WW2 British Wheeled Armour

100 Pages·2014·116.54 MB·English

by  Pat Ware

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WW2 BRITISH
WHEELED
ARMOUR
Issue 4
£7.95
Archive photographs and contemporary drawings
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SEARCH CLASSIC MILITARY VEHICLE
INTRODUCTION 3
Wheeled armoured vehicles predate the rushed into production for airfi eld defence and for the same role, being produced in smaller
appearance of the tank by a decade other domestic duties, work started numbers from 1942. The only British heavy
and a half, with the earliest such immediately on developing better machines. armoured car of the period was the AEC,
machine being produced by Frederick R Simms, First of these was the very successful initially developed as a private venture in 1941,
in conjunction with Vickers, Sons & Maxim in Daimler Dingo scout car that went to France but subsequently manufactured in three
June 1899. By mounting a machine gun behind with the British Expeditionary Force in late ‘marks’.
an armoured shield on a motorised quadricycle, 1939 and which remained in production until In 1943, Humber and Daimler jointly
Simms laid down the three basic principles 1945. The Dingo was supplemented by the developed the Coventry armoured car. This
fundamental to armoured-vehicle design… Humber scout car from 1942. Daimler and would undoubtedly have been the best British
fi repower, mobility and protection. Humber armoured cars had started to appear in armoured car of the confl ict, but, with just 220
By 1914, wheeled armoured vehicles were 1941, the latter based on the earlier Guy, and examples completed by the time the war
being produced in Britain, Belgium, France, and these were supplemented by Ford-based ended, it came too late to aff ect the outcome.
Germany, and, by the end of the war, similar Marmon-Herrington all-wheel drive armoured Other wheeled armoured vehicles of the
machines had also been produced by Canada cars constructed in South Africa. The Humber period include, for example, command posts,
and the USA. Often little more than heavy light reconnaissance vehicle went into fl ame throwers, and self-propelled guns.
motorcar or light truck chassis onto which had production in 1941, with the curious, and Pat Ware
been mounted a turreted armoured body, most rather less successful, Morris that was intended Editor
of these early vehicles were underpowered and
unstable, with thin armour that provided
protection only from small arms and rifl e fi re.
During the inter-war period, Germany
continued to build armoured cars. They suited
the ‘Blitzkrieg’ concept well and were cheaper
and easier to produce than tanks. More
importantly, they were also the only types of
armoured vehicle which Germany was
permitted to build under the Treaty of
Versailles. By 1939, the Wehrmacht was
operating four-, six- and eight-wheeled
armoured cars, mounting guns of 20 or 50mm
calibre.
Britain, on the other hand, had tended to
concentrate on the development of tanks and
the British Army entered WW2 with a ragbag of
unsuitable and archaic machinery which
included Crossley, Lanchester, and Rolls-Royce
armoured cars dating from the 1920s. These
were supplemented by the Guy armoured car,
some examples of which found their way to
France in 1940, and the Morris-Commercial
CS9/LAC, a so-called ‘light armoured car’ based
on an extended version of the company’s 15cwt
truck. The RAF also had small numbers of the
Alvis-Straussler Type AC3D armoured car. Originally designed by BSA, the Daimler Dingo was produced throughout WW2, with more than 6,600
Notwithstanding the appearance of such examples constructed, in fi ve ‘marks’. Fast, agile and dependable, it proved to be one of the most
horrors as the Beaverette, which was initially successful scout car designs of the period.
The War Archives
WW2 BRITISH WHEELED ARMOUR
Editor Pat Ware. Design and layout Rob Terry. Scanning assistant Lizzie Ware. Image restoration Lizzie Ware.
Picture credits All photographs from the Warehouse Collection unless otherwise credited.
Published by Kelsey Media, Cudham Tithe Barn, Berry’s Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG. Telephone [phone]. Fax [phone]. www.kelsey.co.uk
Printed by William Gibbons & Sons Ltd, Willenhall, West Midlands.
Cover pictures. Main picture: Daimler Dingo scout car (Simon Thomson). Left to right: Humber armoured car; Morris light reconnaissance car; AEC heavy armoured car.
© 2014 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden except with prior permission in writing from the publisher. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors in articles or advertisements. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Editor or Publisher.
ISBN 978-1-909786-33-2. Issue 4
The War Archives
WW2 BRITISH WHEELED ARMOUR
3 INTRODUCTION 6
6 THE DEVELOPMENT OF BRITISH WHEELED ARMOUR
The fi rst practical wheeled armoured vehicles appeared soon after the outbreak of World War 1, generally using existing truck
or motorcar chassis with crude boilerplate bodies. By the mid-thirties, armoured-car design had advanced in leaps and bounds,
but, as is often the case, the British Army was slow to catch up.
16 AEC HEAVY ARMOURED CAR
Initially produced as a private venture, the AEC armoured car used mechanical components of the company’s Matador artillery
tractor to produce a wheeled armoured vehicle that had suffi cient fi repower to take on the contemporary German tanks.
24 GUY ARMOURED CAR
Described as a ‘wheeled tank’, the Guy armoured car was the fi rst such vehicle to be constructed in Britain with a welded hull.
