Hotchkiss Jeep "Light Tank Trucks"

The French Hotchkiss Jeeps seen in these photos were converted for the fire service by Maheu, Labrosse & Company, in Lyon, France. Maheu-Labrosse built fire apparatus from 1929-1989, including very successful Mercedes Unimog conversions. They apparently used the Jeep chassis beginning in the late 1950's.

The smaller diameter of suction hose compared to the North American standard, allows for more flexibility in how it is stored. (On the other hand, European whitewalls are often bigger than the North American norm.) "Sapeurs, Pompiers" (or "SP") in French means "engineers, pumpers" or simply firefighters. Thanks to Bertrand for the photos.
 

Maheu-Labrosse Brochure

The Model CCFLML Camion Citerne Léger ("Light Tank Truck") seen in a Maheu-Labrosse brochure is similar to the Lavandou Jeep above, but with one large booster reel, and an improved system for stowing the suction hose. According to the brochure, modifications up front include: "Lighting by a Scintilla vertical generator. Long-range directional spotlight. Addition of a two-tone horn. Bumper rack for pioneer tools including shovel and pickaxe. Reinforcement of the hood to hold the spare tire. Supports and straps for four lengths of suction hose in front of the windshield."

There was also a version of this model (8K JPEG) with an overhead rack for suction hose, and the spare tire mounted high on the left side.

A single-cylinder two-stroke engine, rather than a PTO from the Jeep, was used to power the centrifugal pump. The hot-galvanized steel tank had a 250 liter (65 US gal.) capacity, and the attack hose reel carried 80 meters of hose in 20-meter interconnected lengths, with fog nozzle.

The Jeep was equipped with 6.50x16 "Track-Gripp" tires, and the right side had brackets for two fire brooms.
 

M201

In French, the high-pressure equipment is described as follows:

• "Tank of 250 liters capacity, with bolted inspection cover... and draw-off faucet for filling buckets. Filling the tank is done by a hydro-injector supplied with the high pressure pump. A capacity reserved in the tank allows this operation without manual priming.
• Two hose reels, each with 50 meters of rubber high-pressure hose and nozzle adjustable from direct stream to fine spray.
• Two-stroke gasoline engine of 175cc capacity... Pump is driven by two adjustable belts.
• Pressure regulator/distributor making it possible to regulate the pressure from 0 kg/cm2 up to a maximum 50 kg/cm2. This protects the hose from unnecessary over-pressure, and allows varying the pressure during operations. The distributor has three outlets, allowing it to supply the two reels while simultaneously filling the tank."

"With the aim of using the 250 liters of water with maximum effectiveness, hydraulic equipment creates high pressure at a reduced rate of flow: 2 cubic meters/hour under a pressure of 40 kg/square cm. The advantages of water used at high pressure are well-known, and its application to forest firefighting is particularly appropriate, because each liter of water has maximum effectiveness:

• Effect of shock by the sharp force of the water.
• Great surface covered due to the very strong diffusion.
• Significant temperature drop because of the total vaporization of water."

See the full pages of the brochure (120K JPEG's), with complete text in French and the above photos in larger size.

• Front Cover (JH102 front photo, at right) -- "Light Cross-Country Tank Truck for Forest Fires, Type CCFLML.
  Siclincendie, exclusive dealer."
• Second Page (JH102 rear photo) -- "This vehicle is especially designed for fighting forest fires, with excellent cross-country handling because of the care taken in load distribution and lowering the center of gravity of the unit."
• Last Page (M201 front photo) -- "Paint: The vehicle is painted in fire red, cab in gray. Lettering painted on request."
• Back Cover (M201 rear photo) -- "The equipment allows the simultaneous attack with two nozzles, and the light weight of the high-pressure hose reduces in a significant way the fatigue of personnel who may be working many consecutive hours."

Thanks to J-C Guerry for scanning the brochure. -- Derek Redmond

See also a CJ-3B "Forest Fire Truck" built by Pompe Guinard.

See more Hotchkiss fire Jeeps in CJ-3B Fire Engines Around the World .

Return to Fire Service Jeeps on The CJ3B Page.

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