Motor War Car
Simms' Motor War Car was the first armoured car ever built.
It was designed by F.R. Simms and a single prototype was ordered in April 1899[1] It was built by Vickers, Sons & Maxim of Barrow on a special Coventry-built Daimler chassis[1] with a German-built Daimler motor.[1]
Because of difficulties, including a gearbox destroyed by a road accident, that arose during completion the prototype was not finished by Vickers until 1902[1] when the Boer War was over. The vehicle was an improvement over Simms' earlier design known as Motor Scout which was the first armed (but not armoured) vehicle powered by a petrol engine.
The vehicle had Vickers armour 6 mm thick and was powered by a four-cylinder 3.3-litre[1] 16 hp Cannstatt Daimler engine giving it a maximum speed of around 9 miles per hour (14.5 km/h). The armament, consisting of two Maxim guns, was carried in two turrets with 360° traverse. Some sources also mention a single QF 1 pounder pom-pom.[2][3]
Fully equipped it was 28 feet (8.5 m) overall with a beam of 8 feet (2.4 m), a ram at each end, two turrets and two guns and "capable of running on very rough surfaces".[1]
It had a crew of four. Simms' Motor War Car was presented at the Crystal Palace, London, in April 1902.[4]
Another armoured car of the period was the French Charron, Girardot et Voigt 1902, presented at the Salon de l'Automobile et du cycle in Brussels, on 8 March 1902.[5]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Armoured Fighting Vehicules of the World, Duncan, p.3
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
References
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