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| The first domestically produced bus after World War II—the
birth of the B1 large bonnet bus |
In 1945, the GHQ (General Headquarters of the Allied Forces)
decided that restoration of the traffic and transportation system should be a
top priority in the reconstruction of cities that had fallen into ruin during
the war, and granted corporations permission to promptly produce trucks and buses
for civilian use. This was on September 25, just over a month after the war ended.
Mitsubishi was one of the first companies to respond.
Mitsubishi produced 4 ton KT1 trucks in July of 1946, and B1 buses in November
of the same year. These B1 buses were the first buses produced in Japan following
World War II.
B1 buses were modeled on the B46, which had been delivered to the Ministry of
Railroads and the South Manchuria Railroad and had earned a great reputation during
the war. The new B1s were large bonnet (cab-behind-engine) buses, equipped with
120 PS GA gasoline engines.
Due to a severe fuel shortage, the pace of diesel engine development was increasing.
In 1948, Mitsubishi developed the DB0 diesel engine, which was a 6 cylinder, water-cooled,
in-line, 4 cycle, pre-combustion engine producing 100 PS. This technology later
developed into the creation of the DB engine series, which supported Fuso's postwar
truck and bus development.
By 1950, 500 B1 bonnet buses had been produced. On the other hand, the MB46 large
electric bus was developed in collaboration with [Mitsubishi Electric], [Japan
Storage Battery], and [Nihon Kentesu] in 1947, and 107 were produced by 1948. |
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| Transition from bonnet buses to rear engine buses—the
era of the large sightseeing bus |
At the end of 1949, the B2 bonnet bus was introduced. It had
a redesigned B1 front with increased passenger capacity and PS. Originally, the
B2 was equipped with a DB0 engine, but this engine was replaced by the 130 PS
DB5 diesel engine in 1951.
By 1958, a total of 3,762 B2 buses, including both the B25 and B200, were produced,
and Fuso's bonnet buses were seeing their best days. On the other hand, rear engine
buses, which had been under development for the future, had been completed as
the R1 series in 1950.
R1 buses were 11 m in length with a passenger capacity of 79 and a horizontally
mounted rear engine. They were the largest buses in Japan in those days. The R2,
which had a horizontally mounted rear engine with revolutionary cab space, was
introduced in 1954, and increased Mitsubishi Fuso's share of the large bus market. |
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Fuso's quick recovery in truck development became
the driving force of Japan's reconstruction
The
first post-war Fuso truck, as mentioned previously, was the 4 ton KT1 truck produced
at the Kyoto Machinery Works in July 1946.
KT1 trucks were modeled on the chassis and body of the YB40, the development of
which ended in the creation of prototypes before World War II, and was equipped
with a 62 PS GB38 gasoline engine.
By 1946, production of 7 ton B1 gasoline engine trucks began, and a diesel engine
was incorporated in 1948.
After the dissolution of the "Zaibatsu",
or conglomerates, in 1951, the first vehicle produced by Eastern Japan Heavy Industries,
Ltd. ([Japan Mitsubishi Heavy Industries]) was the T31 bonnet truck with a cargo
capacity of 8 tons.
The T31 employed a chassis frame specially designed for trucks and a DB5 engine
with an increase in PS to 130.
The
W1 series became the basis for Mitsubishi Fuso's special vehicles
In 1951, Mitsubishi's Kawasaki Plant developed and
produced the W11, a 4 ton, all wheel drive (6 x 6) towing truck. Utilizing this
W11 as a base, dump trucks with DB diesel engines were produced, and at the same
time, W13 truck cranes and W14 six ton tractors were produced and introduced to
the National Security Force and civil engineering companies.
The W1 series, which had started with W11 trucks, formed the foundation of Mitsubishi
Fuso's specialized vehicles, such as towing trucks, dump trucks, crane carriers,
and tractors.
The W2s, developed in 1953, were even larger all-wheel drive (6 x 6) trucks than
the W1s, equipped with more powerful in-line, 6 cylinder, 200 PS, pre-combustion
DH engines. |
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| In 1946 after World War II when the B1 bonnet bus, Fuso's first
post-war bus, was introduced. In those days, a high-class tobacco called "Peace"
sold for 7 yen per 10 pack, "Asahi" sold for 1.65 yen per 20 pack, second-class
Japanese sake sold for 18.96 yen per 1.8 liters, and 10 kg of rice sold for 28.16
yen. |
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