Vehicles
Production of the first cars was on a small scale but from 1909 when a new range was introduced it rapidly built up. In that year the 20 HP was introduced (later called the 20/25 HP) and this was taken up by the War Office and from 1913 it was ordered for the new Royal Flying Corps (RFC). The outbreak of World War I resulted in a rapid expansion of the RFC, and by 1918 they had over 6,000 of the 20/25 HP, with staff car, tender (light truck), and ambulance bodies.
Crossley 25/30 hp Tenders were used by British paramilitary police ("Black and Tans" and the Auxiliary Division) in Ireland during the Irish War of Independence (1919–1922).[7] The National Army of the new Irish Free State continued to use them for troop transport throughout the Civil War period, but they were worked hard: of 454 originally supplied, only 57 were in service by 1926 with a further 66 being overhauled or repaired. The 20/25 model was also the first vehicle to be supplied to London's Metropolitan Police Flying Squad in 1920, some of which were fitted with radio equipment.
Car production resumed after World War I and a new model, the 19.6, was launched in 1921 and joined in 1922 by the smaller 2.4 litre 14 hp model that would become the company's best seller. The 19.6 was replaced by the 2.7 litre 18/50 in 1925 fitted with Crossley's first six-cylinder engine and this was enlarged in 1927 to 3.2 litres in the 20.9. Crossley were the first British car company to offer a factory fitted car radio in 1933. Although the large cars would continue to be available, a range of small models fitted with Coventry Climax engines was announced in 1931 but sales of the cars slowly declined and the last ones were made in 1937.
By the late 1920s the market for hand-made cars began to disappear and the company moved into the bus market and launched its first model, the Eagle single decker in 1928. Although some double deck bodies were fitted to the Eagle, the Condor launched in 1930 was the first chassis to be designed for double decker bodies. The Condor could also be ordered with a diesel engine, made by Gardner at first, and became the first British double deck bus to be offered with diesel power. The big selling pre-war bus was the Mancunian with first deliveries in 1933. This was available as both a double and single decker.
In addition to cars and buses the company also made goods and military vehicles. At first these were conversions of the car models but starting with the BGT1 in 1923 specialised chassis designs were produced. Two Crossley trucks based on the 25/30 car chassis were from 1924 to 1926 the first vehicles to be driven from Cape Town to Cairo by the Court Treatt expedition.[8][9] A range of heavy goods vehicles starting with the 1931 diesel-powered 12-ton payload Atlas was announced but only a few were made as the factory was by then gearing up to concentrate on buses and military orders. From 1936 military production was rapidly ramped up with British re-armament at first with "IGL" models but from 1940 with a four-wheel drive "FWD" chassis in both tractor unit and truck form. By 1945 over 10,000 FWDs had been made.
After World War II, there was a boom in the bus industry as wartime losses needed to be replaced. A new range of bus chassis was launched, comprising the DD42 and SD42 models, suitable for double- and single-deck bodywork respectively. Crossley won what was then the largest ever British export order for buses with a contract with the Dutch government (150 complete SD42 buses plus 775 supplied as chassis only). By the late 1940s bus orders were decreasing and it became clear that the company was too small to continue as an independent manufacturer and in 1948 they were sold to AEC. The last Crossley chassis was made in 1952, but body production continued at Erwood Park until 1958.
