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Universal Carrier

Article Discussion

Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:More footnotes needed Template:Infobox weapon

The Universal Carrier, a development of the earlier Bren Gun Carrier from its light machine gun armament,Template:Sfn was one of a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrongs and other companies.

The first carriers – the Bren Gun Carrier and the Scout Carrier which had specific roles – entered service before the war, but a single improved design that could replace these, the Universal, was introduced in 1940.

The vehicle was used widely by British Commonwealth forces during the Second World War. Universal Carriers were usually used for transporting personnel and equipment, mostly support weapons, or as machine gun platforms.

Design and developmentEdit

The origins of the Universal Carrier family can be traced back generally to the Carden Loyd tankettes family, which was developed in the 1920s, and specifically the Mk VI tankette.Template:Sfn

In 1934, Vickers-Armstrongs produced, as a commercial venture, a light tracked vehicle that could be used either to carry a machine gun or to tow a light field gun. The VA.D50 had an armoured box at the front for driver and a gunner and bench seating at the back for the gun crew. The War Office considered it as a possible replacement for their Vickers "Light Dragon" artillery tractors and took 69 as the "Light Dragon Mark III".Template:Efn One was built as the "Carrier, Machine-Gun Experimental (Armoured)", carrying a machine gun and its crew. The decision was made to drop the machine gun and its team and the next design had a crew of three—driver and gunner in the front, third crew-member on the left in the rear and the right rear open for storage. Fourteen of this design were built in mild steel as "Carrier, Machine-Gun No 1 Mark 1" and entered service in 1936. Six were converted into pilot models for the Machine gun Carrier No.2, Cavalry Carrier and Scout Carrier designs – the remainder were used for training.<ref>Instruction book, 1939, p7</ref>

File:Universal Carrier Mk II pic-10.JPG
The sidevalve Ford engine was in the centre of the vehicle with the final drive at the rear.

The carrier put the driver and commander at the front sitting side by side; the driver to the right. The Ford V8 sidevalve engine with four speed gearbox was placed in the centre of the vehicle with the final drive (a commercial Ford axle<ref>Instruction book, 1939, p20</ref>) at the rear. The suspension and running gear were based on that used on the Vickers light tank series using Horstmann springs.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Directional control was through a vertical steering wheel which pivoted about a horizontal axis. Small turns moved the crosstube that carried the front road wheel bogies laterally, warping the track so the vehicle drifted to that side. Further movement of the wheel braked the appropriate track to give a tighter turn.

The hull in front of the commander's position jutted forward to give room for the Bren light machine gun (or other armaments) to fire through a simple slit. To either side of the engine was an area in which passengers could sit or stores could be carried. Initially, there were several types of Carrier that varied slightly in design according to their purpose: "Medium Machine Gun Carrier" (the Vickers machine gun), "Bren Gun Carrier", "Scout Carrier" and "Cavalry Carrier". The production of a single model came to be preferred and the Universal design appeared in 1940; this was the most widely produced of the carriers. It differed from the previous models in that the rear section of the body had a rectangular shape, with more space for the crew.

ProductionEdit

File:Carrier (i).jpg
Australian-built machine gun carrier

Production of carriers began in 1934 and ended in 1960.<ref name=McNab142>Template:Harvnb</ref> Before the Universal design was introduced, the vehicles were produced by Aveling and Porter, Bedford Vehicles, Ford of Britain, Morris Motors Limited, the Sentinel Waggon Works, and the Thornycroft company. With the introduction of the Universal, production in the UK was undertaken by Aveling-Barford, Ford, Sentinel, Thornycroft, and Wolseley Motors. By 1945 production amounted to approximately 57,000 of all models, including some 2,400 early ones.

The Universal Carriers, in different variants, were also produced in allied countries. Ford Motor Company of Canada manufactured about 29,000 vehicles known as the Ford C01UC Universal Carrier. Smaller numbers of them were also produced in Australia (about 5,000), where hulls were made in several places in Victoria and by South Australian Railways workshops in Adelaide, South Australia. About 1,300 were also produced in New Zealand.

