Lot 027: 1956 BEDFORD RLHZ 'GREEN GODDESS'

Re-established in November 1949 to help combat the perceived threat posed by Russia's burgeoning atomic bomb programme, the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) was initially reliant on ex-WW2 fire fighting equipment. Debuting in 1953, the 'Green Goddesses' or 'Self-Propelled Emergency Pumps' as they are more properly called were designed with versatility and ease of maintenance in mind. However, their primary role was to supply towns or cities that had come under nuclear attack with fresh water. To this end, they could be connected in relay creating a several mile long 'pipeline' and carried a Sigmund FN4 centrifugal pump able to deliver 900gallons per minute. Based on the Bedford SHZ rear-wheel drive chassis at first but later adopting the Bedford RLHZ four-wheel drive chassis, the Green Goddesses also came equipped with twin hose reels, a bewildering variety of fittings and a Coventry-Climax portable lightweight pump rated at 300gallons per minute. Able to carry a crew of six, they played host to sizable on-board water tanks (SHZ 400gallons / RLHZ 300gallons). Even fully-laden, their powerful six-cylinder petrol engines (SHZ 110bhp / RLHZ 130bhp) ensured that they were capable of cruising at 40-45mph - though, cornering at this speed was not a good idea! Only in production for five years, just over 3,000 Green Goddesses are thought to have been made (SHZ 1,300 / RLHZ 1,800). Although, some were sold off when the AFS was disbanded again in 1968, a core stock were retained by the Government and staffed by the military during the 1977 and 2002 firemen's strikes. Outclassed by more modern fire appliances in terms of top speed and road manners but not pumping capacity, the last Green Goddesses have only recently been decommissioned. Finished in the obligatory green with high visibility striping, this particular example reportedly boasts "a portable Coventry-Climax Godiva water pump, 300 gallon storage tank and main PTO-powered water pump" as well as "a full inventory of pipes, nozzles, hoses, axe, boathook etc". Said to have covered 2,900 miles from new and to "drive and run very well", it is offered for sale with "original handbooks and history". Being tax / MOT exempt and eligible for low insurance makes this Green Goddess potentially very cheap to run! PLEASE NOTE: This lot is accompanied by a single handbook.