Vintage Thing No.27 - Leyland Martian

I've passed this old wreck of a wrecker truck many times but the other Sunday I pulled up in the old Ale Grow (VT No. 23) and had a poke around. I don't think it has much of a future and is fairly well grown in. It lies engineless outside a scrapyard just off the A38 near Doublebois but the scrapyard is a very odd one. Make any enquiries about anything and you'll get a mouthful of abuse and whatever you're interested in will be destroyed before your eyes. I don't know how they stay in business.

I'm not really into trucks but old ruins fascinate me and I did all the usual things that small boys do with military vehicles, which is scramble all over them and sit in the drivers seat and make the noises.

I didn't know what it was but a little research reveals it to be a Leyland Martian, as immortalised by Dinky Toys. It was no surprise to find out that it was a British Army 6x6 truck but I was fascinated to learn that it would've had a 5.6 litre straight eight petrol engine made by Rolls-Royce.

These engines were part of a family of engines that Rolls for specifically for military service. The straight eight B80, and later B81, developed between 175 and 220 bhp depending on spec but were noted for prodigious thirsts - how about 3.5 mpg! Or at full throttle, 65 litre an hour? And a top whack, I believe, of about 40 mph.

The other note worthy feature of the Leyland Martian was walking beam suspension. The rear axles are joined by longitudinal beams that are pivoted on the chassis. This gives tremendous wheel travel and when both axles are driven by chains or gears (in the case of the Martian) makes for excellent cross country performance. I found this video of a Scammell Explorer with a sticky walking beam.


As a wrecker the Martian had 15 ton rotating crane and a rear winch that was rated at 40 tons. I understand that considerable safety margin was built into these devices, that is they can be abused with loads well over these limits and frequently were. Some are still in use today for heavy recovery but usually have entered graceful retirement.

The other main use for the Leyland Martian was as an artillery tractor and these had crew cabs for the gunners that sat 12. These look quite cosy wagons and at least one has entered preservation. You can hear a Martian on song here . I'm thinking how well one might go in a classic racer. They sound fantastic.

I don't want to bring this old wrecker home because it's too big and slow for me but I might settle for a Dinky toy.