Universal Carriers were manufactured in the United States for allied use with GAE and GAEA V-8 Ford engines.Template:Sfn About 20,000 were produced.

Operational historyEdit

Template:Expand section The Universal Carrier was ubiquitous in all the theatres during the Second World War with British and Commonwealth armies,<ref name="AFV_14-105">Template:Harvnb</ref> from the war in the East to the occupation of Iceland.Template:Sfn Although the theory and policy was that the carrier was a "fire power transport" and the crew would dismount to fight, practice differed. It could carry machine guns, anti-tank rifles, mortars, infantrymen, supplies, artillery and observation equipment.<ref name="AFV_14-105"/>

United KingdomEdit

File:The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H25279.jpg
A Universal Carrier of 52nd Reconnaissance Regiment catches air on manoeuvres, Scotland, 10 November 1942

The seven mechanized divisional cavalry regiments in the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France during 1939–1940 were equipped with Scout Carriers – 44 carriers and 28 light tanks in each regiment. There were 10 Bren Carriers in each infantry battalion in the same period.Template:Sfn

The Reconnaissance Corps regiments – which replaced the cavalry regiments in supporting Infantry divisions after 1940 – were each equipped with 63 carriers, along with 28 Humber scout cars.

Universal Carriers were issued to the support companies in infantry rifle battalions for carrying support weapons (initially 10,<ref>An Infantry (Rifle) Battalion, ref II/1931/12B/3, notified in Army Council Instructions 6 April 1938</ref> 21 by 1941,<ref>An Infantry Battalion (Higher Establishment), ref II/1931/12F/2, notified in Army Council Instructions 4 June 1941.</ref> and up to 33 per battalion by 1943<ref>An Infantry Battalion, ref II/233/2, notified in Army Council Instructions 19 May 1943, effective date 30 April 1943.</ref>). A British armoured division of 1940–41 had 109 carriers; each motor battalion had 44.Template:Sfn

File:Troops of the 2nd Monmouthshire Regiment leap from their Universal carrier during an exercise near Newry in Northern Ireland, 26 April 1941. H9234.jpg
British troops leap from their Universal Carrier during an exercise.

A British Carrier platoon originally had ten Universal Carriers with three carrier sections of three Universal Carriers each plus another Universal Carrier in the platoon HQ (along with a 15-cwt GS truck). Each Universal Carrier had a non-commissioned officer (NCO), a rifleman and a driver-mechanic. One Universal Carrier in each section was commanded by a sergeant, the other two by corporals.

All the Universal Carriers were armed with a Bren gun and one carrier in each carrier section also had a Boys anti-tank rifle. By 1941, the carrier platoon had increased in strength to contain four carrier sections; one carrier in each carrier section also carried a 2-inch mortar.

By 1943, each Universal Carrier had a crew of four, an NCO, driver-mechanic and two riflemen. The Boys anti-tank rifle was also replaced by the PIAT anti-tank weapon. The Universal Carrier's weapons could be fired from in- or outside the carrier. A carrier platoon had a higher number of light support weapons than a rifle company.

Carrier section composition (after 1943)Template:Citation needed
Task Rank Weapon Notes
Orderly Private Sten Equipped with a motorcycle
Carrier 1
Commander Sergeant Rifle
Driver-mechanic Private Rifle
Gunner Private Bren
Rifleman Lance corporal Rifle No.38 Wireless set
Carrier 2
Commander Corporal Rifle
Driver-mechanic Private Rifle
Gunner Private Bren
Rifleman Private Rifle 2-inch mortar with 36 rounds
Carrier 3
Commander Corporal Rifle
Driver-mechanic Private Rifle
Gunner Private Bren
Rifleman Private Rifle and PIAT

To allow the Universal to function as an artillery tractor in emergencies, a towing attachment that could allow it to haul the Ordnance QF 6 pounder anti-tank gun was added from 1943. Normally the Loyd Carrier – which was also used as a general utility carrier – acted as the tractor for the 6-pdr.<ref name='AFV 124'/>

In Motorised Infantry Battalions in the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) in the early 1950s the Universal was issued one per platoon carrying the Platoon Commander, driver, signaller and the 2-inch Mortar group Nos 1 & 2.

