The Dingo Scout Car was a light armoured car built in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. They were produced by the Ford motor company during 1942.

History

Australia as a nation was ill-prepared for the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and possessed little in the way of armoured vehicles. Being at the time unable to purchase them from their traditional supplier, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

whose industrial output was dedicated to more immediate needs in Europe, they were forced by circumstance to develop and build them from what resources were available in Australia, and armoured cars and scout cars were no exception. Much creative application and innovation was spawned by the lessons learnt from the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The Dingo was based on a commercial Ford 30-cwt, 134.5 inch

wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...

chassis, shortened to 110 inches and fitted with a Marmon-Herrington all wheel drive kit, to give the vehicle four wheel drive. It was powered by either an 85 hp or 95 hp Ford V8 engine. On to this was fitted an armoured body manufactured from ABP-3 (Australian Bullet Proof plate type 3) by

Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...

. Serial production began in early 1942. The Dingo was equipped with a Bren

light machine gun A light machine gun (LMG) is a light-weight machine gun designed to be operated by a single infantryman, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. LMGs firing cartridge (firearms), cartridges of the same caliber as the othe ...

and Mk19

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided transm ...

. The vehicle's weight restricted its off-road mobility and the front axle could be distorted when travelling over rough terrain. Some were modified with reinforcements welded to the axle tubes, at the expense of no longer being able to fit the bash plate under the differential. A lighter version with only 10 mm of armour and an open top was proposed at the end of 1942 but not proceeded with as armoured cars could now be imported from overseas. All 245 vehicles produced were disposed of in 1945. Surviving Dingos are on display at the Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC) tank museum at Puckapunyal, Victoria, at the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...

, at the Melbourne Tank Museum in Narre Warren, and at the Australian Armour and Artillery Museum in Cairns. There are also several vehicles in private ownership.

Notes

References

* Cecil, Michael K. (1993). ''Australian Scout and Armoured Cars 1933 to 1945'', Australian Military Equipment Profiles, vol. 3, . *

External links

Old CMP – Dingo
{{WWIIBritishAFVs World War II scout cars World War II armoured fighting vehicles of Australia Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944