The Pierce-Arrow armoured AA lorry was a
self-propelled anti-aircraft carrier mounting a
QF 2-pounder AA "pom-pom" gun, it was used by the
Royal Marine Artillery
The history of the Royal Marines began on 28 October 1664 with the formation of the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot soon becoming known as the Admiral's Regiment. During the War of the Spanish Succession the most historic achi ...
during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Design
The Pierce-Arrow armoured AA lorry was an open topped armoured lorry based on an imported American
Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company
The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was an American Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active from 1901 to 1938. Although best known for its expensive Luxury vehicle, luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow ...
5-ton truck chassis with added armoured bodywork and mounting a
QF 2-pounder (40 mm) AA "pom-pom" gun.
[ The Pierce-Arrow had a front mounted engine protected by folding armoured panels, behind the engine was an enclosed driver's compartment with two armoured shutters, whilst the open-topped fighting compartment was at the rear.][ In addition to the 2-pounder "pom-pom", the vehicle was provided with one or more .303 in (7.7 mm) ]Vickers machine gun
The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a Water cooling, water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more me ...
for which four mountings were provided, the fighting compartment included storage for ammunition and other equipment, whilst further ammunition storage was provided on the sides of the vehicle.[ It is estimated that fully loaded the vehicle weighed around .][
The first 32 Pierce-Arrow armoured AA lorries were fitted with armoured plate, whilst the last 16 were fitted with armoured plate, the armour was bolted to a frame fitted to the chassis.][ The 4x2 rear wheel driven chassis had a wheelbase of , it had leaf spring suspension and a 4-cylinder petrol engine that delivered .][
]
History
On 30 December 1914 the Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
* Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
* Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
*Admiralty, Tr ...
placed an order with Wolseley Motors Ltd for 48 Pierce-Arrow truck chassis to be converted to self-propelled anti-aircraft gun carriers for use by the Royal Marine Artillery Anti-Aircraft Brigade, all 48 were delivered between April and June 1915.[
]
The Royal Marine Artillery Anti-Aircraft Brigade had an establishment of 16 QF 2-pounder "pom-pom" guns which were to be fitted to the vehicles, the remaining vehicles were to be kept as spares, the weapon systems were to be employed in four 4-gun batteries.[ Due to shortages of 2-pounders only two batteries received the vehicles by the end of April 1915, they were immediately dispatched to France.][ Arriving at the front on 28 April, their first victory was claimed two days later on 30 April when the first enemy aircraft was shot down.][ As more 2-pounders became available a third battery was added in August 1915 with the forth and final battery becoming operational in September.][
During their period of employment with the Royal Marine Artillery Anti-Aircraft Brigade from April 1915 to the time they were replaced in service by ]QF 13-pounder 9 cwt
The 13 pounder 9 cwt anti-aircraft gunIn the name, 13 pounder referred to the approximate weight of the standard shell, and 9 cwt referred to the weight of the barrel and breech (9 × 112 lb = 1008 lb), to differenti ...
guns in 1917, the Pierce-Arrows claimed over twenty German aircraft shot down.[ The vehicle's contribution was to force enemy reconnaissance aircraft to fly at much greater altitude of up to where they were much less effective.][ The No 1 Squadron, Royal Naval Armoured Car Division under Commander Oliver Locker-Lampson had one Pierce-Arrow during their expedition to Russia and the Causasus.][
]
Peerless armoured AA lorry
In January and February 1915 the War Office ordered a further 16 armoured AA lorries from Wolseley Ltd for use by the Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...
, although these were built on the chassis of a Peerless Motor Company
The Peerless Motor Car Company was an American automobile manufacturer that produced the Peerless brand of motorcars in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1900 to 1931. One of the "Three Ps" Packard, Peerless, and Pierce-Arrowthe company was known for buil ...
5-ton truck.[ The Peerless chassis had almost identical dimensions to the Pierce-Arrow so practically the same armour was used, they were, like the Pierce-Arrows, armed with a 2-pounder "pom-pom" and a Vickers machine gun.][ Delivered to Russia in 1916, the Russians subsequently fitted some with a small turret in place of the 2-pounder.][
]
See also
* List of combat vehicles of World War I
This is a list of combat vehicles of World War I, including conceptual, experimental, prototype, training and production vehicles. The vehicles in this list were either used in combat, produced or designed during the First World War.
World War On ...
References
External links
*
{{WWI British AFVs
Self-propelled artillery of the United Kingdom
World War I self-propelled artillery
World War I anti-aircraft guns
Military vehicles introduced in the 1910s
World War I armoured fighting vehicles of the United Kingdom
Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons
Anti-aircraft guns of the United Kingdom
Armoured AA lorry