AustraliaEdit

Universal and the earlier Bren carriers were used by Australian Army units in the Western Desert campaign.Template:Sfn

Australian Universal Carriers were deployed to the Western Desert, Egypt during August 1942 serving as command vehicles for the 9th Divisional Cavalry Regiment.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

GermanyEdit

Captured Universal Carriers were used in various roles by German forces.

A total of around sixty Bren No.2 Carriers and Belgian Army Vickers Utility Tractors were converted into demolition vehicles. Carrying a large explosive charge, these would be driven up to enemy positions under remote control and detonated, destroying both themselves and the target. Twenty-nine of both kinds were deployed in 1942 during the Siege of Sevastopol. They achieved some success in destroying Soviet trenches and bunkers, but a significant number were destroyed by artillery. Others were disabled by land mines before reaching their target or were lost because of mechanical breakdowns. A difficulty for the Germans using these foreign-built vehicles was the lack of spare parts.<ref name="EverettToscano2015">Template:Cite book</ref>

VariantsEdit

File:The British Army in France 1939-40 O570.jpg
Bren Carrier No.2. The earlier carriers had much less armour than the Universal. In this case only one side behind the driver protected with a sloping plate.
File:Universal Carrier Mk II KID1033.jpg
Universal Carrier Mk II
File:Bren-carrier-latrun-1.jpg
Flamethrower-equipped universal carrier at the Israeli Armored Corps museum in Latrun

The widespread production of the Carrier allowed for several variants to be developed, manufactured and/or used by different countries.

ArgentineEdit

An attempted conversion to self-propelled artillery consisting of a single T16 carrier fitted with a six-Model 1968 recoilless gun mount was developed in the late 1960s or early 1970s.Template:Citation needed

BritishEdit

Early variantsEdit

  • Carrier, Machine-Gun No. 2
Introduced in 1937Template:Sfn
  • Carrier, Bren No.2, Mark I and Mark II
Seating for three crew.<ref name=Book24/> Armour plate on front and left hand side only.Template:Sfn
  • Carrier, Scout Mk 1
Carried a No. 11 Wireless set.<ref name=Book24>Instruction book, 1939, p24</ref> Armour plate on front and right hand side only.Template:Sfn
  • Carrier, Cavalry Mk 1
Used for carrying personnel of Light tank regiments in Mobile Divisions. A total of 50 were built by Nuffield, discontinued with the reorganization of the Mobile Divisions into Armoured divisions.Template:Sfn Seating was provided for six passengers on benches.<ref name=Book24/>
  • Carrier, Armoured Observation Post
For carrying Royal Artillery observers under protection. The machine gun position was fitted with an armoured shutter instead of gun slit. Ninety-five built in two marks.
  • Carrier, Armoured, 2-pounder (40 mm)
A Carrier, Machine Gun converted to mount a 2-pdr gun with fixed armoured shield protecting the crew.
  • Carrier, Armoured 6-pounder (57 mm)
A Carrier, Machine Gun converted to mount a 6-pdr gun with fixed armoured shield protecting the crew.

Later variantsEdit

Universal Mk. I
Initial model.
Universal Mk. II
Updated stowage and layout, battery moved behind the divisional plate, towing hitch added. Welded waterproofed hull. Crew of four. 2-inch mortar or 4-inch smoke mortar beside gunner. Spare wheel on front hull. weighed 1/2 ton more than Mark I.
Universal Mk. III
Welded hull as Mark II, modified air inlet and engine cover.
Wasp (FT, Transportable, No. 2)
A flamethrower-equipped variant, using the "Flame-thrower, Transportable, No 2". The Mark I had a fixed flamethrower on the front of the vehicle fed from two fuel tanks with a combined capacity of Template:Convert. 1000 produced.Template:Sfn The Mk II had the projector in the co-driver's position. The Mk IIC (C for Canadian) had a single Template:Convert fuel tank on the rear of the vehicle outside the armour protection, allowing a third crew member to be carried. Many Wasp variants were fitted out at No.71 Factory in Stoke-on-TrentTemplate:Efn

