Thornycroft Antar

Thornycroft Antar
Antar Mk2 tractor and DAF trailer with Centurion tank load
Type	Heavy duty tractor
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1951-1984
Production history
Designer	Thornycroft
Manufacturer	Thornycroft
Produced	1951-1964
Variants	Mk 1, Mk 2, Mk 3
Specifications
Weight	44,220 lb (20,060 kg)
Length	332 in (843 cm)
Width	111 in (282 cm)
Height	123 in (312 cm)
Engine	Rover Meteorite Mk 204 1,099 cu in (18.0 L) petrol V8 260 hp (190 kW)
Suspension	wheel 6×4
Speed	28 mph (45 km/h)

The Mighty Antar was a heavy-duty 6×4 tractor unit built by Thornycroft from the 1940s onwards. For some decades it was the standard tank transporter of the British Army and was also used by other nations. It was powered by a shortened V8 land version of the V12 Merlin Aircraft engine, modified to run on diesel, and known as the Rolls-Royce Meteorite.

The civilian version of the Antar was developed in the late 1940s as an oilfield vehicle for transporting pipes over rough ground. They were of 6×4 layout (i.e. six wheels, four of them driven), with the front (steering) axle undriven and with twin wheels on both driven (rear) axles (technically ten wheels, eight of them driven, as each rear axles has four wheels). The vehicle was designed from the outset for off-road use, like the earlier Scammell Pioneer and unlike the road-going Diamond T it was eventually to replace.

The engine, the Meteorite, was a cut-down V8 version of the V12 Rolls-Royce Meteor used in tanks, itself a terrestrial version of the Merlin and made under licence by the Rover Co Ltd. Early Antars used the petrol version made by Rover and by the early 1950s the Rolls-Royce-manufactured diesel versions of the engine.

The name "Antar" was a reference to Antar Ibn Shadded, a pre-Islamic Arab poet-warrior. The intended lead customer for the "Mighty Antar" was the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, previously the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, and this was an intentional ploy to flatter the customer.