Between 26 November and 17 December 1921 the French War Ministry conducted trials at Satory, southwest of Paris, to select heavy goods lorries and tractors to receive a government subsidy for purchase and maintenance to encourage manufacture of such vehicles. It is very likely that these subsidies were given on condition that the vehicles could be requisitioned by the ministry in the event of another war.
Renault and Dewald were selected, the Renault vehicles in question being the 7.5-tonne FU lorry in our Snapshot and the HI caterpillar-tracked agricultural tractor. The caterpillar-tracked vehicle mounted on the lorry is not the Renault HI tractor; it appears to be a small tank with a gun turret. The same tank appears on the back of the Dewald lorry in another picture – presumably to give an exact comparison between the performance of the two lorries.
The FU was powered by a 7,854cc four-cylinder engine with cylinders cast in pairs. Cooling was by thermosyphon, using a multitube radiator mounted behind the coal-scuttle bonnet. Particular attention was paid to the tyres: these were solid, made by the French Dunlop company in Argenteuil and the only tyres specified for use during the trials. Both the Renault and the Dewald used twin rear wheels to give adequate load-carrying capacity.
Renault had started manufacture of commercial vehicles in 1900, only two years after the start of car production. Its first product was a car-based 3.5hp single-cylinder that could carry a 250kg payload. 1903 saw the introduction of ‘proper’ purpose-built lorries, powered by 8hp singles or 10hp twins, and by 1907 the company was producing the AM four-cylinder 10hp lorries. The range expanded in 1908 with payloads from 700 to 3500kg from the BD lorry; this was available in various versions: delivery lorry, covered platform, and van – in particular a postal van that enabled postal workers sort mail under cover.
By 1911 Renault was moving increasingly towards military vehicles, with the CJ truck and the EG four-wheel-drive all-terrain tractor – and the forward-control CA vehicles.
The 7-tonne FU lorry arrived in 1912, powered by a 4-cylinder engine rated at 25hp. This was one of the vehicles selected by the War Ministry in an earlier prewar set of trials. The various versions of the FU, smaller CJ and four-wheel-drive EG were extensively used during the war.
By 1919 lorry production from all makers naturally suffered from the post-war fall in demand but Renault offered a wide range of lorries for repair of war damage and as fuel tankers, fire engines, road sweepers and general delivery vehicles.
Image courtesy of The Richard Roberts Archive: www.richardrobertsarchive.org.uk
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