The FV1620 Humber Hornet (FV1620, truck 1-ton, air portable, armoured launcher, Hornet launcher) was a specialised air-deployable

armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, ...

designed to carry the

Malkara Malkara ( el, Μάλγαρα, Malgara) is a town and district of Tekirdağ Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. It is located at 55 km west of Tekirdağ and 190 km from Istanbul. It covers an area of 1,225 km², which ma ...

, an

anti-tank guided missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...

developed by Australia and the United Kingdom.

History

The Hornet was developed in the 1950s to provide British and Australian airborne units with an air-dropped long-range anti-tank capability. Based on the British Army's FV1611 Humber "Pig" one-ton four-wheel drive armoured truck, it carried two

, missiles on a retractable boom at the rear, as well as two reloads. It could be transported by air in a

Blackburn Beverley The Blackburn B-101 Beverley was a heavy transport aircraft produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Blackburn Aircraft. It was notably the only land-based transport airplane built by Blackburn, a company that otherwise specialised in pr ...

and air-dropped on a cluster of 6 special

parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, w ...

Operation

The gunner fired the missiles from inside the cab and controlled them by means of a joystick attached to a

wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is co ...

which unreeled from the rear of the missile and connected to the sights. Electronic signals controlling the missile's flight were transmitted through the wire. With a 27 kg warhead, the

missiles carried the largest warhead ever fitted to an anti-tank weapon and could destroy any tank in service at the time. The vehicle remained in service with British units until being replaced in the 1970s by the

Ferret armoured car The Ferret armoured car, also commonly called the Ferret scout car, is a British armoured fighting vehicle designed and built for reconnaissance purposes. The Ferret was produced between 1952 and 1971 by the UK company Daimler. It was wide ...

Mk 5 equipped with

Swingfire Swingfire was a British wire-guided anti-tank missile developed in the 1960s and produced from 1966 until 1993. The name refers to its ability to make a rapid turn of up to ninety degrees after firing to bring it onto the line of the sighting ...

missiles. It was also operated by a squadron of the

2nd Royal Tank Regiment The 2nd Royal Tank Regiment (2 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps and the 1st Mechanized Brigade. History Founded as B Battalion, Tank Corps in 1917 ...

References

Bibliography

*
"FV 1620 Humber "Hornet/Malkara" Anti-Tank Vehicle"
WarWheels.net *

External links

*
MilitaryFactory.com factsheet
{{Fire support vehicles Tank destroyers Cold War armoured fighting vehicles of the United Kingdom Airborne fighting vehicles Military vehicles introduced in the 1950s

History

Operation

See also

References

Bibliography

External links