Ferret armoured car
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the fighting vehicle. For other uses of 'ferret', see Ferret (disambiguation).
Ferret Mk.1/2 in desert finish |
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| Ferret Scout Car | |
|---|---|
| General characteristics | |
| Crew | 2 (commander, driver) |
| Length | 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in) |
| Width | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) |
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Weight | 3.7 t |
| Armour and armament | |
| Armour | ? |
| Main armament | 7.62 mm MG |
| Secondary armament | none |
| Mobility | |
| Power plant | Rolls Royce B60 6-cylinder petrol 130 hp (97 kW) |
| Suspension | 4x4 Wheel |
| Road speed | 93 km/h |
| Power/weight | 35.1 hp/tonne |
| Range | 306 km |
The Ferret armoured car, also commonly called the Ferret Scout car, is a British produced armoured fighting vehicle designed and built for reconnaissance purposes. The Ferret was produced between 1952 and 1971 by the UK company, Daimler. It was widely adopted by regiments in the British Army as well as Commonwealth countries throughout the period.
Contents |
[edit] History
The Ferret was developed in 1949 as a result of the British Army's need to obtain a replacement model for its Second World War light armoured vehicles. Due to the success of their Reconnaissance Scout Car, the "Dingo", Daimler was employed to design and manufacture the Ferret.
The Ferret shared many similar design features with the Dingo, but featured a larger fighting compartment and a small machine gun turret. It was built from an all-welded ("monocoque") steel body, making the drive extremely noisy as all the running gear was within the enclosed body with the crew. Four wheel drive was incorporated together with "Run Flat" tyres. The turret, though not fitted to all models, carried a single machine gun. Six grenade launchers fitted to the hull (three on each side) carried smoke grenades in British service.
It is fast and small enough to be used in an urban environment but strong enough to negotiate rugged terrain off road. The Ferret is no longer in service in the British Army, although several Commonwealth countries still operate them to this day. They have been popular with private collectors due to the compact size and affordable price (some 10,000 dollars in the US).
[edit] Production
A total of 4,409 Ferrets, including 16 sub-models under various Mark numbers, were produced between 1952 and 1971.
[edit] Variants
There are several Marks of Ferret, including those with varying equipment, turret or no turret and armed with Swingfire anti-tank missiles. Including all the marks and experimental variants there have probably been over 60 different vehicles.
[edit] Mk 1
- FV701
- Liaison duties
- No turret
[edit] MK 1/1
- Heavier armour than Mk 1
- Sealed hull for fording.
[edit] Mk 1/2
- Extended height roof
- Crew of three
- Equipped with Bren or later GPMG gun
[edit] Mk 2
- Turret from Alvis Saracen APC
- Produced first
[edit] Mk 2/1 to 5
Small improvements at each stage including thicker armour.
[edit] MK 2/6
[edit] Mk 2/7
- FV701
- Mk 2/6 stripped of anti-tank missiles after Vigilant withdrawn from service
[edit] Mk 4
- FV711
- Improved Mk 2
- Stronger suspension
- Flotation screen
[edit] Mk 5
[edit] Ferret 80
[edit] Trivia
- Ferrets were used in the 1996 film Spy Hard by U.S. special forces.
- Ferrets can also be seen (in a white paint scheme) at Nova Laboratories in the film Short Circuit.
- Electronic musician, Richard D James (aka: IDM icon Aphex Twin), personally owns a 1950s Daimler Ferret Mark 3.
[edit] External links
- Ferret recognition diagrams
- Warwheels.net
- Blogsite mostly about Ferret
- Ferret at Army-Guide.com
- Ferret Walk Arounds on Prime Portal
| Modern (post WW2) UK armoured fighting vehicles |
|---|
| Wheeled vehicles |
| Ferret Scout Car | Fox Reconnaissance Vehicle | Saladin Armoured Car | Saracen APC |
| FV1611 "Pig" | Saxon | Mastiff PPV |
| Armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles |
| FV432 | Warrior | FV103 Spartan | Stormer | FV104 Samaritan | FV105 Sultan |
| Light tanks and anti-tank vehicles |
| FV101 Scorpion | FV107 Scimitar | Sabre | FV102 Striker | FV438 Swingfire |
| Self-propelled artillery |
| FV433 Abbot | AS-90 |
| Main battle tanks |
| Centurion | Conqueror | Chieftain | Challenger 1 | Challenger 2 |
| UK unarmoured or non-fighting vehicles |
| 4 x 4 AML | BRDM-2 | Ferret | FV 721 Fox | Piranha |
