Loyd Carrier [SEP] service entry
sprockets, and Horstmann suspension units; from the Fordson 7V, the chassis, engine, gearbox, torque tube and front axle. The brake drums and back plates were designed specifically for the Loyd.
The Army tested the Loyd Carrier in 1939 and placed an initial order for 200 as the "Carrier, Tracked, Personnel Carrying" i.e. a personnel carrier. Initial deliveries were from Vivian Loyd's own company, but production moved to the larger firms, including the Ford Motor Company and Wolseley Motors (13,000 between them)
's machine-gun battalion in company strength.
By far the most notable use of the Loyd was in the TT (Tracked Towing) configuration, where it pulled the 6 pounder anti-tank gun from the Normandy landings of 1944 through to the end of the war. There are many wartime photographs of Loyds in action in Normandy, and a number were photographed destroyed in the well-known battle of Villers-Bocage in 1944.
The Loyd Carrier was also paired with Caterpillar D8 tractors in service with Royal Electrical