A military armored (or armoured) car is a lightweight wheeled armored fighting vehicle, historically employed for

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

internal security Internal security is the act of keeping peace within the borders of a sovereign state or other self-governing territories, generally by upholding the national law and defending against internal security threats. Responsibility for internal secu ...

, armed escort, and other subordinate battlefield tasks. With the gradual decline of mounted cavalry, armored cars were developed for carrying out duties used to be assigned to light cavalry. Following the invention of the

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

, the armored car remained popular due to its faster speed, comparatively simplified 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, 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. Since World War II the traditional functions of the armored car have been occasionally combined with that of the

armored personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Ac ...

, resulting in such multipurpose designs as the

BTR-40 The BTR-40 (БТР, from Бронетранспортёр, or '' Bronetransporter'', literally "armoured transporter† is a Soviet non-amphibious, wheeled armoured personnel carrier and reconnaissance vehicle. It is often referred to as the ''So ...

or the Cadillac Gage Commando. Postwar advances in recoil control technology have also made it possible for a few armored cars, including the

B1 Centauro The Centauro is a family of Italian military vehicles originating from a wheeled tank destroyer for light to medium territorial defense and tactical reconnaissance. It was developed by a consortium of manufacturers, the Società Consortile Iveco ...

, the

Panhard AML The Panhard AML (''Auto Mitrailleuse Légère'', or "Light Machine Gun Car") is an armoured car with reconnaissance capability. Designed on a lightly armoured 4×4 chassis, it weighs an estimated 5.5 tonnes, and is thus suitable for airborne dep ...

, the AMX-10RC and

EE-9 Cascavel The EE-9 ''Cascavel'' (, translated to ''Rattlesnake'') is a six-wheeled Brazilian armoured car developed primarily for reconnaissance. It was engineered by Engesa in 1970 as a replacement for Brazil's ageing fleet of M8 Greyhounds. The vehicle w ...

, to carry a large cannon capable of threatening many tanks.

History

Precursors

During the Middle Ages,

war wagon A war wagon is any of several historical types of early fighting vehicle involving an armed or armored animal-drawn cart or wagon. China One of the earliest example of using conjoined wagons in warfare as fortification is described in the Chinese ...

s covered with steel plate, and crewed by men armed with primitive

hand cannon The hand cannon ( Chinese: 手銃 ''shŏuchòng'', or 火銃 ''huŏchòng''), also known as the gonne or handgonne, is the first true firearm and the successor of the fire lance. It is the oldest type of small arms as well as the most mech ...

flail A flail is an agriculture, agricultural tool used for threshing, the process of separating cereal, grains from their husks. It is usually made from two or more large sticks attached by a short chain; one stick is held and swung, causing the othe ...

s and muskets, were used by the

Hussite The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Huss ...

rebels in Bohemia. These were deployed in formations where the horses and oxen were at the centre, and the surrounding wagons were chained together as protection from enemy cavalry. With the invention of the steam engine, Victorian inventors designed prototype self-propelled armored vehicles for use in sieges, although none were deployed in combat.

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

The Land Ironclads" provides a fictionalized account of their use.

Armed car

The

Motor Scout The Motor Scout was the first armed petrol engine powered vehicle ever built. It was not intended for running over ploughed fields or charging, but it was designed to provide a cover or to support infantry and cavalry wherever good roads were av ...

was designed and built by British inventor F.R. Simms in 1898. It was the first armed petrol engine-powered vehicle ever built. The vehicle was a

De Dion-Bouton De Dion-Bouton was a French automobile manufacturer and railcar manufacturer operating from 1883 to 1953. The company was founded by the Marquis Jules-Albert de Dion, Georges Bouton, and Bouton's brother-in-law Charles Trépardoux. Steam cars T ...

quadricycle Quadricycle refers to vehicles with four wheels. In 1896 Henry Ford named his first vehicle design the "Quadricycle". it ran on four bicycle wheels, with an engine driving the back wheels.Brinkley, David, ''Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His ...

with a mounted Maxim machine gun on the front bar. An iron shield in front of the car protected the driver. Another early armed car was invented by

Royal Page Davidson Royal Page Davidson (October 9, 1870January 16, 1943) was an American scholar, educator, professor, and inventor. He is associated with helping to organize Northwestern Military and Naval Academy in Highland Park, Illinois. He reestablished it ...

