From: Ryan M Gill (rmgill@mindspring.com)
Date: Wed Aug 07 2002 - 09:57:43 PDT
At 11:26 AM -0400 8/7/02, Steve Grammont wrote:
>
>A little known fact is that most (all?) of the various German WWII
>armored cars did one better than this... they had a rear facing driver
>position manned by a dedicated driver. So when they drove down a road
>and saw the Brits they would slam on the brakes (giggle <g>), then have
>the rear driver take over control of the vehicle.
The British vehicles did this to some degree. However, they stressed
above all else short wheelbase so as to allow for the smallest
turning circle possible. This allowed for turning round in places
that the larger 6x6 or 8x8 cars couldn't. A real asset when you
consider the close terrain of some parts of Europe. The 6x6 cars were
limited off road (even with their reduced ground pressure over the
4x4s) so couldn't really move about as quite as well as they desired.
In the Case of the Daimler Armored car, there were a reduced set of
driver controls for the commander or gunner to use that faced
rearwards in the fighting compartment. The driver still had to shift
gears, but the commander could steer and control the throttle. Good
in a pinch really.
The Humber Armored car had a lever that when actuated popped the
engine compartment hatch and a view slot that looked out of the
fighting compartment towards the rear for direct aft viewing.
Presumably for the Commander or gunner to view out of for aiding
reversing.
>Considering that the main role of an armored car is to stumble upon
>something, then leave faster than you got there, the double driver design
>was a real asset. I am pretty sure the massive post war German armored
>car, the Lynx (Luchs), also had this feature. Anybody know if this was
>duplicated by any other nation at any other time?
How ever the increased signature (size) is a detriment. The compact
size of the Dingo and other scout cars as well as the more reasonable
size of the vehicles like the Daimler AC as well as the Conventry AC,
make them pretty good recce vehicles. Its a shame the US stuck with
the M8 as long as it did and then abandoned the entire concept in the
post WWII environment (aside from Korea).
>Steve
>
>P.S. The Dingo is a personal favorite of mine :-)
They're great sports^h^h^Hscout cars. ;-) I've eyed them for years
and finally bought one about 1/2 a year ago. They are fun. I can't
wait to get it back to Atlanta and drive it round. As far as quality
goes, they are the Rolls Royce's of the MV world if you ask me.
(Daimler Motors Limited Britian was the sole provider of Motor cars
to the Royal Family for something like 50 years).
I really must get the leather seats re-done as they're starting to
crack and show their age. As far as vehicles go, they are quite nice
given they came in a hard top ("Tin Top") and rag top version...
--
Ryan Gill rmgill@SPAMmindspring.com
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'60 Daimler Ferret '42 Daimler Dingo '43 Humber MkIV (1/2)
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