Top 10 Military Vehicles
08-12-2008, 06:50 PM
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1914 ROLLS ROYCE SILVER GHOST
Lawrence of Arabia called it 'fighting de-luxe' when he and his men used three Rolls-Royce Silver Ghosts to obliterate two enemy command posts, blowing up a bridge, wiping out almost an entire cavalry regiment and destroying many miles of railway.
Recognising their incredible durability, the idea had come from Bendor, 2nd Duke of Westminster, who donated 12 of his own cars to the cause and would have agreed with Lawrence that 'all the Turks in Arabia could not fight a single Rolls-Royce armoured car in open country. They were worth hundreds of men to us in these deserts.'
1914 ROLLS ROYCE SILVER GHOST (Image ? PA)
Soon yet more rich and titled owners were handing over their cars, among them Lord Rothschild who later proved Lawrence's claim that it was 'almost impossible to break a Rolls-Royce' when he wielded a sledge-hammer to stop his falling into enemy hands.
Churchill immediately spotted the potential of a new species of armoured 'land ship' and with the expertise of leading Admiralty designer Capt. Eustace Tennyson D'Encourt scores of Ghosts were kitted out with reinforced axles, more than three tons of 3/8-inch armour plating, a crude but tough 5' diameter steel-cylinder turret and a devastatingly effective Vickers-Maxim machine gun.
1942 DUKW
Vauxhall at Luton built Churchill tanks, decoy aircraft of wood and canvas to fool enemy bombers and literally millions of 'jerry cans' copied from a German Army design. In the US Ford put aside its founder's misplaced admiration for Hitler and built more than 8,600 Liberator bombers.
And General Motors went into business building these things, the distinctive six-wheeled amphibious DUKW. With the D indicating in military parlance a vehicle designed in 1942, the U standing for utility, the K denoting that it was all-wheel drive and the the W its powered, paired rear axles, it was quickly nicknamed the 'Duck'.
Proving ideal for rapid beach landings under fire in the Mediterranean, the Pacific, during the D-Day invasion of the Normandy beaches, and in countless other 'ops' during the wartime years, more recently the super-durable craft have been used by abalone fishermen in California, for rescuing people hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and to show tourists a different side of London courtesy of The London Frog Company. This operates a fleet of eighteen bright yellow amphibians, two of which once raced down the Thames with Sir Stirling Moss and Jenson Button at the controls.
1940 M2/M3 HALF-TRACK
Suitable for the widest possible range of applications - from gun carriage to armoured personnel carrier, from an air defence role to go-anywhere bridge-builder - the M2/M3 family of half-track vehicles was developed following the US Army's evaluation of the Citro?n K?gresse.
Built by a number of different manufacturers, including White, International Harvester and the Diamond T Motor Car Company, in all more than 41,000 units went into battle with many forming part of the US Lend-Lease programme whereby rich America allowed poor Europeans to have the pick of their kit on the never-never (providing they were on the right side, obviously).
1939 DAIMLER DINGO
With submissions from Alvis, BSA and Morris for a light, fast, 4x4 reconnaisance vehicle, in 1938 the War Office awarded the contract to Daimler (part of BSA) to build what is now recognised as one of the best armoured vehicles of the entire war.
Officially called the Scout Car - the Dingo name came from Alvis - 30mm armour and a Bren gun mount gave protection to the two-man crew, whilst an ingenious pre-selector gearbox with a fluid flwheel provided five speeds in either direction. Unfortunately Lancia cloned the design in 1943, which therefore saw action on both sides of the war. (Just as Skoda was to have its factories bombed by both the Nazis and the Allies....)
1942 VW TYPE 128/166 SCHWIMMWAGEN
Still the world's best-selling amphibious car, the iconic Schwimmwagen used the drivetrain and other components from the VW Types 82 and 87, an early four-wheel drive K?belwagen prototype and the four-wheel drive Kommandeurwagen or staff car.
