Citroën Type H

Though by the Fifties Citroën had given up the first rank among French vehicles manufacturers in favour of Renault, there’s rarely a French movie from that era in which you don’t spot either a 2CV, a Traction Avant or a Type H van in the background – all Citroën products. Today we’ll discuss about the latter.

A little history

We have seen how Renault hid the studies of its 4CV from the Germans during World War Two; Citroën did the same and discreetly developed both the 2CV and the Type H. Though the little passenger car existed as pre-series models even before the conflict, the Type H was studied from 1942 on. Design was supervised by engineer Pierre Franchiset, which followed CEO Pierre Boulanger’s instructions: a simple vehicle, cheap to build and to operate, that would use as many existing components as could be. The resulting van looked as a wheeled box made of corrugated metal, a choice made because of the possibility it offered of building a rigid monocoque body out of thin sheets of metal. The Type H carried over all of the TUB’s characteristics: front wheel drive, cab-over design, independent suspension, unibody construction, lateral sliding door for loading and unloading, etc.

When first unveiled at the Paris motor show in October 1947, the Type H was using the 1.9-litre four-cylinder engine from the Traction Avant 11CV, and was rated at 1.200 kilograms of cargo. The very first Citroën vans had to wait until June 1948 to be available to the public. Most of these brand-new Type Hs were painted grey, and this colour would remain, by far, the most common throughout the vehicle’s lifetime.

The Type H remained basically unchanged for thirty-four years. Various wheelbases, an elevated-top van, diesel-powered variants became available, but the basic H, later called HY, was virtually identical until December 1981, when the very last one left the factory. Almost half a million had been built, quite a feat for a commercial vehicle.

About the models

Model: Citroën H
Year: c.1957
Maker: Norev
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Hachette as no.46 of its Police et Gendarmerie press series
Acquired: brand new, in July 2006, in Brive, France





Model: Citroën H
Year: 1958
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.37 of its Nos Chères Voitures d'Antan press series
Acquired: brand new, in May 2006, in Souillac, France







Model: Citroën H
Year: c.1958
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.2 of its Nos Chères Camionnettes d'Antan press series
Acquired: second hand with stand and box, in October 2007, through mail from a fellow collector from Rouziers de Touraine, France





Model: Citroën H
Year: c.1958
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.5 of its Michelin press series
Acquired: brand new, in November 2007, in Souillac, France





Model: Citroën H
Year: c.1958
Maker: Eligor
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Atlas as no.21 of its Les petits utilitaires des années 50-60 series
Acquired: second hand with neither stand nor box, in October 2007, in Brive, France







Model: Citroën HY
Year: 1964
Maker: Universal Hobbies
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Atlas as no.2 of its Véhicules postaux d'hier et d'aujourd'hui press series
Acquired: brand new, in April 2007, in Souillac, France





Model: Citroën HY
Year: c.1964
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as a gift to subscribers of its Nos Chères Voitures d'Antan press series
Acquired: brand new, in April 2004, through subscription in France





Model: Citroën HY
Year: c.1964
Maker: Norev
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Hachette as no.1 of its Police et Gendarmerie press series
Acquired: brand new, in August 2004, in Brive, France

Citroën Dyane

A little history

The design of the 2CV was a quarter of a century old when Citroën started to worry about its replacement. Despite early scepticism, the car had encountered a large commercial success throughout the Fifties but, in September 1961, its sales suffered a terrible blow when Renault introduced its R4, less Spartan, more practical than its rival thanks to its pioneering hatchback.

Citroën’s engineers faced a challenge: the 2CV was virtually impossible to replace. Therefore, their answer was a more upscale version of the 2CV, which would remain in production. Should the new car encounter the same success as its predecessor, it could replace it for good.

The major part of the restyling work can be credited to Louis Bionier, ironically not a designer on Citroën’s payroll, but a veteran stylist at Panhard, which had just been taken over by the Javel company. Up front the car was heavily reworked, now featuring a wider grille and integrated headlights. The rear could look similar to the 2CV’s, but actually benefited from a hatchback. New doors that were curved inward were a trademark of the car. Mechanical parts were carried over from the 2CV, including its 425 cc flat twin engine.

The new car, named the Dyane - another hint at the Panhard connection as this name had been registered by the venerable company -, was unveiled in August 1967. A few months later, in January 1968, the lack of performance of the original Dyane versus the Renault 4 was acknowledged with the introduction of a new Dyane 6 powered by the 602 cc engine of the Ami 6. An early problem of the car, the bad visibility to the rear, was solved when a third side window was added to each side of the car, an improvement which the 2CV also benefited from – actually, it had first been initiated by Belgian-built 2CVs a few years before.