With 15mm thick armour and a turret-mounted machine gun it off ered comparable performance to a light tank of the period.
27 HUMBER LIGHT RECONNAISSANCE CAR
Although, at least in its early variants, it was little more than an armoured Super Snipe motorcar, the Humber light
reconnaissance vehicle was developed through three ‘marks’ into a fast and capable vehicle that saw action in Northwest Europe.
3311 SSTTAANNDDAARRDD BBEEAAVVEERREETTTTEE LLIIGGHHTT RREECCOONNNNAAIISSSSAANNCCEE CCAARR
DDeevveellooppeedd ffoorr tthhee HHoommee GGuuaarrdd aanndd iinntteennddeedd ffoorr pprrootteeccttiinngg aaiirrfifi eellddss aanndd ffaaccttoorriieess,, tthhee SSttaannddaarrdd BBeeaavveerreettttee ccoonnssiisstteedd ooff aa ssiimmppllee
armoured hull mounted onto the chassis of a Standard 14 motorcar. Almost 3,000 were produced, but it was almost certainly
never used in anger. 16
36 HUMBER ARMOURED CAR
Based on the earlier Guy armoured car, the Humber was constructed in large numbers at Rootes’ Karrier factory and was
developed through four ‘marks’, the fi nal version of which was armed with a 37mm gun.
43 HUMBER SCOUT CAR
IInnttrroodduucceedd ttoo ssuupppplleemmeenntt ssmmaalllleerr nnuummbbeerrss ooff tthhee tteecchhnniiccaallllyy--ssuuppeerriioorr DDaaiimmlleerr DDiinnggoo,, tthhee HHuummbbeerr ssccoouutt ccaarr ffoolllloowweedd tthhee ssaammee
basic rear-engined layout. Thousands were produced between 1942 and 1945.
52 MORRIS RECONNAISSANCE VEHICLE
Essentially a pre-war design, the Morris CS9/LAC reconnaissance vehicle was based on the company’s 15cwt military truck
design, and saw service with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France during 1939/40.
54 MORRIS LIGHT RECONNAISSANCE CAR 24
The rear-engined Morris light reconnaissance car was introduced in 1943, with more than 2,000 constructed. Early examples
lacked the all-wheel drive of the later Mk II.
58 DAIMLER DINGO SCOUT CAR
Designed by BSA in 1938, the Daimler Dingo scout car was an excellent vehicle that was fast, agile and well protected. More than
6,500 were built, and the Dingo saw widespread service with the British Army into the ‘fi fties. 27
67 DAIMLER ARMOURED CAR
Designed around a monocoque armoured hull and featuring independent suspension at all four wheels using twin coil springs,
the Daimler armoured car was one of the most advanced designs of the period.
75 COVENTRY ARMOURED CAR
The Coventry was an attempt at coming up with a standardised armoured car that embodied features of both the Daimler and
the Humber, and which could be built by both companies to an identical design. It came too late to play any signifi cant role in
the war and production was halted after 220 examples had been built.
83 OTHER WHEELED ARMOURED VEHICLES
Alongside the armoured cars, scout cars and reconnaissance vehicles, there are other wheeled armoured vehicles intended for
more mundane roles, for example mobile pillboxes, command vehicles, observation posts, and fl ame throwers.
92 AMERICAN VEHICLES
As well as literally thousands of home-grown vehicles, the British Army also used large numbers of US-built wheeled armoured
vehicles, including the White scout car, the Chevrolet Staghound, and the Ford Greyhound. 31
96 CANADIAN AND SOUTH AFRICAN VEHICLES
The British Army also used armoured vehicles that had been manufactured by Ford and General Motors in Canada, as well as
small numbers of armoured cars coming from South Africa.
Contents
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58
6
THE DEVELOPMENT OF
BRITISH WHEELED AMOUR
FOLLOWINg EARLIER ExPERIMENTS with provided a degree of protection against difficulties in finding a company to
armoured vehicles, in 1914, the Royal Naval incoming fire. By 1915, imported Peerless, undertake the work but, eventually it was
Air Service (RNAS), based at Dunkirk, Pierce-Arrow, and Seabrook chassis were decided to use a stock of existing Peerless
equipped a 40-50hp Mercedes with an also being used, whilst Leyland adapted truck chassis, to which would be fitted
armoured body for use against german the chassis of its RAF Type truck to produce armoured hulls based on the earlier Austin
cavalry. Experience gained with operating a heavy armoured car with a rotating turret. armoured car. A number of these vehicles
this vehicle led to further experimentation At the end of World War I, armoured car were deployed to Ireland in 1920 where
with appliqué armour, and a heavy production ceased, but, by the following they were used for convoy escort, and as
armoured car was constructed at Woolwich year, Britain was urgently in need of armoured patrol vehicles. But, with their
Arsenal using an AEC ‘B-Type’ bus chassis. wheeled armoured vehicles for internal solid tyres and chain drive, they were far
At much the same time, AC constructed a security work. In Ireland, for example, the from satisfactory and were supplemented
light armoured car fitted with a circular wartime suspension of the Third Home by Lancia armoured cars used by the
turret, but the armoured body was too Rule Bill, created political violence and police.
