The Pierce-Arrow armoured lorry was a heavy
armoured car mounting a
QF 3-pounder Vickers gun, it was used by the
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...
during the
First World 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 ...
.
Design
The Pierce-Arrow armoured lorry was a turreted armoured lorry based on an imported American
Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company
The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was an American motor vehicle manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, active from 1901 to 1938. Although best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial trucks, fire tr ...
5-ton truck chassis with added armoured bodywork, it was armed with a turreted
QF 3-pounder Vickers gun.
[ The Pierce-Arrow had a front mounted engine protected by folding armoured panels, behind the engine was an enclosed driver's compartment a single two armoured shutter, the turret was behind the driver's compartment.][ The Pierce-Arrow armoured lorry used the same chassis as the Pierce-Arrow armoured AA lorry, it used identical bonnet armour as the latter whilst the driver's compartment was reduced to half width to allow the main gun to fire forwards.][
]
History
Construction of the two Pierce-Arrow armoured lorries was carried out by W. G. Allen & Sons in Tipton
Tipton is an industrial town in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It had a population of 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham and southeas ...
, who used armoured plate for the fighting compartment, the turret turntables were manufactured by John Shearman & Co at Newport, Wales
Newport ( ) is a city and Principal areas of Wales, county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. The population grew considerably between the 2011 and the 2021 Unit ...
, where the RNAS had a depot to service armoured cars.[ The two vehicles were dispatched to Russia in 1916 with No 1 Squadron, Royal Naval Armoured Car Division under Commander Oliver Locker-Lampson for the expedition to Russia and the Causasus.][ Throughout the campaign the Pierce-Arrows provided heavy fire support to the lighter ]Lanchester armoured car
The Lanchester armoured car was a British armoured car built on the chassis of the Lanchester "Sporting Forty", it saw wide service with the Royal Naval Air Service and British Army during the First World War. The Lanchester was the second mo ...
s that made up the bulk of the force.[ In Russia the weight proved to be too heavy for the chassis so the turrets were removed, and the guns were mounted on a pedestal with a shield, and the hull sides were filled in with flat plates.][
]
See also
* List of combat vehicles of World War I
This is a list of combat vehicles of World War I, including conceptual, experimental, prototype, training and production vehicles. The vehicles in this list were either used in combat, produced or designed during the First World War.
World War On ...
References
{{WWI British AFVs
World War I armoured cars
World War I armoured fighting vehicles of the United Kingdom
Armoured cars of the United Kingdom
Armoured lorry