Initially, the Dyane outsold the 2CV and seemed able to replace it but, after only a few years, the newer car started to lose its breath. Main causes for this premature decline were the gradual improvements of the cheaper 2CV, which received the 602 cc engine in 1970, expansion of the R4’s range, and the unveiling by Renault of yet another ground-breaking city car, the 1972 R5.

In 1978, the range of light commercial vehicles offered by Citroën was transferred from the 2CV to the Dyane, though the car actually received the name Acadiane. Sales of this 400 kg van would help boost the sales of the Dyane. An Acadiane version that is worth mentioning is an early LPG-powered variant, which appeared in 1980 with only limited success.

The Dyane’s production was interrupted at the end of model year 1983. The Acadiane survived it by four years, being built until July 1987 – none of them therefore outlived the 2CV they had been given a chance to replace.

About the models

Model: Citroën Dyane 6
Year: c.1970
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.7 of its Nos Chères Voitures d'Antan press series
Acquired: brand new, in April 2004, through subscription, in France

Presented by Altaya as a 1968 Dyane, this has to be at least a 1970 model as it was only on that year that the car received its six-window body. I also have some reservations about the front grille. In any case Ixo fitted a 1968 registration plate to its model, making it totally implausible. This die-cast’s quality is in the average of Ixo/Altaya’s products but, because of the aforementioned lack of accuracy, I’ll limit my rating to 10/20.





Model: Citroën Acadiane
Year: 1980
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.53 of its Nos Chères Voitures d'Antan press series
Acquired: brand new, in May 2006, in Souillac, France

A rather correct Acadiane, worth 12/20.









Model: Citroën Acadiane
Year: 1980
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.1 of its Michelin press series
Acquired: brand new, in December 2006, in Souillac, France

Same model as the previous one with a different (and quite nice) decoration: 12/20.

Citroën TUB

A little history

Though generally forgotten today, the Citroën TUB (Traction Utilitaire de type B, or "B-Type Traction Utility Van") was a ground-breaking van back in 1939, the year of its launch. Actually, Citroën did in the commercial field what it had just done for the passenger cars with its Traction Avant, but unfortunately, World War Two would hamper the TUB’s career.

To say the truth, the TUB is arguably the world’s first modern van. Taking a lot from the Traction, it was a front-wheel-drive, unibody construction vehicle with a cab-over design. Suspension was independent thanks to torsion bars. Power came at first from the Traction’s 9 CV engine, before the 11 CV block became available. No less than seven cubic metres were available to pack boxes, cartons or any other stuff on the low and perfectly flat floor of the rear compartment, thanks to the driving shaft's absence. Citroën also seems to have been the first to incorporate a sliding door on the right side, allowing for easy access in the case a TUB would be used as a delivery van – an idea that made the vehicle so convenient that it would be unthinkable today that a panel van doesn’t have at least one of these.

The TUB’s production was restarted after the conflict, but for a limited time only. By the end of 1947, its successor was ready: the iconic Type H, which would be built until the early Eighties. Ironically, throughout its long career the H has always been referred to as the “tube” by the French public, a nickname accidentally referring to its unfortunate predecessor.

About the models

Ixo has had the pleasant idea of developing a mould for the TUB, that its involvement in many of Altaya’s press series fully justified. Here are two of them.

Model: Citroën TUB 11-T
Year: c.1940
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.10 of its Michelin press series
Acquired: brand new, in December 2006, in Souillac, France

If not due to a mistake, the two windshield wipers are evidence that Ixo's TUB is a 11 CV, and therefore from 1940 or later, rather than the more common 7 CV which had a single wiper in front of the driver. Even with two wipers the said driver would have probably been blind in anything heavier than light rain should the original van be fitted as its scale model is, the wipers of the latter being very far from touching the surface of the windshield. This said Ixo did a nice job here. Separate details are few but the decoration is nice enough to make it forget – note the amusing padlock on the rear door. Certainly a model worth 13/20.





Model: Citroën TUB 11-T
Year: c.1940
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.42 of its Nos Chères Camionnettes d'Antan press series
Acquired: second hand with stand and box, in October 2007, through mail from a fellow collector from Rouziers de Touraine, France

Same model as the above... and not, as it's now reproduced with its left tarpaulin screen raised (on the TUB, the right side screen was fixed, while the left one could be opened), unveiling cleanly lined boxes of bottles. Another nice model by Ixo – 13/20.