Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

Technology Model - UK Military Pattern Ambulance 1942

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Overview

Handcrafted model of Ambulance

The Austin K2/Y ambulance, nicknamed Katy, was used by all the Commonwealth services during World War 2, and was based on the civilian Austin K30. The K2/Y was also used in the Korean Conflict.

Historical information

The K2/Y could take ten casualties sitting or four stretcher cases. The rear body, known as No. 2 Mk I/L was developed by the Royal Army Medical Corps and built by coachbuilder Mann Egerton. Simple canvas closures were used in place of driver's cab doors.
The interior dimensions were approximately 2.6 metres long, 2.0 metres wide and 1.7 metres high. At the rear of the vehicle there were two large doors. From the driver's cab the wounded could also be accessed through a small internal door with a seat. The exterior was mainly made from painted canvas.
The Austin K2/Y was generally regarded as having a widely spaced four-speed gearbox that needed to be "understood", but once mastered provided good service. It had two petrol tanks, one on each side (total capacity: approx. 110 litres The top speed was around 80 km/h.
A total of 13,102 Austin K2/Y ambulances were built at the company's Longbridge plant almost continuously from 1940 until the war ended

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-54-902

Inscriptions and markings

The models in this collection were crafted from scratch by Mr Tom Runeckles. They were periodically displayed at the Museum before their eventual donation as part of the Mobility and Firepower story.

Contextual Information

The ambulance displayed at the Army Museum in the Technology Parade is a Canadian Military Pattern version.

Links to additional resources

CMP Pattern Ambulance

Ambulance in Syria

Australian Army Museum of Western Australia

Organisation Details
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