DIFFLOCKEDTHE REGISTRY NAMED MODEL · 1970–71
NAMED MODELSpecial · GPO/MailUnited Kingdom

GPO Forward Control Tractor.

A Land Rover Forward Control chassis cab turned into an articulated tractor unit, EMF 739J, hauling a single-axle step-frame box-van trailer for Post Office Telecommunications Development — a way of taking a laboratory across rough ground.

Drive it in the gameSources & evidence
GPO Forward Control Tractor — front three-quarter render
BASE VEHICLESeries IIACONVERTERPost Office TelecommunicationsIN SERVICE1970–71OPERATED INUnited KingdomPRODUCTIONUnknownLAYOUT4 wheels · 90″

The record

Telecommunications Development was the Post Office's research and trials arm, and it needed to get equipment to places that were being tested rather than places that were convenient. Its answer was to make a Land Rover into a lorry: a Forward Control chassis cab, cut down and fitted with a fifth-wheel coupling, pulling a single-axle step-frame box van trailer. The tractor kept the Land Rover's four-wheel drive and short overhangs, so the combination could traverse rough ground that a conventional artic would not attempt.

The vehicle is registered EMF 739J, a 1970–71 plate, on the Series IIB Forward Control chassis. The Post Office record gives no fleet number or quantity; it reads as a single purpose-built unit.

Specification

MANUFACTURERLand Rover
MODIFIER / COACHBUILDERPost Office Telecommunications ↗
Articulated tractor-unit conversion for Post Office Telecommunications Development
MANUFACTUREDEMF 739J, a 1970–71 registration, on the Series IIB Forward Control chassis
ENGINESeries IIB Forward Control driveline — 2.25 L petrol or diesel inline-four, or 2.6 L petrol inline-six; the Post Office record does not state which
PRODUCTION RUNUnknown — one vehicle documented
COUNTRY OF ORIGINUnited Kingdom
OPERATED INUnited Kingdom
STATUSunknown
RECORD KINDNamed model
MODEL LINESeries IIA
WHEELS4
NOMINAL WHEELBASE90″
CATEGORYSpecial · GPO/Mail

Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.

Sources

  1. 1Landrover Forward Control GPO Tractor Unit (EMF 739J; forward chassis cab converted into an articulated tractor able to traverse rough ground; single-axle step-frame box van trailer; Telecommunications Development) ↗BT/GPO Telephones (britishtelephones.com) · accessed 2026-09-11SOURCE
  2. 2Land Rover 109 Forward Control FAQ (Series IIB Forward Control engines: 2.25 L petrol or diesel four, 2.6 L petrol six; built 1966–1972) ↗retro.co.za · accessed 2026-09-11SOURCE
  3. 3https://www.britishtelephones.com/vehicles/specialist/014.htmhttps://www.britishtelephones.com/vehicles/specialist/014.htm ↗REFERENCE
  4. 4
    101 Forward Control ambulance · MILITARY-MODEL-REFERENCES.md

    - [Production ambulance photographed by Steve Glover, 1981 vehicle](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Land_Rover_101_Forward_Control_Ambulance_(1981).jpg): split raked screen, separate medical body, projecting roof brow, twin corner vents, low headlamps, central grille, steps and rear doors. - [Dunsfold Collection's prototype ambulance](https://dunsfoldcollection.co.uk/collection/101-forward-control-ambulance/): useful side/body reference; its large overhead grille differs from the production front used here. - [Factory 101 manual](https://www.landroverweb.com/Pdf-files/Manuals/Land_Rover_101_Forward_Control_Manual.pdf): 101-inch chassis. Model and physics use 2.5654 m axle spacing.

    NOTES
  5. 5
    [Production ambulance photographed by Steve Glover, 1981 vehicle](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Land_Rover_101_Forward_Control_Ambulance_(1981).jpg): split raked screen, separate medical body, projecting roof brow, twin corner vents, low headlamps, central grille, steps and rear doors. · MILITARY-MODEL-REFERENCES.md

    - [Production ambulance photographed by Steve Glover, 1981 vehicle](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Land_Rover_101_Forward_Control_Ambulance_(1981).jpg): split raked screen, separate medical body, projecting roof brow, twin corner vents, low headlamps, central grille, steps and rear doors.

    NOTES
  6. 6
    [Dunsfold Collection's prototype ambulance](https://dunsfoldcollection.co.uk/collection/101-forward-control-ambulance/): useful side/body reference; its large overhead grille differs from the production front used here. · MILITARY-MODEL-REFERENCES.md

    - [Dunsfold Collection's prototype ambulance](https://dunsfoldcollection.co.uk/collection/101-forward-control-ambulance/): useful side/body reference; its large overhead grille differs from the production front used here.

    NOTES
  7. 7
    [Factory 101 manual](https://www.landroverweb.com/Pdf-files/Manuals/Land_Rover_101_Forward_Control_Manual.pdf): 101-inch chassis. Model and physics use 2.5654 m axle spacing. · MILITARY-MODEL-REFERENCES.md

    - [Factory 101 manual](https://www.landroverweb.com/Pdf-files/Manuals/Land_Rover_101_Forward_Control_Manual.pdf): 101-inch chassis. Model and physics use 2.5654 m axle spacing.

    NOTES
  8. 8
    101 Forward Control ambulance · MILITARY-REFERENCES.md

    - 101 Forward Control ambulance: https://dunsfoldcollection.co.uk/collection/101-forward-control-ambulance/ — cab-over layout, overhead ventilation grille; rear photo RGN239P-2.jpg used for door windows and medical panel.

    NOTES

Registry record updated 2026-09-11T01:28:22.957Z · status: researched