The first Oshkosh trucks: the two-ton Model A of 1918 (seven built) and the 3.5-ton Model B, four-wheel-drive trucks with the Besserdich–Mosling automatic centre differential, built by the Wisconsin Duplex Auto Company after the 1917 prototype “Old Betsy”, which still runs at the company’s headquarters.
MODEL LINEModel A and the early trucksBUILT BYOshkosh Defense, Oshkosh, WisconsinPRODUCED1918–29PRODUCTIONSeven Model A in 1918LAYOUT4 wheels
The record
William Besserdich and Bernhard Mosling, formerly of FWD of Clintonville, founded the Wisconsin Duplex Auto Company in 1917 to build four-wheel-drive trucks with a differential between the axles; the 1917 prototype became Old Betsy, the Model A of 1918 the first production truck and the Model B and five-ton Model F followed, the company taking the Oshkosh name in 1918. Snow-removal and road trucks for Wisconsin counties were the early trade.
Research status: draft — identification, dates or figures could not all be pinned down; the summary says what is unresolved.
PRODUCTION RUNSeven Model A in 1918; later models not published
COUNTRY OF ORIGINUnited States
STATUSsuperseded by the Oshkosh road and snow trucks of the 1930s
RECORD KINDBase model
MODEL LINEModel A and the early trucks
FAMILYModel A and the early trucks
WHEELS4
BODY STYLEChassis cab / flatbed
VARIANTS1
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.
Body styles & colours
Factory colours
Oshkosh yellow (lime-yellow ARFF)
Codes on hover. Hex values are representative approximations of period paint unless a source states a measured value.
Imagery
No published image yetA rendering impression or a free-licence photograph will appear here once one is published
