The Willeme W8 was a heavy lorry of the French manufacturer Willeme, a firm known for large and special-duty trucks. The W8SA version was built for oilfield work. Little is published about the model itself, so this page places the truck in the history of the marque.
Willeme W8 at a glance
| Maker | Willeme, Nanterre, France |
|---|---|
| Type | heavy special-duty truck |
| Notable version | W8SA, built as an oilfield truck |
| Place in the range | post-war heavy trucks, listed with the TL and LD series |
| Engines of the period | Willeme or AEC diesels |
| Marque founded | 1919 in French sources, 1923 in the English article |
| Marque closed | 1970 |
| Successor | PRP-Willeme from 1971, MOL from 1982 |
There is no Wikipedia article on the W8 itself; this page uses the marque’s article in English and French (based on the marque source only).
History of the Willeme W8
A marque of heavy trucks
Louis Willeme, born in 1889 at Saint-Maur-des-Fosses, began in 1919 by buying up Liberty Type B five-tonne trucks that had reached Europe after the Armistice, together with large lots of unused spare parts. Selling those parts was the first business of the name; in 1926 the Etablissements Louis Willeme et Cie were set up at Neuilly-sur-Seine and specialised in diesel engines, lorries and road tractors. From 1930 the firm sold its own models with its own engines. After the war the Pons plan gave Willeme the 10-tonne L10 and the 15-tonne R15, and from these two the company developed a range that grew steadily heavier and more specialised.
The W8 in the range
The W8 belongs to that post-war family of heavy and special-duty vehicles. The English Wikipedia article lists it in the section on the TL and LD series, which were sold with either Willeme or AEC engines, and notes that some models, such as the W8SA, were also built as oilfield trucks. That special body fits the character of the marque, which built tank transporters, heavy haulage tractors and quarry dump trucks as well as ordinary lorries.
The end of the marque
By 1950 Willeme employed 1,240 people and built about seventy trucks a month, a third of them for export to Mexico, Czechoslovakia and Iran. Competition from Berliet and from foreign makers cut orders, and a cooperation with AEC and BMC signed in June 1962 ended badly: the AEC engine lacked power, the BMC trucks were unreliable, and a contract clause forced Willeme to keep building them. Annual output fell to 150 vehicles and the workforce from 600 to 150. In 1970 the creditors demanded liquidation. The company was taken over in 1971 by PRP, the Paris importer of Detroit Diesel, and continued as PRP-Willeme with the TG heavy-haulage range until 1978; in 1982 the Belgian firm MOL bought the rights, and TG-derived ballast tractors were still being built until 1988.
Design and features
- Special-duty work: the W8SA version was an oilfield truck, one of several specialist bodies Willeme offered.
- Heavy-truck marque: Willeme built tank transporters and heavy haulage tractors as well as lorries.
- Choice of engines: the TL and LD range of the period used Willeme or AEC diesels.
Willeme W8 versions
- W8: the standard heavy truck.
- W8SA: oilfield version with specialist equipment.
The W8 is described together with the Willeme LD series, and the marque’s heavier TG trucks belong to the PRP years. More vehicles are in the Willeme collection.
Sources
- Willème, English Wikipedia: W8SA oilfield version, TL and LD engines, company history
- Willème, French Wikipedia: founding, Pons plan, output and liquidation
