Universal Carrier
Universal Carrier
History
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| Universal Carrier | |
| Specifications | |
| Type | Armoured Personal Carrier |
| Armament | 1 Bren Light Machine gun |
| Crew | 3 (Driver, commander, Gunner) |
| Weight | 3,450kg |
| Top Speed | 30mph |
The Universal carrier can be traced back to the interwar Carden Loyd tankette. The Carden Loyd tankette first appeared in the 1920s and began its life as private project of a Royal Engineer Officer Giffard Le Quesne Martel. Essentially a miniature tank, crewed by two men and armed with a Vickers machine gun. Various marks of the Cardern Loyd could be found in British army service and the last production variant the Mark VI, served as the blueprint of the Universal carrier. The Mark VI was enlarged moving the two man crew to the front, leaving a large space that could carry lots of equipment, five infantrymen or a gun crew. This design became known in Brtish army service as the Carrier Machine Gun Number 1 Mark 1. The Carrier Machine Gun Number 1 Mark 1 was quickly replace by the Number 2 mark 1. The Number 2 mark 1 had 12mm of armour and was powered by a ford v8 engine that gave the carrier a top speed of 30mph. With the adoption of the Bren gun into British service in 1935 the Carrier Machine Gun Number 2 Mark 1 was once again modified so that it could carry the army’s new weapon. These changes lead an increased crew of three and more importantly to a new name, the Universal carrier.
By the time the Second World War broke out the British Army had nearly 3000 universal carriers in service and it first saw action in the fall of France. The Universal carrier was found wherever British soldiers were during the Second World War. It had many different variants that could be armed with a wide range of weapons, it was known to carry the Boys anti-tank rifle, the Vickers .303 machine gun, the two inch mortar and there was even a flame thrower variant known as the wasp.
Not only could it carry weapons into battle it was equipped with a towing hook that allowed the carrier to move field guns and other artillery pieces. It was perfectly capable of towing a six pounder anti-tank. Ultimately the universal carrier was a popular and versatile vehicle which saw service in the British armed forces right up to the 1960 and with over 100,000 being manufactured means the Universal carrier is the most produced armoured fighting vehicle in history.
Game Play
Universal Carrier MkII 3 inch mortar Carrier
History
| |
| Universal Carrier | |
| Specifications | |
| Type | self propelled mortar |
| Armament | 1 3inch mortar |
| Crew | 3 (Driver, commander, Gunner) |
| Weight | 3,450kg |
| Top Speed | 30mph |