Northwestern Military and Naval Academy Northwestern Military Academy (founded 1888) was a high school in Linn, Wisconsin which was founded by Harlan Page Davidson. Originally located in Highland Park, Illinois, the school was relocated to the town of Linn, Wisconsin on the south shore o ...

in 1898 with the

Davidson-Duryea gun carriage The Davidson-Duryea gun carriage was a 3- and 4-wheeled armed armored vehicle manufactured in 1898 and 1899 for military use. Development history Royal Page Davidson of the Northwestern Military Academy in Highland Park, Illinois, was do ...

and the later

Davidson Automobile Battery armored car The Davidson Auto Battery armored car was a further development of the Davidson-Duryea gun carriage but with steam power. It was built by Royal Page Davidson and the cadets of the Northwestern Military and Naval Academy Northwestern Military Aca ...

. However, these were not "armored cars" as the term is understood today, as they provided little protection for their crews from enemy fire.

First armored cars

At the beginning of the 20th century, the first military armored vehicles were manufactured, by adding armor and weapons to existing vehicles. Simms Motor War Car 1902

The first armored car was the Simms' Motor War Car, designed by F.R. Simms and built by Vickers, Sons & Maxim of Barrow on a special

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

-built Daimler chassis with a German-built Daimler motor in 1899. and a single prototype was ordered in April 1899 The prototype was finished in 1902, too late to be used during the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

. The vehicle had Vickers armor, 6 mm thick, and was powered by a four-cylinder 3.3-liter 16- hp Cannstatt Daimler engine, giving it a maximum speed of around . The armament, consisting of two

Maxim gun The Maxim gun is a recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first fully automatic machine gun in the world. The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most associated with imperial conquest" by historian ...

s, was carried in two turrets with 360° traverse. It had a crew of four. Simms' Motor War Car was presented at

the Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around th ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, in April 1902. Charron Girardot Voigt 1902

Another early armored car of the period was the French

Charron, Girardot et Voigt 1902 The Charron, Girardot et Voigt 1902 was a French armoured car (French: ''Automitrailleuse blindée'') developed in 1902 by the company Charron, Girardot et Voigt. It was equipped with a Hotchkiss machine gun, and with 7 mm armour for the gunn ...

, presented at the ''Salon de l'Automobile et du cycle'' in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, on 8 March 1902. The vehicle was equipped with a Hotchkiss machine gun, and with 7 mm armour for the gunner. One of the first operational armored cars with four wheel (4x4) drive and partly enclosed rotating turret, was the

Austro-Daimler Panzerwagen Austro-Daimler was an Austro-Hungarian automaker company, from 1899 until 1934. It was a subsidiary of the German ''Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft'' (DMG) until 1909. Early history In 1890, Eduard Bierenz was appointed as Austrian retailer. The ...

built by

Austro-Daimler Austro-Daimler was an Austro-Hungarian automaker company, from 1899 until 1934. It was a subsidiary of the German ''Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft'' (DMG) until 1909. Early history In 1890, Eduard Bierenz was appointed as Austrian retailer. The ...

in 1904. It was armored with 3–3.5 mm thick curved plates over the body (drive space and engine) and had a 4 mm thick dome-shaped rotating turret that housed one or two machine-guns. It had a four-cylinder 35 hp 4.4 litre engine giving it average cross country performance. Both the driver and co-driver had adjustable seats enabling them to raise them to see out of the roof of the drive compartment as needed. Austro-daimler-AFV

The Italians used armored cars during the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...

