The OTA tractor is listed separately in the Farm Implements guide so is not the Fortuna tractor.
The OTA tractor was exported to Australia as the OTA tractor and the main importer was the Dickson Primer Co
I am the registrar for OTA and Singer Tractors in the Singer Owners Club although mainly cars Singer did produce in early days cycles and motor cycles but also small commercials ,speed boats, small rollers under the Motor Units division and the Monarch tractor from the manufacturing rights purchased from OTA .The Singer 100 year Celebration rally at Stoneleigh Abbey a few years back had examples of all the products they produced and was some event.
From company history Singer did not research tractors and the A.P & E Singer name is not the Singer Motor Company just a coincidence . From evidence the Singer Motor company got involved in the Monarch as a means of financing development of replacements for its aging sport car range influenced by the Fergusons being produced by the neighbouring Standard Car company in Coventry, as the Singer chairman in his annual report stated “we see the Monarch tractor producing valuable income to the Company”
Quite a few light tractors used the Ford 10hp engine ,a cheap slogging engine with spares /service readily available from Ford agents. OTA, Kent Pony and Byron are just a few light tractors that used the same engine but have significant specification differences from the Fortuna tractor.
Perhaps the Fortuna is just another of those light tractors that sprang up in the post WW2 period, announced but withered away before proper production due to finance, material shortages etc,some appear not to have got into double figure production.
Anyway keep your eyes and ears open, it never ceases to amaze me what is still lurking in the back of sheds out there. The other day came across a Kendall in amazing original condition with spares from another “scrapped” in the back of a storage unit tucked away behind other tractors out of sight and not for sale.
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