Dennis Lancet UF

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Dennis Lancet, built in 1949

The Dennis Lancet UF was a chassis for buses made by the British manufacturer Dennis Brothers . It was built in small numbers from 1959 to 1961.

In the mid-1950s, a trend towards buses with underfloor engines also began in Great Britain. The advantages of this arrangement of the engine were the greater seating capacity for a given length, the easier entry and exit for passengers, the better weight distribution and the easier access to the mechanical assemblies, which led to savings in maintenance costs. From 1953, Dennis therefore offered a bus of roughly the same size with an underfloor engine based on the conventionally designed Lancet III.

Dennis only supplied the frame and the drive unit, the buses were then fitted with superstructures from various bodybuilders. This construction method, which was common at the time, enabled a better adaptation to the needs of the respective operator. The buses were powered by the O-6 diesel engine with 7.5 l displacement from Dennis, which delivered an output of around 100 bhp . A manual five-speed gearbox with selectable overdrive was used as the gearbox . As with almost all first-generation buses with an underfloor engine, the radiator was also positioned below the frame. The buses had a wheelbase of 16 feet and 4 inches or alternatively 18 feet, a length of 30 feet and a width of 8 feet and took full advantage of the size restrictions for two-axle buses at the time.

However, with a curb weight of around 7 tons, they were relatively heavy for the time. The bodies of the coaches came from Duple Coachbuilders , Park Royal Vehicles and Plaxton. They were designed for 32 to 41 passengers and were characterized by a high window line, low windshields and panoramic windows in the bow and on the sides. Together with the "aerodynamically" rounded shape, this gave the buses a very dynamic appearance. Strachan's and Harrington city buses were more box-shaped. With them, the entrance door was placed in the front overhang, which enabled cost-saving one-man operation without a conductor.

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