. A great variety of armored cars appeared on both sides during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and these were used in various ways.

World War I

Generally, armored cars were used by more or less independent car commanders. However, sometimes they were used in larger units up to squadron size. The cars were primarily armed with light machine guns, but larger units usually employed a few cars with heavier guns. As air power became a factor, armored cars offered a mobile platform for antiaircraft guns. Minerva armored car, model 1914 near Antwerp WW1

Minerva armored car, model 1914 near Antwerp WW1

The first effective use of an armored vehicle in combat was achieved by the

Belgian Army The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard. ...

in August–September 1914. They had placed Cockerill armour plating and a Hotchkiss machine gun on

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Rom ...

touring cars, creating the Minerva Armored Car. Their successes in the early days of the war convinced the Belgian GHQ to create a Corps of Armoured Cars, who would be sent to fight on the Eastern front once the western front immobilized after the

Battle of the Yser The Battle of the Yser (french: Bataille de l'Yser, nl, Slag om de IJzer) was a battle of the First World War that took place in October 1914 between the towns of Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide, along a stretch of the Yser River and the Yperlee ...

. The British Royal Naval Air Service dispatched aircraft to Dunkirk to defend the UK from Zeppelins. The officers' cars followed them and these began to be used to rescue downed reconnaissance pilots in the battle areas. They mounted machine guns on them and as these excursions became increasingly dangerous, they improvised boiler plate armoring on the vehicles provided by a local shipbuilder. In London

Murray Sueter Rear-Admiral Sir Murray Fraser Sueter (6 September 1872 – 3 February 1960) was a Royal Naval officer who was noted as a pioneer of naval aviation and later became a Member of Parliament (MP). Naval career Sueter was born in Alverstoke. Comi ...

ordered "fighting cars" based on Rolls-Royce, Talbot and Wolseley chassis. By the time Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars arrived in December 1914, the mobile period on the Western Front was already over. They had a fascinating birth and long and interesting service. More tactically important was the development of formed units of armored cars, such as the

Canadian Automobile Machine Gun Brigade The Canadian Automobile Machine Gun Brigade, also known as Brutinel's Brigade or the Brutinel Brigade, was the first fully motorized unit of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during the First World War. It was established on August 24, 1 ...

, which was the first fully mechanized unit in the history of the British Army. The brigade was established on September 2, 1914, in Ottawa, as Automobile Machine Gun Brigade No. 1 by Brigadier-General Raymond Brutinel. The brigade was originally equipped with eight

Armoured Autocar The Armoured Autocar was a Canadian armoured car used as a mobile machine gun nest during the First World War. Development The Armoured Autocar was developed by Major Raymond Brutinel, who immigrated to Canada from France. Brutinel, a Captai ...

s mounting two machine guns. By 1918 Brutinel's force consisted of two motor machine gun brigades (each of five gun batteries containing eight weapons apiece). The brigade, and its armored cars, provided yeoman service in many battles, notably at Amiens. The Rolls-Royce Armoured Car was famously proposed, developed, and utilized by the 2nd Duke of Westminster. He took a squadron of these cars to France in time to make a noted contribution to the

Second Battle of Ypres During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pr ...

, and thereafter the cars with their master were sent to the Middle East to play a part in the British campaign in Palestine and elsewhere. These cars appear in the memoirs of numerous officers of the BEF during the earlier stages of the Great War - their ducal master often being described in an almost piratical style. Armored cars also saw action on the Eastern Front. From 18 February - 26 March 1915, the German army under General

Max von Gallwitz Max Karl Wilhelm von Gallwitz (2 May 1852 – 18 April 1937) was a German general from Breslau (Wrocław), Silesia, who served with distinction during World War I on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. Biography Gallwitz grew up in a Cath ...

attempted to break through the Russian lines in and around the town of

Przasnysz Przasnysz (; yi, פראשניץ, russian: Прасныш) is a town in north-central Poland. Located in the Masovian Voivodship, about 110 km north of Warsaw and about 115 km south of Olsztyn, it is the capital of Przasnysz County. It ...

