Humber Scout Car

Last updated

Humber Scout Car
- Flickr - Joost J. Bakker IJmuiden (3).jpg
TypeArmoured scout car
Production history
ManufacturerHumber
Specifications
Mass2.4 tonnes (2.4 long tons)
Length3.83 m (12 ft 7 in)
Width1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Height2.13 m (7 ft 0 in)
Crew2

Armour up to 14 mm (0.55 in)
Main
armament
One or two 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Bren machine guns
Engine6-cyl. petrol
87 hp (65 kW)
Power/weight25.6 hp/tonne
Suspension4 x 4 wheeled
Operational
range
320 km (200 mi)
Maximum speed 100 km/h (62 mph)

The Humber Scout Car was a British light scout car used in the Second World War. It entered service in 1942 and continued in production until 1945. Designed for reconnaissance, and liaison between armoured units, it provided protection only against light arms fire, so was not a front line vehicle. More importantly it was small and fast and could quickly evade trouble. It became the shape format for the post war Ferret armoured car which began production in 1952.

Contents

History

Humber Mk I Scout Car, side view. Een Humber Mk I 4x4-verkenningsauto voorzien van een Bren machinegeweer met trommelmagazijn (2001 N0000081-08).jpg
Humber Mk I Scout Car, side view.

Although at the outbreak of the Second World War the British Army had already selected the Daimler Dingo for production, the need for scout cars could not be met by Daimler alone, so other companies were required to produce similar vehicles. One of these companies was Humber which along with other companies in the Rootes Group was already producing armoured cars and the Humber Light Reconnaissance Car. In 1942 they built a vehicle similar to the Dingo in layout.

To comply with the official requirement to keep the weight down, the Daimler "Dingo" was open top (the Humber had an unarmoured floor).

The vehicle carried a crew of two, with an emergency seat for a third member. It was equipped with a No. 19 radio set. The armament consisted of one Bren light machine gun with a 100-round drum. A second Bren could be added if necessary. This was mounted above the roof, and could be operated from inside the vehicle using a system looking similar to bicycle handlebars, where the "brake" levers fired the triggers of the Brens.

Production of the vehicles continued until 1945. At least 4,298 were ordered and at least 4,102 delivered, 1,698 of them Mk I. They were used by British armoured units (e.g. the 11th Armoured Division and the Guards Armoured Division) for scouting and liaison and were generally considered less capable and reliable than the Dingo. A number of vehicles were given to the Polish II Corps and the 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade. After the war, some European armies used the Humber. The Belgian army used the Mk II in their tank and reconnaissance units until 1951. A unknown number of these vehicles were then handed over to the Belgian police which continued to use the car until 1958.

Most of the vehicles were destroyed in the 1960s when the British Army used them as targets for tank gunnery practice. There are now currently only about 20 known to exist.

Operators

Humber Scout Car in Falaise, France 1944 A138494-v6.jpg
Humber Scout Car in Falaise, France 1944

Variants

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "British Armored Car Vehicle Name/WD Serial Number Listing by Kevin Tucker" (PDF). www.warwheels.net. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  2. "Yuk, Intip Deretan Mobil Bersejarah TNI Yang Ada Di Museum Satria Mandala". gridoto.com (in Indonesian). 5 October 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2021.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armored car (military)</span> Wheeled armoured fighting vehicle

A military armoredcar is a lightweight wheeled armored fighting vehicle, historically employed for reconnaissance, internal security, armed escort, and other subordinate battlefield tasks. With the gradual decline of mounted cavalry, armored cars were developed for carrying out duties formerly assigned to light cavalry. Following the invention of the tank, the armored car remained popular due to its faster speed, comparatively simple maintenance and low production cost. It also found favor with several colonial armies as a cheaper weapon for use in underdeveloped regions. During World War II, most armored cars were engineered for reconnaissance and passive observation, while others were devoted to communications tasks. Some equipped with heavier armament could even substitute for tracked combat vehicles in favorable conditions—such as pursuit or flanking maneuvers during the North African Campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Carrier</span> Armoured personnel carrier/weapon carrier

The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier and sometimes simply the Bren Carrier from the light machine gun armament, is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrongs and other companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daimler Armoured Car</span> British armoured car

The Daimler Armoured Car was a successful British armoured car design of the Second World War that continued in service into the 1950s. It was designed for armed reconnaissance and liaison purposes. During the postwar era, it doubled as an internal security vehicle in a number of countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humber Armoured Car</span> British armoured car

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AEC Armoured Car</span> British heavy armoured car

AEC Armoured Car is the name of a series of British heavy armoured cars built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferret armoured car</span> Armored car / Scout car

The Ferret armoured car, also commonly called the Ferret scout car, is a British armoured fighting vehicle designed and built for reconnaissance purposes. The Ferret was produced between 1952 and 1971 by the UK company Daimler. It was widely used by regiments in the British Army, as well as the RAF Regiment and Commonwealth countries throughout the period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daimler Dingo</span> British armoured car

The Daimler Scout Car, known in service as the Daimler Dingo, is a British light, fast four-wheel drive reconnaissance vehicle also used for liaison during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marmon-Herrington Armoured Car</span> Armoured car

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armoured Carrier Wheeled Indian Pattern</span> British Indian armoured car

Armoured Carrier, Wheeled, Indian Pattern (ACV-IP), known also as Indian Pattern Carrier or other similar names, was an armoured car produced in India during the Second World War. It was typically armed with a Bren light machine gun. Those produced by Tata Locomotives were called "Tatanagars" after the location of the works. 4,655 were produced, used by Indian units in the Far East and Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre, typically in divisional reconnaissance regiments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humber Light Reconnaissance Car</span> British armoured car

The Humber Light Reconnaissance Car, also known as Humberette or Ironside, was a British armoured car produced during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morris Light Reconnaissance Car</span> Weapon

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy armoured car</span> Weapon

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otter Light Reconnaissance Car</span> Weapon

The Otter Light Reconnaissance Car (known officially by the British as Car, Light Reconnaissance, Canadian GM was a light armoured car produced in Canada during the Second World War for British and Commonwealth forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rover Light Armoured Car</span> Australian armoured car

The Light Armoured Car (Aust), also known as Rover, was an armoured car produced in Australia during the Second World War.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers</span> Australian Army unit

The 1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers is an active Australian Army Reserve Cavalry regiment. The regiment has its headquarters at Lancer Barracks in Parramatta, a suburb in Western Sydney, New South Wales. Lancer Barracks is the oldest Military Barracks on mainland Australia and dates from 1819.

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.

Armoured Car Regiments were reconnaissance units employed by the British Army during the 20th century. The primary equipment of these units was the armoured car with many different types of armoured cars serving in the regiments during the Second World War and the Cold War. An armoured car regiment typically numbered several hundred men and several tens of armoured cars. By the end of the 20th century, armoured cars as front-line reconnaissance vehicles had been supplanted by tracked vehicles in the British Army and the surviving regiments converted to other organisational forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reconnaissance vehicle</span> Military vehicle used for forward reconnaissance

A reconnaissance vehicle, also known as a scout vehicle, is a military vehicle used for forward reconnaissance. Both tracked and wheeled reconnaissance vehicles are in service. In some nations, light tanks such as the M551 Sheridan and AMX-13 have also been used by scout platoons. Their armament ranges from a medium machine gun to a large cannon. Modern examples are often fitted with ATGMs and a wide range of sensors.

References