Universal Carrier

Universal Carrier

Universal Carrier as mortar carrier
Type Armoured personnel carrier
Place of origin  United Kingdom
Specifications
Weight 3.75 t
Length 12 ft (3.65 m)
Width 6 ft 4 inch (1.92 m)
Height 5 ft 2 inch (1.57 m)
Crew 2
Armour 7–10 mm
Main
armament		 Bren light machine gun; one variant No 2 Flame-thrower.
Secondary
armament		 Vickers machine gun; M2 Browning machine gun; 2-inch mortar; 3-inch mortar; Boys anti-tank rifle; Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank; Ordnance QF 2 pounder anti-tank gun.
Engine Ford V-8 petrol[1]
85 hp at 3,500 rpm[1]
Suspension Horstmann
Operational
range		 150 miles (250 km)[1]
Speed 30 mph (48 km/h)[1]

The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrong. Produced between 1934 and 1960, the vehicle was used widely by British Commonwealth forces during the Second World War. Universal Carriers were usually used for transporting personnel and equipment, mostly support weapons, or as machine gun platforms. With some 113,000 built in the United Kingdom and abroad, it was the most produced armoured fighting vehicle in history.

Contents

Design and development

The origins of the Universal Carrier family can be traced back generally to the Carden Loyd tankettes family which was developed in the 1920s, and specifically the Mk VI tankette.[2]

The carrier put the driver and commander at the front sitting side-by-side; the driver to the right. The engine was in the centre of the vehicle with the final drive at the rear. The suspension was a mixture of the Vickers light tank and Horstmann springs[3] Directional control was through a (vertical) steering wheel. Small turns moved the front road wheel assembly warping the track so the vehicle drifted to that side. Further movement of the wheel braked the appropriate track to give a turn.

The hull in front of the commander's position jutted forward to give room for the Bren gun (or other armament) to fire through a simple slit. To either side of the engine were two areas in which passengers could ride or stores be carried.

Initially, there were several different types of Carrier that varied slightly in design according to their purpose: "Medium Machine Gun Carrier" (the Vickers machine gun), "Bren Gun Carrier", "Scout Carrier" and "Cavalry Carrier". However, production of a single model came to be preferred and the Universal design appeared in 1940; this would be the most widely produced of the Carriers. It differed from the previous models in having a rectangular body shape in rear section, with more space for crew.

Production

Production of these combat vehicles began in 1934 and it ended in 1960.[1] Before the Universal design was introduced, production was by Aveling and Porter, Bedford Vehicles, the British branch of the Ford Motor Company, the Morris Motor Company, the Sentinel Waggon Works, and the Thornycroft company.

The Universal was produced in Great Britain by Aveling-Barford, Ford, Sentinel, Thornycroft, and Wolseley Motors. By 1945 production amounted to approximately 57,000 of all models, including some 2,400 early ones.

The Ford Motor Company of Canada manufactured about 29,000 of the Universal Carriers. Smaller numbers of them were also produced in Australia (about 5,000) and New Zealand (about 1,300).

Operational history

Universal Carriers were issued to infantry units for carrying support weapons (initially 10,[4] 21 by 1941,[5] and up to 33 per battalion by 1943[6]). Artillery units used them as an artillery tractor for the Ordnance QF 6 pounder anti-tank gun.

The British Carrier Platoon originally had ten Universal Carriers with three Carrier Sections of three Universal Carriers each plus another Universal Carrier in the Platoon HQ. Each Universal Carrier had a NCO, a rifleman and a driver/mechanic. One Universal Carrier in each section was commanded by a Sergeant and the other two by Corporals. All the Universal Carriers were armed with a Bren light machine gun and one Carrier in each Carrier Section also had a Boys anti-tank rifle. By 1941 the Carrier Platoon increased in strength to contained four Carrier Sections and one Carrier in the Carrier Sections also carried a 2-inch mortar. By 1943 each Universal Carrier now had a crew of four, an NCO, driver/mechanic and two riflemen. The Boys anti-tank rifle was also replaced by the PIAT. The Universal Carriers weapons could be fired from in or outside of the Carrier. A Carrier Platoon had a higher number of light support weapons than a Rifle Company.

