The King armored car was manufactured by the Armored Motor Car Company (AMC). It was the first American

armored vehicle Military vehicles are commonly armoured (or armored; see spelling differences) to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, shells, rockets, and missiles, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include armoured ...

, and was ordered by the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

in 1915 for testing before being used by the 1st Armored Car Squadron, which consisted of eight cars. The 1st Armored Car Squadron was the US's first formal armored unit.

Description

The car had one Lewis gun ( M1895 Colt–Browning on earlier models) mounted in an armored turret to protect the gunner from small arms fire. It was designed to be quite easy to transport. It could be taken ashore whole or it could be broken down into smaller pieces to put into motor launches, taken ashore, and reassembled on the beach. However, it could not be considered an unqualified success, as it was not very reliable. This problem was compounded by a lack of qualified mechanics, and replacement parts were few and far between.

Service

The 1st Armored Truck Squadron did not see any action during World War I. During World War I, General Pershing refused USMC Commandant

George Barnett George Barnett (December 9, 1859April 27, 1930) was the 12th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps. He was a pioneer of amphibious warfare and the U.S. Marine Commandant during American involvement in World War I. Early life and educatio ...

's offer of a Marine division. Had General Pershing accepted General Barnett's offer, it is highly probable that the 1st Armored Car Squadron would have been sent along with it. The 1st Armored Car Squadron was disbanded in 1921. Five of the vehicles were used in Haiti and Santo Domingo until 1927, and all of the cars were finally disposed of in 1934

Units

* USMC 1st Armored Car Squadron

References

;Notes ;Sources *Kenneth W. Estes. ''Marines under armor: the Marine Corps and the armored fighting vehicle, 1916-2000''. Library of Naval Biography. Naval Institute Press, 2000. , . Pg

External links

''Quantico King Armored Car pictures''
{{US WWI Vehicles World War I armoured cars Armored cars of the United States Military vehicles introduced in the 1910s Vehicles introduced in 1915