Car, Armoured, Heavy (Aust), also known as Rhino, was an armoured car designed in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

during 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 opposin ...

. Due to enemy action and design problems the project never got beyond a prototype stage.

History

At the outbreak of the

, the United Kingdom was unable to meet the needs of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

for

armoured fighting vehicles 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 ...

. This led many Commonwealth countries to develop their own AFVs. In mid-to-late 1941 a specification for a heavy armoured car was issued by the Australian Directorate of Armoured Fighting Vehicles Production. Two prototype hulls and turrets were built and tested on the same chassis in 1942. The vehicle suffered from excessive weight and in 1943 the project was cancelled. The vehicle utilised a

Canadian Military Pattern truck Canadian Military Pattern (CMP) trucks were mutually coherent ranges of military trucks, made in large numbers, in several classes and numerous versions, by Canada's branches of the U.S. 'Big Three' auto-makers during World War II, compliant to ...

chassis and engine produced by

General Motors Canada General Motors of Canada Company (french: La Compagnie General Motors du Canada), commonly known as GM Canada, is the Canadian subsidiary of US-based company General Motors. It is headquartered in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. In the aftermath of the ...

, the rear-engined Model 8446 with GMC Model 270 engine. The same chassis as used for the Canadian

Fox Armoured Car The Fox Armoured Car was a wheeled armoured fighting vehicle produced by Canada in the Second World War. History Built by General Motors, Canada, based on a construction of the British Humber Armoured Car Mk III, adapted to a Canadian Militar ...

. To this a welded armoured body fabricated from Australian Bullet-proof Plate (ABP-3) of thickness to the front and to the sides and rear was fitted. The vehicle was completed by a welded turret with 30 mm all-round protection similar in design to that of the

Crusader tank Crusader, in full "Tank, Cruiser Mk VI, Crusader", also known by its General Staff number A.15, was one of the primary British cruiser tanks during the early part of the Second World War. Over 5,000 tanks were manufactured and they made imp ...

. The armament consisted of a QF 2-pounder Mk IX gun and a coaxial .303-inch

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 ...

. A pilot model of an

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

with an open-topped hull and no turret was also built.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *

External links

Australian CMP Based Armoured Vehicles
at warwheels.net {{WWIIBritishAFVs World War II armoured cars World War II armoured fighting vehicles of Australia

History

References

Further reading

External links