Coventry was the first city in the world to be twinned internationally... although it would be joint first with Stalingrad/Volgograd.
Local History and Heritage - Coventry Firsts
Mick Strong Coventry
32 of 37Fri 25th Oct 2024 6:35pm
On 25th Oct 2024 12:18pm, 20A-Manor House said:
October 1966.
The first yellow Dennis F36 fire engine made its debut at the Chief Fire Officer's annual conference at Southport.
For the City of Coventry Fire Brigade. KDU 997D being the first of three purchased:
Yellow paint specification number P339/7419 at I.C.I. Paint Division.
Yellow having a wave length of 5300-5500 angstroms.
Hi 20A-Manor House
Was this colour an experiment to make them more visible than the red ones?
Mick Strong
Local History and Heritage - Coventry Firsts
JohnnieWalker Sanctuary Point, Australia
33 of 37Fri 25th Oct 2024 8:36pm
That's my understanding of it - particularly as orange sodium lights were beginning to be used along the main city roads in the 1960s.
True Blue Coventry Kid
Local History and Heritage - Coventry Firsts
Not Local Bedworth
34 of 37Fri 25th Oct 2024 9:51pm
The yellow fire engines glowed almost silver in the sodium street lights. The later red fire engines of the West Midlands Fire Service appeared a dull grey in the same lighting conditions. The yellow paint was actually called 'Coventry Fire Brigade Yellow'.
Local History and Heritage - Coventry Firsts
20A-Manor House
35 of 37Fri 25th Oct 2024 10:38pm
Annewiggy Tamworth
36 of 37Sat 26th Oct 2024 8:16am
Another first on these yellow fire engines ( a friend of ours would always say "they are not fire engines they are fire appliances" ) was that they were the first in the country to be equipped with air compressor power tools like cutting and jacking equipment and lighting.
Yellow paint specification number P339/7419 at I.C.I. Paint Division.
Yellow having a wave length of 5300-5500 angstroms.