Praying MantisEdit

File:Universal Carrier Praying Mantis 1 Bovington.jpg
Praying Mantis prototype at The Tank Museum

The Praying Mantis came from an attempt to produce a low-silhouette vehicle that could still fire over obstacles. A one-man design based on Carden Loyd suspension was not adopted, but the inventor was encouraged to design a two-man version. This version was built in 1943, based on the Universal Carrier. The hull was replaced with an enclosed metal-box structure with enough room for a driver and a gunner lying prone. This box, pivoting from the rear, could be elevated. At the top end was a machine-gun turret (with two Bren guns). The intention was to drive the Mantis up to a wall or hedgerow, elevate the gun, and fire over the obstacle from a position of safety. It was rejected after trials in 1944.<ref>Fletcher, p47</ref> An example of the Mantis is preserved in The Tank Museum.

AustralianEdit

File:Aust 3 inch mortar carrier(AWM 134428).jpg
An Australian 3 inch mortar carrier
  • Carrier, Machine Gun, Local Pattern, No. 1
Also known as "LP1 Carrier (Aust)". Australian production similar to Bren carrier but welded and some minor differences.<ref name="AFV-14_120"/>
  • Universal Carrier MG, Local Pattern No. 2
Also known as "LP2 Carrier (Aust)". Australian-built variant of the Universal Carrier. Also produced in New Zealand. Used 1938–1939 Ford commercial axles; the 2A had 1940 Ford truck axles.
  • 2-pounder Anti-tank Gun Carrier (Aust) or Carrier, 2-pdr Tank Attack
A heavily modified and lengthened LP2 carrier with a fully traversable QF 2 pounder (40 mm) anti-tank gun mounted on a platform at the rear and the engine moved to the front left of the vehicle. Stowage was provided for 112 rounds of 2pdr ammunition. 200 were produced and used for training.<ref name="AMEPvol2">Template:Harvnb</ref>
  • 3 inch Mortar Carrier (Aust)
A design based on the 2 Pounder Carrier with a 3-inch (81 mm) mortar mounted in place of the 2 pounder. Designed to enable the mortar to have 360 degree traverse and to be fired either from the vehicle, or dismounted. 400 were produced and were ultimately sent as military aid to the Nationalist Chinese Army.<ref name="AMEPvol2" />

CanadianEdit

File:Windsor kanada axb01.jpg
Windsor carrier, Overloon Museum
"Carrier, Universal No.3"
  • Mk.I* (certain differences, otherwise similar to British model)
  • Mk.II* (certain differences, otherwise similar to British model)
  • Mk.II*
Carrier, 2-pdr Equipped
Canadian modification of Mark I* and II* to mount 2-pdr gun. 213 used for training.<ref name="AFV-14_120">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Wasp Mk II*
Canadian version of the Wasp flamethrower variant.
Windsor Carrier
Canadian development with a longer chassis extended by Template:Convert and an additional wheel in the aft bogie.

AmericanEdit

File:Universal carrier at W&P show pic4.JPG
T16 carrier

American production of the Universal followed the same design as the British Marks I to IIITemplate:Sfn

  • Carrier, Universal No.2 Mark I - Ford GAEA engine
  • Carrier, Universal No.2A Mark I - Ford GAE engine
  • Carrier, Universal No.2 Mark II - Ford GAE engine
  • Carrier, Universal No.2A Mark II - Ford GAEA engine
  • Carrier, Universal No.2 Mark III - Ford GAE engine
  • Carrier, Universal No.2A Mark III - Ford GAEA engine
Template:Anchor T-16
The Carrier, Universal, T16, Mark I., initially "Cargo Carrier T16" was the result of US experimentation in 1942 to improve on the Universal for British use and for US in the Pacific war.Template:Sfn It was a significantly improved vehicle based upon those built by Ford of Canada, manufactured under Lend Lease by Ford in the United States from March 1943 to 1945. At Template:Convert<ref>TM9-2800 (1943) p44</ref> it was longer than the Universal with an extra road wheel on the rear bogie; making for a pair of full Horstmann dual-wheel suspension units per side, the engine was a Mercury-division 239 version (GAU370) of the Ford V8 delivering the same power. Instead of the steering wheel controlling the combination brake/warp mechanism, the T-16 used track-brake steering operated by levers (two for each side). The British were supplied with over 3,200 in 1944-1945 but it was considered mechanically unreliable and had less carrying capacity than the Universal.Template:Sfn During the war, it was chiefly used by Canadian forces as an artillery tractor. After the war, was used by Argentine, Swiss (300) and Dutch forces.