much for the 1,500cc engine and light upheaval and, in India, there was also A year later, Rolls-Royce was asked to
chassis and there was no series production. pressure for home rule, with consequent undertake construction of a new armoured
However, it wasn’t long before practical unrest. Existing armoured cars were worn car based on the vehicle that had been
armoured cars were being produced using out and, in 1919, Winston Churchill, then produced for the Admiralty in 1914.
heavy motorcar chassis supplied by the Secretary of State for War, asked the Initially described as the ‘armoured car,
likes of Austin, Lanchester, Rolls-Royce, and Treasury to sanction the purchase of 100 Rolls-Royce, 1920 pattern’, an improved
Wolseley with boiler-plate bodies that new armoured vehicles. There were some version, with a redesigned hull, followed
Auto Carriers Limited produced the tiny AC armoured car
in 1915 using the chassis of its four-wheeled light car onto
which was mounted an armoured body incorporating a
large circular turret. Power was provided by a French Fivet
four-cylinder engine driving the rear wheels through a
combined transaxle, but the chassis was horribly
overloaded and there was no series production.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF BRITISH WHEELED AMOUR 7
In 1915, a large experimental armoured car was constructed at Woolwich Arsenal using the chassis of the AEC ‘B-Type’ bus. Although crude and not particularly
effective, the design of the open-topped hull was copied for an armoured car built in India that same year using a Fiat chassis.
later with the designation ‘armoured car,
Rolls-Royce, 1924 pattern’. Meanwhile, in
1923, a Crossley chassis was used to
produce an armoured car for use in India.
This was followed by similar vehicles
constructed on Guy 6x4 and Chevrolet 4x2
chassis.
Following a programme of trials
involving all kinds of, often unsuitable
vehicles, in 1927/28, a Lanchester 6x4
chassis was chosen as the basis for a new
armoured car, with four variants eventually
constructed. With its four driven wheels,
the chassis provided considerably
improved off-road abilities whilst the
armoured hull was not dissimilar to that
used for the Rolls-Royce. A six-wheeled
Crossley chassis was also used for the same
purpose, with production taking place in
1931.
However, much more attention had
Built to an Admiralty pattern, the first Lanchester armoured car appeared at the end of 1914, with production
been paid to the development of the tank,
getting underway the following year. The chassis was modified from the company’s Sporting 40 model, with
and, despite the appearance of the the driver placed alongside the engine. A water-cooled Vickers machine gun was carried in the turret.
independently-sprung Alvis-Straussler
armoured car, and a small armoured scout car, which was derived from the BSA three was any match for the wheeled
scouting vehicle which had been designed design, a four-wheeled Guy armoured car armoured vehicles being produced in
by BSA, by the time war broke out in 1939, of innovative welded construction, and an Germany, and it was to be another two or
the British Army was ill-equipped. Orders armoured reconnaissance vehicle based on more years before better designs such as
had been placed for three new types of the Morris-Commercial 15cwt truck. the AEC, Daimler, and Humber armoured
•
armoured vehicle – the Daimler Dingo Good as the Dingo was, none of the cars started to come on-stream.
8
The Wolseley CP cavalry car appeared in 1915. The hull
was particularly roomy, with accommodation for a
crew of four, but the vehicle was underpowered and
only three or four examples were constructed.
During 1915, Wolseley Motors constructed 48 armoured hulls to be mounted on Peerless and Pierce-Arrow truck chassis that had been imported from the USA. The
vehicles were built for the Royal Marine Artillery Anti-Aircraft Brigade and were armed with Vickers 2-pounder (40mm) guns, and Vickers-Maxim machine guns.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF BRITISH WHEELED AMOUR 9
The Seabrook was a heavy armoured car mounting a 3-pounder (47mm) gun. Constructed for the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) using an American Seabrook truck
chassis, it was intended to provide close support to the more lightly armed RNAS armoured cars. Total production amounted to around 30 examples during 1915,
with some of the vehicles seeing action at Ypres.
Austin built more armoured cars during World War 1
than any other company, with the total running into
hundreds – until the 1917 Revolution, most were
supplied to Russia. The twin, circular turrets,
mounting a pair of machine guns, provide a
distinctive recognition feature, whilst those
examples supplied to the British Army feature a
lowered cab roof that improved the arc of fi re.
10
† Leyland Motors built four heavy
armoured cars for the 1st Armoured
Motor Battery, Machine Gun Corps in
1915 using a modified version of the
‘RAF-Type’ truck chassis on which was
mounted a high-sided hull
constructed by Beardmore. The
vehicles were sent to East Africa
where their weight, combined with
the use of solid tyres, made them
something of a handful to operate.
ˆ In 1919, a number of Peerless truck
chassis that had remained in storage
were bodied as armoured cars by
Austin for an internal security role.
The armoured hull was similar to that
used on the Austin armoured car, but
the Seabrook chassis is easily
recognised by its solid tyres and cast
wheels.