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Coventry Armored Car

1945 COLD WAR WORLD WAR 2

History of Coventry Armoured Vehicles

During most of World War II, the British Army's armored vehicle inventory consisted of two main types of vehicles - the Daimler and Humber armored vehicles. Daimler's production reached nearly 2,700, while Humber's total production reached 5,400 -- both very successful in reconnaissance and security. Towards the end of the war, it became clear that a single design with better weapons could replace the previous two types, and a product was developed by a joint venture between Daimler and Lutes, which influenced Humber's parent company . The resulting design became the 'Coventry Mark I', also known as the 'Coventry Armoured Vehicle', which appeared in 220 examples under the Rootes Group brand label. Serial production of the car began in June 1944, but deliveries were too late to be used in the war.

Despite the intention to replace the existing Daimler and Humber products with Coventry, both types were retained, and as the battle ended, Coventry car production was reduced from the planned 1,700 units . Production of the Coventry car ceased in 1945.

With the history of Daimler and Roots in the automotive industry, Coventry proved to be the largely standardized armoured vehicle design of the period. It features four large rubber tire wheels at the extreme corners of the chassis for optimal balance on rough terrain, a flat hull structure for a low profile and a 360-degree rotating turret that can mount primary and secondary weapons. The driver occupies a position in the front left of the hull, while the rest of the crew sits in the turret above the central fighting compartment.

As usual, the engine is housed in the rear compartment. The standard Coventry crew consists of four people - driver, co-pilot, commander and gunner. Primary armament is a QF 2lb (40mm) main gun and coaxially mounted 7.92mm BESA medium tank machine gun. Power is provided by a Hercules RXLD 6-cylinder petrol engine with 175 hp. The chassis springs up fully for all-wheel drive.

It has a range of over 250 miles and a top speed of 42 mph. In the most critical places, the armor protection is 14 mm.

The first production version was the Mark I with a 20mm weapon and a three-man turret. Engineers also developed a 75mm armed (Ordnance QF 75mm) tank-kill variant with a two-man turret, intended for use as the "Mark II".

However, the Mark II design was canceled before production began, ending the planned 900-strong order for this version.

The end of the war meant the end of many weapons systems in development and large sales contracts. Coventry fell into the latter category and had limited service until the Cold War years, with some sent to India to work under British command. Other examples were sold to the rebuilt French army in the postwar decade and then used in French colonies.

French Army Coventry vehicles served during the First Indochina War (1946-1954) and laid the foundation for the bloody Vietnam War that followed (1955-1975).