The Delahaye story is important in helping to
understand why Hotchkiss ended up manufacturing jeeps for the
French army up to 1966 based on the WW2 Willys MB. After the war the French army was re-established with
vehicles that had become surplus to US requirements. Although many were in
‘war-torn’ condition there was a plentiful supply of spares
available for them and they were cheap. The quality and quantity of
WW2 jeeps was improved by the
government workshops of E.R.G.M. at La Maltournée near Paris. In 1946 that
they started rebuilding
worn out jeeps some of which had been
recovered as scrap vehicles abandoned in France.
The second step came in 1947 when, despite
the poor economic conditions and shortages,
the French army announced an ambitious programme to replace its WW2
stock with a new generation of French designed and built
vehicles. The range
was to include a ¼ tonne 4x4, a larger ¾ tonne 4x4, a 1.5 tonne
6x6, a 3 tonne 6x6, a 6 tonne 6x6 and a 12 tonne 8x8 tractor
unit. Delahaye took on the
development of a new jeep while their long time rivals at
Hotchkiss developed the larger ¾ tonne 4x4. Whilst
Hotchkiss' prototype ¾ tonne 4x4 ended up remarkably like the Dodge
it was replace, Delahayes jeep made a giant technological leap forward.
The
prototype Delta was developed during 1948 with both
military and agricultural markets in mind and it was ready for inspection by the
next year. The military version
then underwent several revisions in design as it was tested between1949 1950. The army
finally adopted the resulting production model in 1951 and
designated it the VLRD (Voiture Légère de Reconnaissance
Delahaye - 1951 model). Its sophisticated features included adjustable four wheel
independent torsion bar suspension, four speed synchromesh
transmission with high / low gear ratios and differential locking
capability, aluminium dry sump engine and 24 volt electrical
system. |
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Whilst the '1951' model represented
cutting edge technology its
sophistication and high performance proved problematic. It
had survived punishing trials
where it had been well maintained and in the hands
of experienced drivers. Service reality was somewhat
different where lack of adequate maintenance led to breakdowns and a
lack of adequate driver training led to accidents. It would
appear that even the need for a basic driver instruction manual
was initially overlooked. Poor road holding and problems with the
differential locks were often blamed for causing accidents but in
reality over-confidence and a lack of driver training on a high performance off-road vehicle were the more likely
causes. |
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Delahaye
accepted that there were mechanical and quality
control issues with the 51 model which they tried to put right with the
1953 model (opposite). Improvements included the complete
redesign of the differential linkage and control system, better seats etc but problems with the overall design (and
the drivers) remained so Delahaye started work on designing a completely new
vehicle, the Cob.
There is clear evidence on my Delahaye that the army
ultimately removed the linkages and immobilised the differential locking system altogether.
Probably most, if not all, VLRDs were modified in
this way on the basis of now try blaming the differential locks
for your accident! |
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The prototype Cob was
delivered for evaluation during 1954 but was not adopted as the army now doubted
the wisdom of employing any more over-sophisticated high performance
vehicles. This also meant the end of an even more sophisticated VLR
being developed by Peugeot. In financial difficulties, the Delahaye company
was rescued by Hotchkiss
through a 1955 merger to create la Société Hotchkiss-Delahaye.
All of this played right into the hands of Hotchkiss who had
secured the licence from Willys in the US to make parts
and jeeps under licence in France. Later in the same year the army announced its
decision to retain its stock of WW2 jeeps and get Hotchkiss to make
more under licence.

The factory
at Rue de Banquier in Paris produced just 9623 Delahaye jeeps in
total, most
were the military VLRD but a small number of civilian 12volt
variants were produced in the form of the VLRC-12. The
civilian version proved too expensive to be popular compared with plentiful supply of cheap war-surplus
jeeps. Hotchkiss would go on to find the same problem when it
came to finding a market for the civilian version of the M201 as
well. I have been unable to locate a photo of the Delahaye factory but thanks go
to JLM for finding a photo of body shells which were produced for
Delahaye by Facel also in Paris.
Like
Hotchkiss M201 jeep, photographic evidence suggests that most
Delahaye jeeps served in standard form but like the Hotchkiss some
were armoured, converted for radio or even as weapons
carriers.
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75 mm recoilless
anti-tank rifle |
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SS10 missile launcher |
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armour for use in
Algeria |
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GRC9 radio equipment |
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My research has shown that, in
military service, Delahaye jeeps were given six digit
registration numbers typical of the 1950s period. These
included the following series: 077- nnn, 078 - nnn, 079 -
nnn, 080 - nnn, 087 - nnn (part), 094 - nnn, 095 - nnn, 096
- nnn, 098 -nnn, which probably accounts for all that had
military registrations. It is
difficult to tell how many of the 9623 VLRs made still
survive today but I doubt that it is very many. They are
difficult to work on and spares are very hard to find. When
they were demobbed some found agricultural or commercial use
e.g. as a recovery vehicle and I am told that they also
found popular use as competition hill climb vehicles and
off-road vehicles which is where many will have met their
end or fallen into a state of disrepair before being left to
rot away in a field. Some, of course, were destroyed in
active service! |
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LINKS / LIENS
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