That's sufficient to make it a kissing cousin to Ferdinand Porche's original Beetle, the Type 60 KdF Wagen - short for Kraft durch Freude, the name of the leisure wing of the Nazi organisation meaning 'Strength through Joy' - although Erwin Komenda, Porsche's body designer, redesigned its tub as the the flat underside of the civilian car made it unstable at speed throught water.
Powered by a 1,131 cc air-cooled boxer engine, the Schwimmwagen developed around 25 horsepower at 3,000 rpm and was equipped with a screw-type propeller which dropped down at the back to adapt it to ocean-going mode.
(As the front wheels doubled up as twin rudders, the steering wheel remained the principal means of control when the vehicle did this.) By 1944 more than 15,500 Schwimmwagens had been built - 133 of them at Porsche - but whilst around 130 are known to have survived barely 10% of these are in original, unrestored condition.
1940 WILLYS JEEP
Designed and delivered in a mere 49 days to meet the urgent requirement of the US Quartermaster Corps for a compact, rectangular quarter-ton truck with all-wheel-drive, after driving the first prototype the test driver Major Lawes hit the nail on the head when he climbed out of the little 2.2-litre machine and declared, 'I believe this unit will make history.'
Too true: by 1945 nearly 640,000 of them had gone to war, the name being derived from its official designation (GP, or General Purpose) and the fact that a well known cartoon character of the time went by the name of 'the Jeep'.
The troops loved them too, Special-Interest Autos noting, 'for thousands of soldiers the Jeep was the nearest thing to a sports car they had ever driven; roadster body, bucket seats, fold-down windscreen, quick steering, tight suspension, snappy performance. Everybody wanted one.'
But of course they were needed elsewhere. Seeing service on literally every front Jeeps were soon employed as gun-mounts and rocket launchers, ambulances, troop carriers, staff cars, amphibians and even rail cars. Its contribution to the Allied victory was quite literally incalculable and - capable, tough and uniquely versatile - it's still quite simply the best.
1940 UNIVERSAL CARRIER
Invariably referred to as a Bren Gun Carrier, even when not equipped as such, the UC was designed by Vickers and went on to become the most ubiquitous armoured vehicle in British history.
Initially there were many different types offering a wide range of different applications, but with the benefits of standardisation obvious to the wartime economy these were reduced to just one model, hence the 'Universal' tag. Powered by an 85 hp Ford V8 mounted amidships, the 3.75 ton was good for a respectable 30 mph and with a range of 150 miles quickly proved its worth to the Forces.
1941 SCAMMELL PIONEER
Dating back to the 1920s, a time when the Empire needed tough, strong haulers to operate where metalled roads were far from usual, the Pioneer was invaluable in wartime for transporting goods over rough or broken ground.
More than anything its combination of a suspension set-up with plenty of movement, strong, low-revving Gardner 6-cylinder diesel and the ability to maintain traction in most conditions gave it huge pulling power. Allied to a low-load trailer the Pioneer quickly found a role as the tank transporter par excellence and later, in peacetime, many found employment moving carny folk around the country.
1938 HUMBER SUPER SNIPE
With a well-earned reputation as the 'poor man's Rolls-Royce' and powered by a 4.1 litre 6-cylinder engine producing around 85 hp, the definitive wartime Staff Car was good for nearly 80 mph which was outstanding for its day.
Among the many commanders who used them, the most notable was Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery KG GCB DSO. He used his throughout his campaigns in North Africa and Europe but in 1944 ditched 'Old Faithful' in favour of a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith, perhaps mindful of his imminent elevation to the peerage.
1959 ALVIS STALWART
Owing nothing to the supremely elegant 3.0-litre saloons built by the company during this same period, the 6x6 Stalwart was a development of earlier military vehicles such as the Saracen APC, Saladin armoured car and Salamander fire tender.
Within its waterproof hull, power came from a 220 hp Rolls-Royce B.81 giving it a top speed of 43mph on land and five knots on water. Its suitability for assuming the role of what the brass-hats refer to as a high-mobility load-carrier was never in doubt thanks to an ability to climb over 45 cm obstacles and cross trenches up to 1.5m wide.
http://cars.uk.msn.com/News/Top_ten_articl...umentid=9154314
Lawrence of Arabia called it 'fighting de-luxe' when he and his men used three Rolls-Royce Silver Ghosts to obliterate two enemy command posts, blowing up a bridge, wiping out almost an entire cavalry regiment and destroying many miles of railway.
