The Jeffery armored car was an armored car developed by the US and Canada. It saw heavy use in World War I.
Armored Car No. 1
The Jeffery Armored Car No.1 was developed by the
Thomas B. Jeffery Company
The Thomas B. Jeffery Company was an American automobile manufacturer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, from 1902 until 1916. The company manufactured the Rambler and Jeffery brand motorcars. It was preceded by the Gormully & Jeffery Manufacturing Company ...
in
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...
in 1915 with a hull from the
Rock Island Arsenal
The Rock Island Arsenal comprises , located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It lies within the state of Illinois. Rock Island ...
The armored car No.1 was used in
General John Pershing
General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the We ...
’s 1916
Pancho Villa Expedition
The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the p ...
in
Columbus, New Mexico
Columbus is a village in Luna County, New Mexico, United States, about north of the Mexico–United States border, Mexican border. It is considered a place of historical interest, as the scene of Battle of Columbus (1916), a 1916 attack by Mexico, ...
for training.
was far into Mexico at that time and there are no records on its use in fighting.
Jeffery-Russel armored cars
The Russel company in Canada built a number of armored cars on the four-wheel drive Jeffery chassis. After serving in Canada for a while they were sent to the UK. From there they were sent on to
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
. Forty were added to the "Field Force" that was operating to contain the
Mohmand
The Mohmand ( ps, مومند) or Mohmand is a prominent tribe of Pashtun people. They are based primarily in the Mohmand territory, which is located in Nangarhar, Afghanistan and Mohmand Agency, Pakistan.
Most people of the Mohmand tribe sp ...
rising of Haji Mullah on the North West Frontier. The
"Mohmand blockade" involved British armored cars patrolling unpaved tracks between blockhouses. Maintenance of the cars was difficult as the ship carrying spares had been torpedoed. They were armed with a single Vickers machine gun. Although the four-wheel drive with independent transmission and wide range of gears should have been an advantage, the narrow solid tires negated that and running at more than caused problems with engine bearings.
[AFV Profile No. 9 ''Early Armoured Cars'']
Jeffery-Poplavko
A different model of armored car basing on the Jeffery Quad chassis was built in Russia by Ukrainian officer Victor Poplavko who was the Odessa city commandant (1917–18), and was known as Jeffery-Poplavko.
Gallery
Armored Motor Truck..jpg, No. 1 circa 1916 in Mexico
Mexican Revolution (67).jpg, Ditto
Kriegsalbum 107, Bild 32890 (BildID 15724900).jpg, Russian Jeffery-Poplavko (in centre and on the left)
References
External links
Eaton Machinegun Battery with imagewarwheels.net
Armoured cars of the United States
World War I armoured cars
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Military vehicles introduced in the 1910s
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