The Humber Scout Car was a British light

scout car A scout car is a light wheeled armored military vehicle, purpose-built and used for passive reconnaissance. Scout cars are either unarmed or lightly armed for self-defense, and do not carry large caliber weapons systems. This differentiates them ...

used in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. It entered service in 1942 and continued in production until 1945. Designed for reconnaissance, and liaison between armoured units, it provided protection only against light arms fire, so was not a front line vehicle. More importantly it was small and fast and could quickly evade trouble. It became the shape format for the post war

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 widely ...

which began production in 1952.

History

Although at the outbreak of the Second World War the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

had already selected the

Daimler Dingo The Daimler Scout Car, known in service as the Daimler Dingo (after the Australian wild dog), is a British light, fast four-wheel drive reconnaissance vehicle also used for liaison during the Second World War. Design and development In 193 ...

for production, the need for scout cars could not be met by Daimler alone, so other companies were required to produce similar vehicles. One of these companies was Humber which along with other companies in the

Rootes Group The Rootes Group or Rootes Motors Limited was a British automobile manufacturer and, separately, a major motor distributors and dealers business. Run from London's West End, the manufacturer was based in the Midlands and the distribution and de ...

was already producing armoured cars and the

Humber Light Reconnaissance Car The Humber Light Reconnaissance Car, also known as Humberette or Ironside, was a British armoured car produced during the Second World War. Design Produced by the Rootes Group, the Humber Light Reconnaissance Car was an armoured car based ...

. In 1942 they built a vehicle similar to the Dingo in layout. To comply with the official requirement to keep the weight down, the Daimler "Dingo" was open top (the Humber had an unarmoured floor). The vehicle carried a crew of two, with an emergency seat for a third member. It was equipped with a No. 19 radio set. The armament consisted of one

Bren light machine gun The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also used ...

with a 100-round drum. A second Bren could be added if necessary. This was mounted above the roof, and could be operated from inside the vehicle using a system looking similar to bicycle handlebars, where the "brake" levers fired the triggers of the Brens. Production of the vehicles continued until 1945. At least 4,298 were ordered and at least 4,102 delivered, 1,698 of them Mk I. They were used by British armoured units (e.g. the 11th Armoured Division and the

Guards Armoured Division The Guards Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was created in the United Kingdom on 17 June 1941 during the Second World War from elements of the Guards units, the Grenadier ...

) for scouting and liaison and were generally considered less capable and reliable than the Dingo. A number of vehicles were given to the

Polish II Corps The Polish II Corps ( pl, Drugi Korpus Wojska Polskiego), 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and fought wit ...

and the 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade. After the war, some

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an armies used the Humber. The Belgian army used the Mk II in their tank and reconnaissance units until 1951. A unknown number of these vehicles were then handed over to the Belgian police which continued to use the car until 1958. Most of the vehicles were destroyed in the 1960s when the British Army used them as targets for tank gunnery practice. There are now currently only about 20 known to exist.

Operators

* * * * * * * * * * * * - Inherited from the Netherlands.

Variants

* Mk I. * Mk II - improved transmission and raised armour over steering wheel.

Notes

References

*George Forty - ''World War Two Armoured Fighting Vehicles and Self-Propelled Artillery'', Osprey Publishing 1996, . *I. Moschanskiy - ''Armored vehicles of the Great Britain 1939-1945 part 2'', Modelist-Konstruktor, Bronekollektsiya 1999-02 (И. Мощанский - ''Бронетанковая техника Великобритании 1939-1945 часть 2'', Моделист-Конструктор, Бронеколлекция 1999-02).
The Tank Museum: CAR, SCOUT, HUMBER, MARK I (E1949.317)

External links

at Armyvehicles.dk

at Warwheels.net
Surviving Humber Scout Cars
{{WWIIBritishAFVs World War II scout cars World War II armoured fighting vehicles of the United Kingdom Scout cars of the United Kingdom Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944