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Airport Crash Tender MK9 Fire Trucks, England
This collection of Airport Crash Tender MK9 Fire Trucks are stored in some old farm buildings in rural England. There are five fire engines in here, one of which is facing a corner and a little more more tricky to photograph than his four brothers! I visited and photographed these fire engines several times in 2020 and 2021.
Dennis-Thornycroft Nubian Major Mark 9 (MK IX)
To many airport firefighters, these fire trucks represent the end of a era! The first thing to note, is these are more typically called “airport crash tenders” as opposed to “fire trucks/engines”. An airport crash tender is a specialised fire engine designed for airfield use. They are used following aircraft incidents as well as firefighting at aerodromes, airports, and military air bases.
The chassis for these trucks is a Thorneycroft Nubian Major; a 3 ton truck produced in the early 1970s in Basingstoke, England. The Nubian Major was a 6×6 vehicle. On top of this the bodywork and fire fighting customisations were built by Dennis during the later 1970s and into the 1980s.
Introduction of the Mark 9 alongside new types foams began a new age in airfield crash fire-fighting. The Mark 9 had a large tank capacity (1250 gallons water, 130 gallons foam liquid). Consequently, they often did not need to rely upon support trucks to supply extra water. Additionally these trucks also had an impressive jet throw, from the roof mounted hose system. The cone-shaped deflector spread the spray from the self-aspirating monitor, producing an impressively big foam carpet. This spray could reach 12m wide, and extend for 15m in front of the truck. This widespread was effective for fighting larger aircraft fires.
These Mark 9 crash tenders served civilian and RAF airports between the 1970s and 1990s. Eventually, the Dennis-Thornycroft Nubian Major Mark 9 was succeeded by more moden rear-engined trucks (such as the Scammell Mk 10).
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Mk-9’s a beast of a Fire Truck , It had power steering apparently but you only knew it had when it failed . It was loud inside as the engine was in between you and the front passenger and it got hot in there . The windscreen wipers worked independently with pneumatics and had a tendency to jam in the middle . It had a turn circle close to that of a super tanker , which could make some comical moments of having to shunt . How ever all that said it was like a tank and almost indestructible . The only thing that I remember problem wise was the gear box , had to be toggled up every morning but some times the bands would slip resulting in a really rough gear change and you certainly felt it . I still have a soft spot for these Fire Trucks , I last used one in the early 2000’s out in Ascension Island as we didn’t get RIV’s straight away . I believe there are two of them being used as EWS tanks at various points on the Island .
Oh wow, you sure know your fire trucks! Amazing, thanks for the interesting info and so many fun facts <3
These are lovely vehicles. It takes a brave man to take one on and get it running. It takes a super hero to acciure four!
I agree Norman, they are lovely vehicles! I hope they see a second life, and someone rescues them <3
These are fascinating photographs. Did all these fire trucks come from one RAF base? Did one brave person buy them all? What do you think the chances are of them all being preserved?
Thanks so much, Norman! I am unsure if they all came from the same place; perhaps they did! It’s always strange how things like this end up in a barn, a long way from their last place of service. These ones sadly have a dim-looking future. It appears that whoever owned them has passed on, leaving these and a small collection of cars to languish away in this barn.