Sandwich armored car
The sandwich - armored cars were vehicles of the Haganah at the time of the founding of Israel . These were trucks, which were armored with primitive means with sheet steel and wood in order to be able to carry out passenger transport between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem , as well as to isolated Jewish settlements.
The use of the sandwich armored car began during the Arab uprising against the Jewish population from 1936 to 1939. At the end of 1947, the Hagana was still an underground organization , which was denied the official procurement of armored vehicles from abroad.
Therefore, light 4to trucks were used, which were repelled by the British Army . A wooden box body with 50 mm wall thickness was planked inside and outside with 4 mm thick sheet steel, hence the name "sandwich". In this way a certain protection against fire with light weapons was achieved. The side walls were closed except for a few loopholes. To save weight, the roof was partially replaced by wire mesh called " butterfly ", which served as a defense against grenades. The vehicle floor remained largely unarmored. The armor still meant a considerable amount of additional weight, which constantly pushed the engine and chassis to the limit. The possible driving speeds were low, the drivers were subjected to hard work. Nevertheless, the vehicles proved their worth in supplying isolated settlements in the Negev .
In the spring of 1948 the fighting intensified and the Arabs had increasing success in the destruction of the armored vehicles, especially on the Bab el Wad between Latrun and Castel during the siege of the Jewish part of Jerusalem. As a result, the use of the sandwich armored car was discontinued. A total of about one hundred sandwich armored cars were built.
Today a sandwich armored car of the 34th Battalion of the 3rd Brigade "Alexandroni" of the Hagana is on display in the Military Museum in Latrun. At Bab el Wad there are several wrecks of these vehicles next to National Road 1, which are being preserved as a memorial.