Recognising their incredible durability, the idea had come from Bendor, 2nd Duke of Westminster, who donated 12 of his own cars to the cause and would have agreed with Lawrence that 'all the Turks in Arabia could not fight a single Rolls-Royce armoured car in open country. They were worth hundreds of men to us in these deserts.'
1914 ROLLS ROYCE SILVER GHOST (Image ? PA)
Soon yet more rich and titled owners were handing over their cars, among them Lord Rothschild who later proved Lawrence's claim that it was 'almost impossible to break a Rolls-Royce' when he wielded a sledge-hammer to stop his falling into enemy hands.
Churchill immediately spotted the potential of a new species of armoured 'land ship' and with the expertise of leading Admiralty designer Capt. Eustace Tennyson D'Encourt scores of Ghosts were kitted out with reinforced axles, more than three tons of 3/8-inch armour plating, a crude but tough 5' diameter steel-cylinder turret and a devastatingly effective Vickers-Maxim machine gun.
1942 DUKW
Vauxhall at Luton built Churchill tanks, decoy aircraft of wood and canvas to fool enemy bombers and literally millions of 'jerry cans' copied from a German Army design. In the US Ford put aside its founder's misplaced admiration for Hitler and built more than 8,600 Liberator bombers.
And General Motors went into business building these things, the distinctive six-wheeled amphibious DUKW. With the D indicating in military parlance a vehicle designed in 1942, the U standing for utility, the K denoting that it was all-wheel drive and the the W its powered, paired rear axles, it was quickly nicknamed the 'Duck'.
Proving ideal for rapid beach landings under fire in the Mediterranean, the Pacific, during the D-Day invasion of the Normandy beaches, and in countless other 'ops' during the wartime years, more recently the super-durable craft have been used by abalone fishermen in California, for rescuing people hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and to show tourists a different side of London courtesy of The London Frog Company. This operates a fleet of eighteen bright yellow amphibians, two of which once raced down the Thames with Sir Stirling Moss and Jenson Button at the controls.
1940 M2/M3 HALF-TRACK
Suitable for the widest possible range of applications - from gun carriage to armoured personnel carrier, from an air defence role to go-anywhere bridge-builder - the M2/M3 family of half-track vehicles was developed following the US Army's evaluation of the Citro?n K?gresse.
Built by a number of different manufacturers, including White, International Harvester and the Diamond T Motor Car Company, in all more than 41,000 units went into battle with many forming part of the US Lend-Lease programme whereby rich America allowed poor Europeans to have the pick of their kit on the never-never (providing they were on the right side, obviously).
1939 DAIMLER DINGO
With submissions from Alvis, BSA and Morris for a light, fast, 4x4 reconnaisance vehicle, in 1938 the War Office awarded the contract to Daimler (part of BSA) to build what is now recognised as one of the best armoured vehicles of the entire war.
Officially called the Scout Car - the Dingo name came from Alvis - 30mm armour and a Bren gun mount gave protection to the two-man crew, whilst an ingenious pre-selector gearbox with a fluid flwheel provided five speeds in either direction. Unfortunately Lancia cloned the design in 1943, which therefore saw action on both sides of the war. (Just as Skoda was to have its factories bombed by both the Nazis and the Allies....)
1942 VW TYPE 128/166 SCHWIMMWAGEN
Still the world's best-selling amphibious car, the iconic Schwimmwagen used the drivetrain and other components from the VW Types 82 and 87, an early four-wheel drive K?belwagen prototype and the four-wheel drive Kommandeurwagen or staff car.
That's sufficient to make it a kissing cousin to Ferdinand Porche's original Beetle, the Type 60 KdF Wagen - short for Kraft durch Freude, the name of the leisure wing of the Nazi organisation meaning 'Strength through Joy' - although Erwin Komenda, Porsche's body designer, redesigned its tub as the the flat underside of the civilian car made it unstable at speed throught water.