, Poland, (about 110 km / 68 miles north of Warsaw) during the Battle of Przasnysz (Polish: ''Bitwa przasnyska''). Near the end of the battle, the Russians used four Russo-Balt armored cars and a armored car to break through the Germans' lines and force the Germans to retreat.

World War II

The British

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

(RAF) in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

was equipped with Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars and Morris tenders. Some of these vehicles were among the last of a consignment of ex-

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

armored cars that had been serving in the

since 1915. In September 1940 a section of the No. 2 Squadron RAF Regiment Company was detached to General Wavell's ground forces during the first offensive against the Italians in Egypt. It is said that these armored cars became ‘the eyes and ears of Wavell’. During the actions in the October of that year the company was employed on convoy escort tasks, airfield defense, fighting reconnaissance patrols and screening operations. Fordson Armoured Car Iraq

During the 1941

Anglo-Iraqi War The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq under Rashid Gaylani, who had seized power in the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état, with assistance from Germany and Italy. The ca ...

, some of the units located in the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

were sent to Iraq and drove Fordson armored cars.Lyman, ''Iraq 1941'', pg. 25 "Fordson" armored cars were Rolls-Royce armored cars which received new chassis from a

Fordson Fordson was a brand name of tractors and trucks. It was used on a range of mass-produced general-purpose tractors manufactured by Henry Ford & Son Inc from 1917 to 1920, by Ford Motor Company (U.S.) and Ford Motor Company Ltd (U.K.) from 1920 to ...

truck in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. By the start of the new war, the German army possessed some highly effective reconnaissance vehicles, such as the ''

Schwerer Panzerspähwagen The term (German for 'heavy armoured reconnaissance vehicle'), covers the six- and eight-wheeled armoured cars Germany used during the Second World War. In the German Army, armoured cars were intended for the traditional cavalry missions of r ...

''. The Soviet

BA-64 The BA-64 (''БА-64'', from ''Bronirovaniy Avtomobil'', literally "armoured car") was a Soviet four-wheeled armoured scout car. Built on the chassis of a GAZ-64 or GAZ-67 jeep, it incorporated a hull loosely modeled after that of the Sd.Kfz. ...

was influenced by a captured ''

Leichter Panzerspähwagen The ''Leichter Panzerspähwagen'' (German: "light armoured reconnaissance vehicle") was a series of light four-wheel drive armoured cars produced by Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1944. Development history The Sd.Kfz. 221 was the first in a series o ...

'' before it was first tested in January 1942. In the second half of the war, the American

M8 Greyhound The M8 light armored car is a 6×6 armored car produced by the Ford Motor Company during World War II. It was used from 1943 by United States and British forces in Europe and the Pacific until the end of the war. The vehicle was widely exporte ...

and the British

Daimler 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 inter ...

s featured turrets mounting light guns (40 mm or less). As with other wartime armored cars, their reconnaissance roles emphasized greater speed and stealth than a tracked vehicle could provide, so their limited armor, armament and off-road capabilities were seen as acceptable compromises.

Military use

A military armored car is a type of armored fighting vehicle having wheels (from four to ten large, off-road wheels) instead of tracks, and usually light

armor Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or f ...

. Armored cars are typically less expensive and on roads have better speed and range than tracked military vehicles. They do however have less mobility as they have less off-road capabilities because of the higher ground pressure. They also have less obstacle climbing capabilities than tracked vehicles. Wheels are more vulnerable to enemy fire than tracks, they have a higher signature and in most cases less armor than comparable tracked vehicles. As a result, they are not intended for heavy fighting; their normal use is for

, command, control, and communications, or for use against lightly armed insurgents or rioters. Only some are intended to enter close combat, often accompanying convoys to protect soft-skinned vehicles. Light armored cars, such as the British Ferret are armed with just a machine gun. Heavier vehicles are armed with autocannon or a large caliber gun. The heaviest armored cars, such as the German, World War II era

