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Guy Armored Car

1939 WORLD WAR 2

History of the Guy Armored Vehicle

Armored vehicles were a key part of field operations in ground warfare during World War II (1939-1945). The British Army alone uses a large number of armoured personnel carriers for various missions, the most important of which is forward reconnaissance.

This role requires speed first, while crew protection and weaponry are secondary. One of the series of armored vehicles in service with the British army during the conflict became the Guy armored vehicle, which appeared in limited numbers.

Design work on the vehicle began in 1938 in Europe in preparation for World War II. Cars based on designs submitted by the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich were initially used, and various four-wheel systems were derived from this.

As a stopgap measure, a pilot vehicle completed by Guy Motors was selected for adoption, hence the name "Guy Armored Car".

Serial production of 101 examples began in 1939, when evaluations were also in progress and continued until 1940. The original design called for a riveted structure, but a rationale was given to encourage the safer and more efficient use of welded parts and assembly.

Accordingly, the line was rolled out at full speed. The welding shift makes the Guy armoured vehicle the first armoured vehicle of the British Army to utilize this beneficial technology.

The end product is a practical compact armored vehicle. The front part of the fuselage has an inclination angle for basic ballistic protection, the front wings lead to the straight forward wall of the fuselage superstructure, which houses the driver (the crew consists of three people, including the driver, commander and gunner) . Two-way radios - a set of "No. 19" - are standard. The fuselage superstructure supports a 360-degree rotating turret on its roofline, armed with a Vickers 0.5-inch heavy machine gun and a pair of Vickers .303 medium machine guns.

Armor protection up to 15mm - enough to withstand small arms fire and artillery jets. Dimensions include a length of 13.5 feet, a width of 6.8 feet, and a height of 7.5 feet. The total weight is 5.2 tons.

The engine is a Meadows 4ELA 4-cylinder gasoline system, rated at 55 hp, mounted in a compartment aft of the fuselage. This is paired with a drivetrain with four forward gears and one reverse. Road speeds reach 40 mph and range is up to 210 miles.

The wheels are well spaced and stay under the large fenders, while still providing excellent ground clearance when cruising over rough terrain.

When Britain and France declared war on Germany in September 1939, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) formed Britain's ground obligation to maintain free Western Europe. About six Guys armored vehicles were shipped to continental Europe for repairs. After Poland was finally conquered, the Netherlands and Norway followed, leading to the Battle of France in May 1940.

However, the battle had a similar outcome for the Allies as France surrendered and six cars were lost in battle. The remainder of the Guy's armored vehicles remained on British soil, providing various functions and in service until 1943 when they were replaced by more efficient modern types of vehicles, which appeared after the battle had begun.

The limited production of the vehicle is directly related to Guy Motor's inability to mass-produce the car, as the company is already working on producing other much-needed systems (including artillery tractors) that Guy's armored vehicles can only suffer from. All was not lost, however, as some of the car's design and manufacturing methods were passed on to the design of the 1941 "Humber Armoured Car" (detailed elsewhere on this site).

About 5,400 of this useful car were produced.

The initial production run was completed with 50 units of the Mk I (Vickers machine gun weapon). The Mk 1A's turret is armed with a BESA 15mm machine gun and a BESA 7.92mm machine gun. 51 of these variants were built.