Marmon-Herrington (South African Reconnaissance Vehicle)

History of the Marmon-Herrington (South African reconnaissance vehicle)

The Marmon-Herrington armoured vehicle was a rare contribution of South African industry to the Allied military during World War II (1939-1945). Interestingly, the local industry lacked the capacity to produce such a vehicle before the battle began, but when events developed, the country responded with a viable system, adopted by the British Army and others during his service career. Development began in 1938 at the request of the South African government, and as the war officially began, the armored vehicle was in high demand. About 5,746 units of this useful armored vehicle were produced between 1940 and 1944, and the line was in service from World War II until the Arab-Israeli War in 1948.

The British Army refers to this vehicle as the "Armored Vehicle, Marmon-Herrington Mk II".

Due to local restrictions, the design started to import 3 ton trucks from Ford Canada. Machined landing gear is proven and already serving heavy industry while providing good ground clearance for military vehicles.

The Marmon-Herrington powertrain is the base component of the car, and the series is commonly known as "Marmon-Herrington".

The 1943 Mark IV had external modifications to the original design while retaining most of the original running gear internally. A new two-person turret has been added with a 2-pounder QF main gun to provide better support against lightly armored vehicles on the battlefield beyond what traditional machine gun modifications can provide. Coaxial machine guns were eventually installed into later production models, while roof-mounted machine guns were also added to trunnion mounts for effective localized air defense. A conversion kit was developed to bring earlier manufactured products to Mark IV standards, but supplies could not meet wartime demands, so changes were made based on a Ford Canada F60L 3-ton truck chassis and powertrain, so a Mark IVF was hastily designed to replace it.

1,200 examples of this model were produced primarily for the British Army.

The South African Armed Forces attempted to develop their own design through the Mark V initiative in 1942 - a direct response to the German Schwerer "Panzerspahwagen", an 8x8 wheeled armoured vehicle powered by an 8-cylinder petrol engine with armed belts mounted on a turret 20mm KwK 30 series main gun (with coaxial MG34 machine gun armament). The response in South Africa was similar, as eight wheels on four suspension axles were used, and power was transmitted to the two center axles via a pair of Albion 6-cylinder engine blocks with drive.

The primary armament will be the useful QF 6-pound (57mm) main gun, although testing has proven the vehicle to be unfit for the rigors of war service. The move was abandoned after the only prototype as attention turned to new approaches.

The South African Mark VI followed in 1943 and modified the earlier Mark V approach by coupling two Mercury 8-cylinder engines, now sending power to all eight wheels, with front and rear axle sets steered. Proven weapons include 2-pounder and 6-pounder guns mounted in three-man motor turrets. The vehicle will be defended locally by up to three people.

303 machine gun. Despite improved form and function, the vehicle failed to impress the British authorities due to its unreliability, and there were no more than two prototypes.

This work paved the way for the creation of the Mark VII - essentially an improved version of the earlier Mark IIIA. However, this plan met the fate of the previous brand of wheeled 8x8 and was cancelled during the experimental phase - the weapon was only a machine gun.

Also, the final Mark VIII was underwhelming, nothing was bigger than the 2-pounder main gun mounted in the turret provided.

The last time the Greek army used Marmon Herrington armored personnel carriers was in the 1990s.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

2,000 x .30 caliber ammo

2 x Smoke Grenade

Changes