In 1910 Pierce-Arrow was looking to expand their commercial truck business, and on the advice of a young engineer, Francis W. Davis, the company hired two designers from British truck manufacturers. Upon their arrival H. Kerr Thomas formerly of
Hallford and John Younger formerly of
Dennis, commenced designing a completely new range of trucks with payload capacities of . The first Model R was completed in May 1911. Between May 1911 and August 1914, Pierce-Arrow had built approximately 800 Model Rs, their advertised price in 1914 was . During the
First World War, large numbers of Model Rs were purchased by the militaries of the
British Empire,
France and
Imperial Russia, and by the time of the Armistice in 1918, 11,350 Model Rs had been delivered. The Model R was the most numerous American truck in French military service during the war, with 3,178 purchased by the French during the conflict. In British military service the Model R had a rated payload capacity of and was fitted with a variety of body types. 1,705 Model Rs were in British military service by 1918. The Model R also formed the basis of two British
armoured fighting vehicles, the
Pierce-Arrow armoured lorry and
Pierce-Arrow armoured AA lorry. Production of the Model R continued through the 1920s with progressive improvements, despite being quite antiquated by that time it had a better reputation than newer Pierce-Arrow models. Production of the Model R finally ceased in 1929, and in 1932 Pierce-Arrow ceased truck production altogether. Model Rs were still in service with the
French Army in 1940, serving during the
Battle of France. ==See also==