Carrier Section

Variants

Mk. I
The original model.
Mk. II
Equipped with a towing hitch.
Wasp
A flamethrower-equipped variant, using the "Flame-thrower, Transportable, No 2". The Mark I had a fixed flamethrower, Mk II had the projector in the co-driver's position. Both had the fuel tank within the rear compartment. The MkIIC (C for Canadian) moved the fuel tank to the rear of the vehicle outside the armour protection, allowing a third crew member to be carried.
LP1 Carrier (Aust)
Australian-built version of the British Bren Gun Carrier.
LP2 Carrier (Aust)
Australian-built variant of the Universal Carrier. Also produced in New Zealand.
2-pounder Anti-tank Gun Carrier (Aust)
The Carrier, Anti-tank, 2-pdr, (Aust) or Carrier, Tank Attack, 2-pdr (Aust) was a heavily modified and lengthened LP2 carrier with a fully traversable QF 2 pounder anti-tank gun mounted on a platform at the rear and the engine moved to the front left of the vehicle. Stowage was provided for 112 rounds of 2pdr ammunition. 200 were produced and used for training.[7]
3 inch Mortar Carrier (Aust)
The Carrier, 3-inch Mortar (Aust) was a design based on the 2 Pounder Carrier with a 3-inch mortar mounted in place of the 2 pounder. Designed to enable the mortar to have 360 degree traverse and to be fired either from the vehicle, or dismounted. 400 were produced and were ultimately sent as military aid to the Nationalist Chinese Army.[7]
T-16
The Carrier, Universal, T16, Mark I. was a significantly improved vehicle based upon those built by Ford of Canada, manufactured under Lend Lease by Ford in the United States from March 1943 to 1945. It was chiefly used by Canadian forces during the war as an artillery tractor. After the war, it was used by Swiss and Netherlands forces. It was longer than the Universal with an extra road wheel on the rear bogie, the engine was a Ford Mercury delivering the same power. Instead of the steering wheel controlling the combination brake/warp mechanism, the T-16 had track-brake steering operated by levers (two for each side).
Fahrgestell Bren (e)
A captured carrier of 1940, reused by the Germans with a 3.7 cm PaK 36 gun.
Panzerjäger Bren 731(e)
Bren carriers captured by the Germans and fitted with a triple Panzerschreck mount, probably the first armoured vehicle to be fitted with anti-tank rockets.[8]
Praying Mantis
the Praying Mantis was an attempt to produce a low-silhouette vehicle that could still fire over obstacles. A one-man design based on Carden-Lloyd suspension was not adopted, but the inventor was encouraged to design a two-man version. This version appeared in 1943 and was based upon the Universal Carrier. The hull was replaced with an enclosed metal-box structure with enough room for a driver and a gunner lying prone. This box, pivoting from the rear, could be elevated. At the top end was a machine-gun turret (with two Bren guns). The intention was to drive the Mantis up to a wall or hedgerow, elevate the gun, and fire over the obstacle from a position of safety. It was rejected after trials in 1944.[9] A Mantis survives in the Bovington Tank Museum.
CATI 90
A Belgian SPG development, in use from 1954 to 1962. The vehicle was called "Canon antitank d'infanterie automoteur 90mm" and served in infantry units with a paired ammunition carrier.[10]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e McNab, p. 142.
  2. ^ Fletcher & Bryan, p. 3
  3. ^ "Britain's Bren Gun Carrier". WWIIvehicles.com. 1940-05-10. http://www.wwiivehicles.com/unitedkingdom/carriers.asp. Retrieved 2010-03-11. 
  4. ^ An Infantry (Rifle) Battalion, ref II/1931/12B/3, notified in Army Council Instructions 6th April 1938
  5. ^ An Infantry Battalion (Higher Establishment), ref II/1931/12F/2, notified in Army Council Instructions 4th June 1941.
  6. ^ An Infantry Battalion, ref II/233/2, notified in Army Council Instructions 19th May 1943, effective date 30th April 1943.
  7. ^ a b Cecil
  8. ^ WW II German Infantry Anti-Tank Weapons: Page 3: Panzerschreck
  9. ^ Fletcher, p47
  10. ^ The Overvalwagen Forum dedicated to research on lesser-known military equipment of smaller or non-belligerent nations (accessed 26th May 2008)

References

  • Bishop, Chris (2002). The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II: The Comprehensive Guide to Over 1,500 Weapons Systems, Including Tanks, Small Arms, Warplanes, Artillery, Ships and Submarines. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 1586637622. 
  • Cecil, Michael K. (1992). Australian Military Equipment Profiles, vol 2, Local Pattern Carriers 1939 to 1945. Australian Military Equipment Profiles. ISBN 0-646-12600-8. 
  • Chamberlain, Peter; Ellis, Chris (2001). British and American Tanks of World War Two: The complete illustrated history of British, American, and Commonwealth tanks 1933-1945. Cassell & Company. ISBN 0711028982. 
  • Fletcher, David (1989). The Great Tank Scandal: British Armour in the Second World War Part 1. Her Majesty's Stationary Office. ISBN 0112904602. 
  • Fletcher, David; Bryan, Tony (2005). Universal Carrier 1936-48: The 'Bren Gun Carrier' Story. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781841768137. 
  • Harris, J.P. (1995). Men, Ideas, and Tanks: British Military Thought and Armoured Forces, 1903-1939. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719048142. 
  • McNab, Chris (2003). Military Vehicles: 300 of the World's Most Effective Militart Vehicles. Grange Books. ISBN 1840135395. 
  • Tucker, Spencer (2004). Tanks: An Illustrated History of Their Impact. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1576079953. 

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