Rhino Heavy Armoured Car
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The prototype Rhino with early heavier hull |
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| Rhino Heavy Armoured Car | |
|---|---|
| General characteristics | |
| Crew | 4 (Commander, Driver, Gunner, and Loader/Operator) |
| Length | 4.6 m |
| Width | 2.3 m |
| Height | 2.6 m |
| Weight | 8.5 tonnes |
| Armour and armament | |
| Armour | 30 mm |
| Main armament | QF 2 pdr (40 mm) Mk II |
| Secondary armament | One 0.303 (7.7 mm) Vickers MMG |
| Mobility | |
| Power plant | GMC 6 cylinder inline |
| Suspension | 4x4 leaf spring |
| Road speed | |
| Power/weight | |
| Range | |
Car, Armoured, Heavy (Aust), also known as Rhino, was an armoured car designed in Australia during the Second World War. Due to enemy action and design problems the project never got beyond a prototype stage.
[edit] History and description
At the outbreak of the World War II the United Kingdom was unable to meet the needs of the Commonwealth for armored fighting vehicles. It led many Commonwealth countries to develop their own AFVs.
In mid to late 1941 a specification for a heavy armoured car was issued to the Australian Directorate of Armoured Fighting Vehicles Production. Two prototype hulls and turrets were built and tested on the same chassis 1942. The vehicle suffered from excessive weight and in 1943 the project was cancelled.
The vehicle utilized chassis and engine produced by General Motors Canada, the rear-engined model 8446, the same chassis as used for the Canadian "Fox" armoured car. To this a welded armoured body fabricated from Australian Bullet-proof Plate (ABP-3) of 30 mm thickness to the front and 11 mm to the sides and rear was fitted. The vehicle was completed by a welded turret with 30 mm all-round protection similar in design to that of the Crusader tank. The armament consisted of a 2 pounder Mk IX gun and a coaxial .303 inch Vickers machine gun.
A pilot model of an armoured personnel carrier with an open-topped hull and without a turret was also built.
[edit] References
- Michael K. Cecil - Australian Military Equipment Profiles vol. 3, Australian Scout and Armoured Cars 1933 to 1945, 1993 Australian Military Equipment Profiles, ISBN 0-646-14611-4.
[edit] External links
| British and Commonwealth armoured cars of World War II |
|---|
| Scout Cars |
| Daimler Dingo | Dingo Scout Car (Australia) | Humber Scout Car Lynx Scout Car (Canada) | S1 Scout Car (Australia) |
| Light Reconnaissance Cars |
| Humber LRC | Morris LRC | Otter LRC (Canada) |
| Armoured Cars |
| AEC Armoured Car | Coventry Armoured Car | Daimler Armoured Car Fox Armoured Car (Canada) | Guy Armoured Car | Humber Armoured Car Lanchester Armoured Car | Marmon-Herrington Armoured Car (South Africa) Morris CS9 | Rhino Heavy Armoured Car (Australia) | Rolls-Royce Armoured Car Rover Light Armoured Car (Australia) | Standard Beaverette |
| Armoured Trucks |
| Bedford OXA | C15TA Armoured Truck (Canada) |
| Wheeled Carriers |
| Armoured Carrier Wheeled Indian Pattern (India) |
| Armoured Command Vehicles |
| AEC ACV | Guy Lizard ACV |
| Tanks and other large armoured vehicles |
| Unarmoured vehicles |
| British armoured fighting vehicle production during World War II |
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