AEC Matador 10 ton 4x4 medium artillery tractor, 1944 (c)

Army registration: 03 YZ 13.

Budget restraints meant that British field artillery remained horse-drawn until the mid-1930s. However, the decline in the number of horses available as society mechanised, alongside the slowness of horse-drawn vehicles, meant that when money was finally made available in 1936, the Royal Artillery was quick to embrace motor transport. Lorries and specially designed tractors, such as the AEC Matador, replaced artillery horses.

Introduced in 1939, over 9,000 of these vehicles were built before production ceased in 1945. The Matador was best known as the artillery tractor for the 5.5 inch field gun.