Standard Beaverette

Standard car 4x2
Beaverettes on maneuvers in Northern Ireland
General properties
crew	3 (commander, driver, gunner)
length	4.11 m (Mk. I), 3.10 m (Mk. III)
width	1.60 m (Mk. I), 1.73 m (Mk. III)
height	1.52 m (Mk. I), 2.16 m (Mk, III)
Dimensions	2 tons (Mk. I), 2.6 tons (Mk. III)
Armor and armament
Armor	9–12 mm steel / 76 mm oak
Main armament	1 machine gun Bren 7.7 mm or Vickers twin machine gun
agility
drive	4-cylinder petrol engine (standard) 46 HP (34 kW)
suspension	Leaf springs
Top speed	38 km / h
Power / weight	17-23 hp / ton

The Standard Car 4 × 2 , or Car Armored Light Standard , more commonly known as the Standard Beaverette , was a British armored car that was manufactured during World War II .

history

The first version of the vehicle was built in 1940 by the Standard Motor Company at the instigation of Lord Beaverbrook , who was then Minister for Aircraft Production. The name "Beaverette" is derived from his last name. The vehicle was based on the chassis of a delivery truck on which a simple armored body was mounted. The 11 mm thick steel jacket was reinforced inside with 76 mm thick oak planks. The body was open at the back and top. The armament consisted of a Bren machine gun that fired through a slot in the armor. Later versions were closed all round and had a rifle turret - a closed one with a Bren machine gun or an open top with a Vickers twin machine gun . Some vehicles were also equipped with Boys anti-tank rifles . Some also had Army No. 11 or No. 19. In 1942 production was stopped. About 2,800 pieces were delivered.

The Beaverette was used by the British Army and the Royal Air Force for home defense and training. The vehicle is said to have suffered from its extremely heavy weight and was difficult to drive.

A Mk. III is on display at the Imperial War Museum Duxford .

Standard Mk. II Beaverette II light reconnaissance vehicles manned by members of the British Home Guard in the Scottish Highlands, February 14, 1941

variants

• Mk I - original version
• Mk II - had all-round armoring and the grille had horizontal instead of vertical louvers
• Mk III Beaverbug - had a shortened chassis and a modified structure without molded front fenders, but with reinforcement on top and a machine gun turret
• Mk IV - The front armor has been redesigned to improve visibility
• A similar vehicle called the Beaverette (NZ) was made in New Zealand . The basis were Ford ¾ and 1 tonne chassis (based on the Canadian model). 171 pieces were created

Beaverette Mk. III

Web links

Commons : Standard Beaverette  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Virtual Museum of Beaverette (English)

literature

• Forty, George: World War Two Armored Fighting Vehicles and Self-Propelled Artillery , Osprey Publishing (1996), ISBN 978-1-85532-582-1 .
• Moschanskiy, I .: Armored vehicles of the Great Britain 1939–1945 part 2 , Modelist-Konstruktor, Bronekollektsiya 1999–02 (И. Мощанский - Бронетанковая техника Великобритании 1939–1945. , Келикобритании 1939–1945.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Livesey, Jack: Armored Fighting Vehicles of World Wars I and II , Southwater (2007), p. 36, ISBN 978-1-84476-370-2