4x4s.org NAMED MODEL · 1943–45
NAMED MODELMilitary · United KingdomMilitary · CanadaUnited States

Carrier, Universal, T16 (Ford, United States)

The American-built carrier, developed by Ford from the Universal in 1942 and made at Ford's Somerville plant in Massachusetts from March 1943 under Lend-Lease: longer, with an extra road wheel on the rear bogie and tiller steering through a controlled differential.

Difflocked · free browser gamePlay & customise vintage 4×4s →Race classic 4×4s, build your own and keep it in your garage. Free, in the browser.
Sources & evidence
Carrier, Universal, T16 (Ford, United States) — A T16 carrier at the army base at Thun, Switzerland.Alf van Beem · CC0 ↗
BASE VEHICLEUniversal Carrier (1940–60)BUILT BYFord Motor CompanyIN SERVICE1943–45OPERATED INUnited Kingdom, Canada, ArgentinaPRODUCTIONOver 13,000LAYOUT4 wheels

The record

The T16 had a welded hull 155 in long, two full Horstmann dual-wheel suspension units a side and the Mercury 239 version of the Ford V8 (GAU370). Ford built over 13,000 — Wikipedia gives about 20,000 US-built carriers in all — mostly for the British and Canadian armies; it was thought mechanically unreliable and carried less than the Universal. Canada adopted it in October 1943 and had 155 in Normandy in June 1944, 266 by December. After the war T16s went to Argentina and served in Switzerland perhaps into the early 1960s.

Specification

MANUFACTURERFord Motor Company ↗
Somerville Assembly, Massachusetts
MANUFACTURED1943–45
ENGINEFord flathead V8 petrol, Mercury 239 cu in (GAU370)Ford flathead V8
PRODUCTION RUNOver 13,000
COUNTRY OF ORIGINUnited States
OPERATED INUnited Kingdom, Canada, Argentina, Switzerland
STATUSout of production
RECORD KINDNamed model
MODEL LINEUniversal Carrier
FAMILYUniversal Carrier
WHEELS4
BODY STYLEopen
CATEGORYMilitary · United Kingdom, Military · Canada

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.

Variants & colours

Base model variants

Factory colours

  • Service Colour Standard brown
  • Olive Drab
  • Khaki Green No. 3
  • Dark Brown
  • Black
  • Dark Olive Green
  • Light Stone
  • Portland Stone
  • Desert Pink
  • Light Mud
  • Deep Bronze Green

Codes on hover. Hex values are representative approximations of period paint unless a source states a measured value.

AI rendering impression

An AI rendering impression starts from a 3D model of this vehicle, which an image model then paints into a scene. It is an artist's impression of the type, made to give a feel for the vehicle in its element — not a photograph, and not a record of any particular vehicle.

Proportions, fittings, markings, colours and the setting can all drift from the original in the process. For the vehicle's actual details, rely on the specification, the photographs and the cited sources on this page.

Sources

  1. 1The T16 Universal Carrier in Canadian Service ↗Canadian Arms and Armour · accessed 2026-09-24SOURCE
  2. 2Universal Carrier ↗Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-24SOURCE

Registry record updated 2026-09-24 · status: researched