Sd.Kfz. 234 The Sd.Kfz. 234 ('' Sonderkraftfahrzeug 234'', Special Purpose Vehicle 234), was a family of armoured cars designed and built in Germany during World War II. The vehicles were lightly armoured, armed with a 20, 50 or 75 mm main gun, and po ...

or the modern, US

M1128 Mobile Gun System The M1128 Mobile Gun System (MGS) is an eight-wheeled armored car of the Stryker armored fighting vehicle family, mounting a 105 mm tank gun, based on the Canadian LAV III light-armored vehicle manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems for ...

, mount the same guns that arm medium tanks. Armored cars are popular for peacekeeping or internal security duties. Their appearance is less confrontational and threatening than tanks, and their size and maneuverability is said to be more compatible with tight urban spaces designed for wheeled vehicles. However, they do have a larger turning radius compared to tracked vehicles which can turn on the spot and their tires are vulnerable and are less capable in climbing and crushing obstacles. Further, when there is true combat they are easily outgunned and lightly armored. The threatening appearance of a tank is often enough to keep an opponent from attacking, whereas a less threatening vehicle such as an armored car is more likely to be attacked. Many modern forces now have their dedicated armored car designs, to exploit the advantages noted above. Examples would be the

M1117 Armored Security Vehicle The M1117 Guardian, also denoted Armored Security Vehicle (''ASV''), is an internal security vehicle based on the V-100 and V-150 Commando series of armored cars. It was developed in the late 1990s for service with the United States' Militar ...

of the USA or

Alvis Saladin The FV601 Saladin is a six-wheeled armoured car developed by Crossley Motors and later manufactured by Alvis. Designed in 1954, it replaced the AEC Armoured Car in service with the British Army from 1958 onward. The vehicle weighed 11 tonnes, ...

of the post-World War II era in the United Kingdom. Alternatively, civilian vehicles may be modified into improvised armored cars in ''ad hoc'' fashion. Many militias and irregular forces adapt civilian vehicles into AFVs (armored fighting vehicles) and troop carriers, and in some regional conflicts these "technicals" are the only combat vehicles present. On occasion, even the soldiers of national militaries are forced to adapt their civilian-type vehicles for combat use, often using improvised armor and scrounged weapons.

Scout cars

In the 1930s, a new sub-class of armored car emerged in the United States, known as the ''scout car''. This was a compact light armored car which was either unarmed or armed only with machine guns for self-defense. Scout cars were designed as purpose-built reconnaissance vehicles for passive observation and intelligence gathering. Armored cars which carried large caliber, turreted weapons systems were not considered scout cars. The concept gained popularity worldwide during

and was especially favored in nations where reconnaissance theory emphasized passive observation over combat. Examples of armored cars also classified as scout cars include the Soviet BRDM series, the British Ferret, the Brazilian

EE-3 Jararaca The EE-3 Jararaca is a Brazilian scout car developed for route reconnaissance, liaison, and internal security purposes. It was engineered by Engesa in response to a perceived Brazilian Army requirement for a light armored car capable of repla ...

, the Hungarian

D-442 FÚG The D-442 FUG (''Felderítő Úszó Gépkocsi'' – "amphibious reconnaissance vehicle") and D-944 PSZH (''Páncélozott Személyszállító Harcjármű'' – "armored personnel carrier") are the results of Hungarian domestic development of relat ...

, and the American

Cadillac Gage Commando Scout The Cadillac Gage Scout was an American scout car designed for the export market that was first announced in October 1977 at the Association of the United States Army meeting in Washington D.C. History In 1983, Indonesia placed an order for 28 S ...

Notes

References

*Crow, Duncan, and Icks, Robert J., ''Encyclopedia of Armored Cars'', Chatwell Books, Secaucus, NJ, 1976. . {{Authority control Armoured fighting vehicles by type Internal security vehicles Paramilitary vehicles