Austin K2/Y facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Austin K2/Y Ambulance
An original fully restored Austin K2/Y ambulance
Type	Military ambulance
Place of origin	UK
Service history
In service	Second World War and after in a number of countries
Production history
Manufacturer	Austin and Mann Egerton
Produced	1939–1945
No. built	13,102
Specifications
Mass	3 tons 1½ cwt (3124 kg) (dry)
Length	18 ft (5.49 m)
Width	7 ft 5 in (2.26 m)
Height	9 ft 2 in (2.79 m)
Crew	2 – 3
Armour	None
Engine	6-cylinder 3462 cc Austin D-Series petrol engine 60 hp at 3000 rpm 153 lbfft 207.4 Nm torque at 1200 rpm)
Payload capacity	4 stretchers or 10 "walking wounded"
Suspension	Wheels 4×2, 10.50–16 tyres
Maximum speed	50 mph (80 km/h)

The Austin K2/Y was a special kind of ambulance used by the military during World War II. It was a heavy-duty vehicle built in Britain. This ambulance was used by all the countries in the Commonwealth during the war. It was made by the Austin company. The K2/Y was based on an earlier truck model from 1938.

Design and Features

The Austin K2/Y ambulance was designed to carry injured people. It could hold ten people who were able to sit up. Or, it could carry four people lying down on stretchers. The back part of the ambulance was specially designed by the Royal Army Medical Corps. It was built by a company called Mann Egerton.

The inside of the ambulance was about 2.6 meters long, 2.0 meters wide, and 1.7 meters high. At the back, there were two large doors for loading patients. There was also a small door inside, connecting the driver's area to the back. This allowed the crew to reach the wounded easily. The outside of the ambulance was mostly made of painted canvas.

The K2/Y had a four-speed gearbox. Drivers needed to learn how to use it well, but once they did, it worked great. It had two fuel tanks, one on each side. This gave it a good range for long journeys. The ambulance could reach a top speed of about 50 mph (80 km/h).

Austin built over 13,000 of these ambulances from 1940 until the war ended. Today, about 50 or more of them still exist.

Service During the War

The Austin K2/Y ambulance was very important during World War II. It was used in many places, including the North African Campaign. One soldier even managed to carry 27 wounded people in his K2/Y. They were sitting inside, on the hood, and even on extra stretchers hung from rifles! He was recognized for this amazing effort.

Even Princess Elizabeth, who later became Queen, learned to drive one of these ambulances during the war.

This ambulance was very popular with British and Commonwealth soldiers. Even American forces used them. Soldiers often gave the K2/Y a friendly nickname: "Katy." It was also used in the Korean War after World War II.

Different Versions

There were two main versions of the Austin K2/Y ambulance.

• The early version had two round vents on the roof. Its spare wheel cover had a large bump.
• The later version had two square vents on the roof. The spare wheel cover had a smaller, rounder bump. The spare wheel was moved further inside the ambulance. This helped drivers avoid hitting the cover when passing other vehicles. The later version also had a bigger opening for the small internal door.

In Movies and Parades

The Austin K2/Y ambulance played a big part in the 1958 film Ice Cold in Alex. This movie was about World War II. It starred famous actors like John Mills and Sylvia Syms. However, the ambulance used in the film was a special one. It was changed to have four-wheel drive so it could do some of the difficult stunts in the movie. The regular K2/Y ambulance only had two-wheel drive.

Three Austin K2/Y ambulances also took part in a special parade. This parade was held on August 19, 1995. It celebrated the 50th anniversary of VE-VJ days. The ambulances drove down the Mall in London.

Gallery

Exterior and interior

• 

  Princess Elizabeth in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) in front of an Austin K2/Y Ambulance, April 1945.

• 

  Rear of an Austin K2/Y Ambulance. Note the bulge for the spare wheel.

• 

  Austin K2/Y Ambulance at the Duxford Military Vehicles Show 6 June 2010.

• 

  Sideview of an Austin K2/Y Ambulance at the War and Peace show 2010.

• 

  Cab of an Austin K2/Y Ambulance.

In action

The photographs below show that the Austin K2/Y ambulance was used in many parts of the world during whole WW II and beyond.

• 

  An Austin K2/Y ambulance in France, 9 May 1940.

• 

  Ambulance crews of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANYs) stowing stretchers aboard their Austin K2/Y ambulances, Colchester, 3 May 1941.

• 

  An Austin K2/Y ambulance convoy from the Royal Army Medical Corps moving forwards in the Western Desert, 1940 – 1943.

• 

  A casualty is carried by Civil Defence stretcher-bearers past an Austin K2/Y of the American Ambulance Great Britain following a V-1 flying bomb attack in London, 1944.

• 

  Wounded being transferred from Austin K2/Y ambulances to a hospital ship at the Mulberry artificial harbour, September 1944.

• 

  An injured or sick person on a stretcher is loaded into an Austin K2/Y ambulance at a repatriation center in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, 1945.

• 

  Operation Musketeer, 1956, the invasion of Egypt. An Austin K2/Y ambulance (early version) being lowered from flight deck to dockside.

See also

• History of the ambulance
• Dodge WC54