Fordson was a brand name of tractors and trucks. It was used on a range of mass-produced general-purpose tractors manufactured by Henry Ford & Son Inc from 1917 to 1920, by Ford Motor Company (U.S.) and Ford Motor Company Ltd (U.K.) from 1920 to 1928, and by Ford Motor Company Ltd (U.K.) alone from 1929 to 1964. The latter (Ford of Britain) also later built trucks and vans under the Fordson brand.
After 1964, the Fordson name was dropped and all Ford tractors were simply badged as Fords in both the UK and the US.
Production years
Between 1917 and 1922, the Fordson design for tractors was somewhat like the Ford Model T was for automobiles—it captured the public's imagination and widely popularized the machine, with a reliable design, a low price affordable for workers and farmers, a widespread dealership network, and a production capacity for large numbers. Just as the Ford Model T helped the public to appreciate how soon cars and trucks might replace most horses in transport, the Fordson helped people to appreciate how soon tractors might replace most horses in farming (advancing the mechanization of agriculture). As with cars, Ford never had the market to itself but it dominated the market for a time; for tractors, from roughly 1917 to 1925, and again from 1946 to 1953. Ford was the only automotive firm to sell cars, trucks, and tractors simultaneously from 1917 to 1928.[1]
For a decade between 1928 and 1939, Ford of the U.S. left the tractor business. During that decade, Ford of Britain continued to build Ford and develop new variants, which it exported widely. In 1939 Ford of the U.S. reentered the tractor market with an all-new model, this time with the Ford brand. Ford of Britain continued to use the Fordson brand until 1964.
Fordson production took place in the U.S. (1917–1928); Cork, Ireland (1919–1923 and 1928–1933); and at Dagenham, Essex, England (1933–1964). Tens of thousands of Fordsons, most from the U.S. and some from Ireland, were exported to the Soviet Union from 1920 to 1927. Soviet Fordson clones were also built at Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) from 1924 and at Stalingrad (now Volgograd) from 1930.
Tractors
Ford experimental tractor development, 1907–1916
Henry Ford grew up in an extended family of farmers in Wayne County a few miles from Detroit, Michigan in the late 19th century. At the time, farm work was extremely arduous, because, on the typical farm, virtually nothing could get done without manual labor or animal labor as the motive power. As his interest in automobiles grew, he also expressed a desire to "lift the burden of farming from flesh and blood and place it on steel and motors."[2][3] In the early 20th century, he began to build experimental tractors from automobile components. Four years after founding the Ford Motor Company in 1903, Ford finished his first experimental tractor in 1907 on Woodward Avenue in Detroit, referring to it as the "Automobile Plow".[2] Approximately 600 gasoline-powered tractors were in use on American farms in 1908.
Other Ford tractors
In the United States Ford reentered the tractor business in 1938 with the Ford N-series tractors. In 1953 this series was replaced by the Ford NAA tractors.
Starting around 1961, the U.S. tractor operations and the Ford Ltd U.K. tractor operations, which had been substantially independent although always in close communication, were reorganized into closer integration. After 1964, all tractors made by the Ford companies worldwide carried the Ford brand. In 1986, Ford expanded its tractor business when it purchased the Sperry-New Holland skid-steer loader and hay baler, hay tools and implement company from Sperry Corporation and formed Ford-New Holland which bought out Versatile tractors in 1988. In 1991 Ford sold its tractor division to Fiat with the agreement that they must stop using the Ford name by 2000. In 1999, Fiat removed all Ford identification from their blue tractors and renamed them "New Holland" tractors.
Tractor models
- Fordson Model F
- Fordson Model N
Trucks
The first heavy-duty 2-ton truck ever built by Fordson was introduced in 1926.[53] While there are many similarities between the Ford Model T and the Fordson, there are also distinct differences. The truck included front-end gears and suspensions similar to the Model T, however, the rear suspension was, according to Ford, the most unique feature in that it consisted of two cantilever springs with feather-edge axles. The engine was unique in that it was positioned under the cab and was far back in the chassis, so the truck had a snub-nose appearance. There was only one 1926 Fordson truck to ever be delivered to a customer and it was listed for sale on Mecum Auctions in 2019.[53][54]
The Fordson trucks were introduced as a brand in 1932 after the appearance of the Ford Model B engine and Ford Model BB chassis, although most models continued to be identified by the Ford brand.[55] Production of a 2-ton truck began in 1934. The truck was powered by an 85 bhp V8 engine and was offered in the 4×2 version, as well as 6×2 and 6×4 factory conversions.[56]
General and cited references
Further reading
- . An article about Ford's power farming activities that shows the zeitgeist of the early 1920s in American mechanized farming. Partial toward Ford but informative.
External links
References
- Bryan. 2002^
- Pripps. Morland^
- , pp. 26, 204, 278. Ford. Crowther^