Universal carrier

Universal carrier
Universal Carrier at Anzio in 1944
General properties
crew	2 (commander, driver)
length	3.94 m
width	2.11 m
height	1.57 m
Dimensions	4 t
Armor and armament
Armor	11 mm (maximum)
Secondary armament	1 × 7.62 mm MG 1 × 14 mm anti-tank rifle
agility
drive	100 hp
Top speed	50 km / h
Power / weight
Range	250 km

Bren Gun Carrier with Flamethrower in a Museum in Israel

American Bren carrier

The Universal Carrier , also known as the Bren Gun Carrier or British Universal Carrier (BUC), was a British- made military vehicle that was used by the Allied forces during World War II . The production numbers amounted to over 100,000 copies.

description

The Universal Carrier belongs to the tankette vehicle group . He could reach a speed of 50 km / h on level ground. The Universal Carrier normally had a crew of two - a commander and a driver. Communication was almost impossible due to the loud engine noise.

Remarkable was the principle of the steering, in which at low steering angle of the curve inner front roller pair was postponed cm by almost 10 first, the steering brake only came with a larger steering angle in action.

The vehicle was lightly armored, but only open to shoulder height of the occupants and at the top. It provided space for infantrymen, equipment as well as mortars , light anti-tank weapons and machine guns . There was space for three additional people for crew transports. In addition, the carrier could pull light and medium anti-tank guns and similar artillery . Some specimens were also equipped with a flamethrower ; they then carried the name "Wasp".

Following the success of the Universal Carrier, production expanded to Canada , Australia and the United States .

The German Wehrmacht used captured Universal Carrier under the names Fahrgestell Bren (e) and Panzerjäger Bren 731 (e) (with a triple-mounted RPB-54 ) in large numbers.

After the Second World War, the willingness of the Central Training (HVA) took already in March 1949 the Ministry of the Interior of the Soviet occupation zone as a precursor of the KVP and NVA of the GDR held by the Red Army 26 vehicles under the name tugs as the first armored fully tracked vehicles.

In 1956, the Universal Carrier was also part of the original equipment of the German Armed Forces , which had bought around 200 copies from the British military at a unit price of DM 4000.

Technical specifications of the Bren Carrier

• Length: 3.94 m / width: 2.11 m / height: 1.57 m
• Weight 4 t
• Crew: 2 men
• Engine power: 100 hp
• Speed: 50 km / h (on the road)
• Driving range: 250 km
• Armament: 1 MG 7.62 mm, 1 anti-tank rifle 14 mm, 1 smoke cup on the right side of the superstructure.
• Armor 11 mm (maximum)

literature

• David Fletcher, Tony Bryan (Illustrator): Universal Carrier 1936-48 - The 'Bren Gun Carrier' Story . Osprey Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1-84176-813-8
• Franz Brödl: Universal Carrier T16 Mk1 , 2017, online in the HGM knowledge blog

Web links

Commons : Universal Carrier  - Album containing pictures, videos and audio files

• Bren Carrier at diggerhistory.info (English)
• Bren Carrier ( Memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) at wwiivehicles.com (English)
• Bren Carrier at lancers.org (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ David Boyd: Carriers - Universal, Bren and Loyd. In: wwiiequipment.com. December 31, 2008, accessed May 21, 2019 .