Type B Bus Pigeon Loft

A B-type bus from London converted into a Pigeon loft for use in Northern France and Belgium during the Great war.
A total of 900 of the buses were used to move troops behind the lines during WWI. After initially serving without any modifications and in their red and white livery, they were painted khaki. It was soon found that the glass windows on the lower deck were prone to breakage, mostly from contact with the men's rifles and packs. The glass was therefore removed and replaced with planks nailed to the side of the vehicle.
The B-type could carry 24 fully equipped infantrymen and their kit. Some were converted into mobile pigeon lofts to house the pigeons used for communication along the front. They served until the end of the war when they were used to bring the troops home.
When production ended in 1919, over 2,300 had been built, although not all were constructed to carry bus bodywork.

My interest in this subject relates to my time working at AEC in the 70's - long after these vehicles were made! My Father worked there, too, and he raced homing pigeons. The Roden kit in 1/72 appears to be the only option, but my idea is to convert a 1/35 Mini Art kit.

Historical background

The service aspect of WWI was crucial to the final allied success in the conflict. It was the contribution of these early mechanised transports that allowed the speedy supply of food, ammunition and other essentials to the front line.
The original strategy had been to exclusively use horse and motorised transport to supply the front. However with approximately 1.2 million troops requiring feeding every day, plus the millions of shells and bullets that were gorged by the constantly firing guns, this volume of material necessitated the replenishment conduit to be augmented by railways.
Surprisingly, it was not the issue of reliability in these early vehicles that was the major cause to the change in strategy. It was just that the roads could not cope with the constant traffic, particularly when it rained, and they were reduced to a sea of mud. Consequently, narrow gauge railways were built with
steam engines being initially used then replaced by petrol driven motors. The volume of supplies and
men able to be moved at one time was multiplied many fold and due to the spreading of weight on the track, the issues with mud were overcome. The trucks still played a vital role in ferrying goods, but the total reliance on them was eased.

Vehicle background

The London General Omnibus Company or LGOC was the principal bus operator in the metropolis, its origins dating back to 1855. As part of a mechanisation programme around 1910, they began to manufacture their own buses in Walthamstow, East London.
However, their foray into manufacturing was to be short lived as production was switched to AEC (Associated Equipment Company), which was created post the acquisition of LGOC by the Underground Group.
The first motorised bus began carrying passengers in 1911 with a thirty four-seat capacity - sixteen inside and eighteen on the uncovered top deck. Those passengers exposed to the elements were accommodated on wet weather canvas seat covers.
It was the first bus that could be described as being mass produced and by 1913 2,500 had been
manufactured. AEC’s ability to embrace the essential facets of streamlined mass production was to be of major importance in meeting the insatiable demand for supply vehicles during WWI.
The bus had been designed by Frank Seale, the chief engineer of LGOC, and as one would surmise, it was simple in its operation. Built on a wooden chassis, it had steel wheels, worm drive and a chain gear box. The bus was powered by a four cylinder petrol engine giving a top speed of 16 miles per hour.
Interior lighting was introduced in 1912 with headlights following in 1913.
At the commencement of WWI, the buses played a crucial role in moving troops to the front. Initially still decked out in their red and white livery, they had a capacity to carry twenty four fully equipped soldiers. The nine hundred buses used during the hostilities did sterling work serving until the end of the war, and acted as the transport to bring the men home.