GermanEdit

  • 2 cm Flak 38 auf Fahrgestell Bren(e): Single barrel German 2 cm Flak 38 cannon mounted over the engine compartment of a captured Bren carrier.
  • 3.7 cm Pak auf Fahrgestell Bren(e): Captured carrier of 1940, reused by the Germans and fitted with a 3.7 cm Pak 36 anti-tank gun.
  • 4,7 cm Pak 35/36 L/35.6 (ö) “Böhler” auf Sfl. Bren(e): Captured Bren carrier mounting a 4,7 cm Pak 35/36 L/35.6 (ö) “Böhler” (a Cannone da 47/32 with a L/35.6 barrel, pepper box style muzzle brake and had a slightly greater performance). Created by Baukommando Becker.
  • Panzerjäger Bren 731(e): Bren carriers captured by the Germans and fitted with a transport rack for three Panzerschreck anti-tank rocket launchers; the weapons were not fired from the Bren gun carrier, only transported.<ref>WW II German Infantry Anti-Tank Weapons: Page 3: Panzerschreck</ref>

ItalianEdit

In 1942, at the request of the Italian Army (Regio Esercito), Fiat produced a prototype carrier copied from a captured Universal Carrier; it was known as the Fiat 2800 or CVP-4. It is uncertain whether production vehicles were manufactured.Template:Citation needed Bren carriers captured by the Italians in the field were often fitted with Breda M37 machine guns.<ref name="Battistelli and Crociani">Template:Cite book</ref>

OperatorsEdit

Many variants of the British Universal Carrier have been fielded and used by the armed forces of the following countries, amongst many others:

File:A Universal Carrier and mortar team of the Indian 6th Royal Frontier Force in Italy, 13 December 1943. NA9785.jpg
Universal Carrier, 13th Frontier Force Rifles British Indian Army, in Italy, 13 December 1943.
File:Lend-Lease x Universal Carrier x Intrarea Armatei Sovietice in Bucuresti - Bulevardul Carol.jpg
Soviet Red Army soldiers travelling on a British Universal Carrier received from the UK under the Lend-Lease programme near Boulevard of Carol I in the Romanian capital of Bucharest in August 1944.

Pre-war/Second World War periodEdit

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Mortars used by Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade in UK and Western Europe, 15 UCs Mk.II received from the USSR - served in I Corps of the Czechoslovak Army-in-exile on the Eastern Front)Template:Citation needed

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Post-war periodEdit

File:IWM-SE-5866-tank-Surabaya-19451127.jpg
A British Indian soldier guarding a captured significantly-modified Universal Carrier, used by Indonesian TKR LautTemplate:Efn forces during the Battle of Surabaya in November 1945<ref name="Haryadi"/>

GalleryEdit

  • WASP Flamethrower CDN WWII DB.jpg

    A Wasp flamethrower tank on display in the Canadian War Museum

  • 2 pdr Aust ATG carrier(AWM 134672).jpg

    An Australian 2-pounder anti-tank gun UC variant

  • A Bren Gun Carrier brings in a batch of German prisoners.jpg

    A British Army Universal Carrier leads some German prisoners-of-war into a Belgian town.

  • Australians driving Bren Carriers towards Bardia, Libya, January 1941 (24667819900).jpg

    Australians driving Bren Carriers to Bardia, Libya, January 1941

See alsoEdit

NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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Further readingEdit

External linksEdit

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