An armoured fighting vehicle or armored fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, assault guns, self-propelled artilleries, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), and armoured personnel carriers (APC).
An anti-aircraft vehicle, also known as a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) or self-propelled air defense system (SPAD), is a mobile vehicle with a dedicated anti-aircraft capability.
Crusader, in full "Tank, Cruiser Mk VI, Crusader", also known by its General Staff number A.15, was one of the primary British cruiser tanks during the early part of the Second World War. Over 5,000 tanks were manufactured and they made important contributions to the British victories during the North African campaign. The Crusader tank would not see active service beyond Africa but the chassis of the tank was modified to create anti-aircraft, fire support, observation, communication, bulldozer and recovery vehicle variants.
The Ordnance Quick-Firing 17-pounder was a 76.2 mm (3 inch) gun developed by the United Kingdom during World War II. It was used as an anti-tank gun on its own carriage, as well as equipping a number of British tanks. Used with the APDS shot, it was capable of defeating all but the thickest armour on German tanks. It was used to "up-gun" some foreign-built vehicles in British service, notably to produce the Sherman Firefly variant of the US M4 Sherman tank, giving British tank units the ability to hold their own against their German counterparts. In the anti-tank role, it was replaced after the war by the 120 mm BAT recoilless rifle. As a tank gun, it was succeeded by the 84 mm 20 pounder.
The Humber Armoured Car was one of the most widely produced British armoured cars of the Second World War. It supplemented the Humber Light Reconnaissance Car and remained in service until the end of the war.
The T17E1 Armoured Car was an American armored car manufactured during the Second World War. It saw service with British and other Commonwealth forces during the war under the name Staghound, but was never used on the front line by US forces. A number of other countries used the Staghound after the war; some vehicles continued to serve until the 1980s.
The Marmon-Herrington Armoured Car was a series of armoured vehicles that were produced in South Africa and adopted by the British Army during the Second World War. RAF Armoured Car companies possessed them, but seem never to have used them in action, making greater use of Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars and other types.
An artillery tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, is a specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights and calibres. It may be wheeled, tracked, or half-tracked.
The T18 Boarhound was an American heavy armoured car produced in small numbers for the British Army during the Second World War.
The Humber Light Reconnaissance Car, also known as Humberette or Ironside, was a British armoured car produced during the Second World War.
Morris Light Reconnaissance Car (LRC) was a British light armoured car for reconnaissance use produced by Morris Motors Limited and used by the British during the Second World War.
Standard Car 4x2, or Car Armoured Light Standard, better known as the Beaverette, was a British improvised armoured car produced during the Second World War.
The Lanchester 6x4 armoured car was a British armoured car with a 6x4 drivetrain produced in limited numbers in the late 1920s and early 1930s. A heavier, more rugged development of the earlier Lanchester 4x2 armoured car, it remained in service with Territorial and colonial units until the early 1940s and saw action in the Battle of Malaya.
The Guy Armoured Car was a British armoured car produced in limited numbers during Second World War. The car saw limited action during the Battle of France.
The AEC Mk I Gun Carrier, known as Deacon, was a British armoured fighting vehicle of the Second World War. It was an attempt to make the QF 6 pounder anti-tank gun into a self-propelled artillery piece. It was employed only during the North African Campaign from 1942 to 1943.
Car, Armoured, Heavy (Aust), also known as Rhino, was an armoured car designed in Australia during the Second World War. Due to enemy action and design problems the project never got beyond a prototype stage.
This article lists British armoured fighting vehicle production during the Second World War. The United Kingdom produced 27,528 tanks and self-propelled guns from July 1939 to May 1945, as well as 26,191 armoured cars and 69,071 armoured personnel carriers.
During the First World War, sixteen American Peerless trucks were modified by the British to serve as armoured cars. These were relatively primitive designs with open backs, armed with a Pom-pom gun and a machine gun, and were delivered to the British Army in 1915. They were used also by the Imperial Russian Army as self-propelled anti-aircraft guns.
The British Army made extensive use of a variety of combat vehicles during the Second World War. This article is a summary of those vehicles.