Powered by a 1,131 cc air-cooled boxer engine, the Schwimmwagen developed around 25 horsepower at 3,000 rpm and was equipped with a screw-type propeller which dropped down at the back to adapt it to ocean-going mode.
(As the front wheels doubled up as twin rudders, the steering wheel remained the principal means of control when the vehicle did this.) By 1944 more than 15,500 Schwimmwagens had been built - 133 of them at Porsche - but whilst around 130 are known to have survived barely 10% of these are in original, unrestored condition.
1940 WILLYS JEEP
Designed and delivered in a mere 49 days to meet the urgent requirement of the US Quartermaster Corps for a compact, rectangular quarter-ton truck with all-wheel-drive, after driving the first prototype the test driver Major Lawes hit the nail on the head when he climbed out of the little 2.2-litre machine and declared, 'I believe this unit will make history.'
Too true: by 1945 nearly 640,000 of them had gone to war, the name being derived from its official designation (GP, or General Purpose) and the fact that a well known cartoon character of the time went by the name of 'the Jeep'.
The troops loved them too, Special-Interest Autos noting, 'for thousands of soldiers the Jeep was the nearest thing to a sports car they had ever driven; roadster body, bucket seats, fold-down windscreen, quick steering, tight suspension, snappy performance. Everybody wanted one.'
But of course they were needed elsewhere. Seeing service on literally every front Jeeps were soon employed as gun-mounts and rocket launchers, ambulances, troop carriers, staff cars, amphibians and even rail cars. Its contribution to the Allied victory was quite literally incalculable and - capable, tough and uniquely versatile - it's still quite simply the best.
1940 UNIVERSAL CARRIER
Invariably referred to as a Bren Gun Carrier, even when not equipped as such, the UC was designed by Vickers and went on to become the most ubiquitous armoured vehicle in British history.
Initially there were many different types offering a wide range of different applications, but with the benefits of standardisation obvious to the wartime economy these were reduced to just one model, hence the 'Universal' tag. Powered by an 85 hp Ford V8 mounted amidships, the 3.75 ton was good for a respectable 30 mph and with a range of 150 miles quickly proved its worth to the Forces.
1941 SCAMMELL PIONEER
Dating back to the 1920s, a time when the Empire needed tough, strong haulers to operate where metalled roads were far from usual, the Pioneer was invaluable in wartime for transporting goods over rough or broken ground.
More than anything its combination of a suspension set-up with plenty of movement, strong, low-revving Gardner 6-cylinder diesel and the ability to maintain traction in most conditions gave it huge pulling power. Allied to a low-load trailer the Pioneer quickly found a role as the tank transporter par excellence and later, in peacetime, many found employment moving carny folk around the country.
1938 HUMBER SUPER SNIPE
With a well-earned reputation as the 'poor man's Rolls-Royce' and powered by a 4.1 litre 6-cylinder engine producing around 85 hp, the definitive wartime Staff Car was good for nearly 80 mph which was outstanding for its day.
Among the many commanders who used them, the most notable was Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery KG GCB DSO. He used his throughout his campaigns in North Africa and Europe but in 1944 ditched 'Old Faithful' in favour of a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith, perhaps mindful of his imminent elevation to the peerage.
1959 ALVIS STALWART
Owing nothing to the supremely elegant 3.0-litre saloons built by the company during this same period, the 6x6 Stalwart was a development of earlier military vehicles such as the Saracen APC, Saladin armoured car and Salamander fire tender.
Within its waterproof hull, power came from a 220 hp Rolls-Royce B.81 giving it a top speed of 43mph on land and five knots on water. Its suitability for assuming the role of what the brass-hats refer to as a high-mobility load-carrier was never in doubt thanks to an ability to climb over 45 cm obstacles and cross trenches up to 1.5m wide.
http://cars.uk.msn.com/News/Top_ten_articl...umentid=9154314
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