During the early Thirties, Fowlers of Leeds had manufactured a range of crawler tractors varying from 25hp to 80hp. In 1941, faced with the possibility of closure and financial insecurity and a dispute between the Board and the Ministry of Supply about their future production plans, the MOS commandeered Fowlers.
Stop and start
Throughout the Second World War, crawler tractor production was stopped and replaced by the manufacture of tanks, including the Matilda, Cromwell, Centaur, and Comet. Fowlers also continued to build railway locomotives for the Ministry, throughout the war years.
In May 1945, the Ministry of Supply sold the complete share capital of John Fowler & Co. Ltd. to Rotary Hoes Ltd. of East Horndon, Essex. The Sprotborough foundry was also later sold to Rotary Hoes in December 1945. Rotary Hoes, owned by Arthur Howard, soon put together a new range of crawler tractors to be manufactured by Fowlers from late 1945, ranging from 6hp (FD1) to 50hp (FD4), although only the 28hp
