Lanchester 6x4 Armoured Car
| Lanchester Armoured Car Mk II | |
|---|---|
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| Place of origin | UK |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 7 t |
| Length | 6.10 m |
| Width | 2.02 m |
| Height | 2.82 m |
| Crew | 4 |
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| Armor | 9 mm |
| Primary armament |
.5 cal Vickers machine gun |
| Secondary armament |
2 x .303 cal Vickers machine gun |
| Engine | Lanchester 6-cyl. gasoline 90 hp (67 kW) |
| Power/weight | 12.9 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | 6 x 4 wheel, leaf spring |
| Operational range |
320 km |
| Speed | 72 km/h |
Lanchester Armoured Car was a British armoured car produced in limited numbers in late 1920s and early 1930s. The vehicle remained in service with the Territorial Army and colonial units until early 1940s and saw action in the Battle of Malaya. It is often referred to as Lanchester 6x4 to distinguish it from an earlier four-wheeled design.
Production history and description
On 19 July 1927 Lanchester Motor Company was awarded a contract for a six-wheeled armoured car. By March 1928 two prototypes, D1E1 and D1E2, were built, with different armament and turret shape. D1E2 had additional driving controls at the rear of the vehicle. Following the trials, which revealed that the chassis wasn't strong enough for a relatively heavy vehicle and not rigid enough for cross-country ride, 22 vehicles with improved chassis and other changes were ordered, designated Mk I and Mk IA (command version). Until 1932 orders were placed for 15 more cars, two of them instructional (D1E3, D1E4), the rest were designated Mk II and Mk IIA (command version).
The Lanchester had purpose-built six-by-four chassis. The armoured body was similar in shape to that of the Rolls-Royce Armoured Car, its front part was occupied by the engine and the rest by the fighting compartment. The rear part of the vehicle, behind the armoured body, was used for storage of equipment. Above the fighting compartment a two-man turret was mounted, with .5 inch (12.7 mm) and .303 inch (7.7 mm) Vickers machine guns in a dual mount. The turret had a cupola which could rotate independently. Additional .303 Vickers MG was located in front of the fighting compartment. In command versions, the hull machine gun was replaced by a No. 9 radio with a whip type antenna, and machine gunner acted as a wireless operator.
Lanchesters had good cross-country performance and were considered reliable and easy to maintain, but too big, heavy and slow for reconnaissance missions for which they were originally developed.
Deployment history
In January 1929 the first Lanchesters (along with Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars) were received by the 11th Hussars regiment. Because of slow rate of delivery, it took until 1934
to fully equip the unit. In November the regiment was relocated to Egypt to relieve the
12th Royal Lancers, which returned to Britain and took over the cars. In
January-February 1935 a provisional D squadron of the 12th Lancers with eight armoured cars
served as a peacekeeping force in the Saar region. On 31 December B and C
squadrons were sent again to Egypt with 29 armoured cars as a response to Italian invasion of
By 1939, most Lanchesters (13 Mk I, 1 Mk Ia, 5 Mk II, 3 Mk IIA) were sent to the Far East and assigned to the Selangor and Perak battalions of Federal Malay States Volunteer Force, the Singapore Volunteer Corps, Strait Settlements Volunteer Force and the 2nd battalion of Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders in Malaya. Some of these took part in the Malayan Campaign (December 1941 - 15 February 1942) against Japan.
About 10 Lanchesters were given to the Territorial Army (23rd London Armoured Car Company and 1st Derbyshire Yeomanry). In 1940 one was converted for use by cabinet ministers and other VIPs. In 1941 two were given to the 1st Belgian Armoured Cars squadron.
The only surviving vehicle is Mk II on display at the Bovington Tank Museum.
Variants
- Mk I (18 built) - dual rear tires.
- Mk IA (4 built) - command version.
- Mk II (7 built) - single tires, turret cupola with sloped sides.
- Mk IIA (6 built) - command version.
References and external links
- Raymond Surlemont - Lanchester Six Wheel Armored Cars
- Lanchester 6x4 Armoured Car prototypes and Mk I at ww2photo.mimerswell.com
- Lanchester 6x4 Armoured Car Mk II at warwheels.net
| Tanks | |
|---|---|
| Light tanks | Vickers 6-Ton • Mk II • Mk III • Mk IV • Mk V • Mk VI • Mk VII Tetrarch |
| Cruiser tanks | Mk I • Mk II • Mk III • Mk IV • Mk V Covenanter • Mk VI Crusader • Mk VII Cavalier Mk VIII Centaur • Mk VIII Cromwell • Challenger • Comet • Sherman Firefly • Ram (Canada) • Sentinel (Australia) |
| Infantry tanks | Mk I Matilda • Mk II Matilda • Mk III Valentine • Mk IV Churchill |
| Self-propelled artillery |
|---|
| Bishop • Sexton • Deacon • Archer |
| Armoured personnel carriers |
|---|
| Universal Carrier • Loyd Carrier • Kangaroo • Terrapin |
| Scout Cars and Armoured cars | |
|---|---|
| Scout Cars | Daimler Dingo • Dingo Scout Car (Australia) • Humber Scout Car • Lynx Scout Car (Canada) • S1 Scout Car (Australia) |
| Light Reconnaissance Cars | Humber LRC • Morris LRC • Otter LRC (Canada) |
| Armoured Cars | AEC Armoured Car • Coventry Armoured Car • Daimler Armoured Car • Fox Armoured Car (Canada) • Guy Armoured Car • Humber Armoured Car • Lanchester Armoured Car • Marmon-Herrington Armoured Car (South Africa) • Morris CS9 • Rhino Heavy Armoured Car (Australia) • Rolls-Royce Armoured Car • Rover Light Armoured Car (Australia) • Standard Beaverette • Armoured Carrier Wheeled Indian Pattern (India) |
| Armoured Trucks | Bedford OXA • C15TA Armoured Truck (Canada) |
| Armoured Command Vehicles | AEC ACV • Guy Lizard ACV |
| Experimental vehicles |
|---|
| Avenger • Black Prince • Centurion • Excelsior • TOG 1 • TOG 2 • Tortoise • Valiant • Harry Hopkins • Alecto • Thornycroft Bison |
| Unarmoured vehicles | |
|---|---|
| Artillery tractors | AEC Matador • Morris C8 Quad • Scammell Pioneer • Canadian Military Pattern |
| Trucks and lorries | Bedford QLD • Austin K2 • Morris 15 cwt |
| Tank transporters | Diamond T tank transporter • Scammell Pioneer Semi-trailer |
| Utility and cars | Car, Heavy Utility 4x2 Ford C11 • Car, Light Utility ("Tilly") • Car, 4-Seater 4x2 |
| British armoured fighting vehicle production during World War II | |
| British armoured fighting vehicle production during World War II |
|---|
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