x4 variant was the "Mammoth Major". From 1934 a distinction was made between the lighter Mammoth Minor, and the heavier Mammoth Major 6 (6x4) and Mammoth Major 8 (8x2 or 8x4), which appeared in 1934. The Mammoth Major Mk II was introduced in 1935; the eight-wheeler could carry 15-ton loads. It remained in production until 1948 when it was superseded by the Mk III, which was mechanically similar, but had the Park Royal cab. Subsequent Mammoth Majors featured the Mk V cab, and finally the tilting Ergomatic cab. The original 4x2 Mammoth and lightweight Mammoth Minor were relatively short-lived models, but both names were later re-used.

Mammoth, model 667 (1930–34) – 4x2 cabover Mammoth Major 6 Mk.I/II, models 668 (1930–35), 366/O366 (1935–48) – 6x4 cabover (Mk.II from 1934)