Thornycroft Bison

History of the Thornecroft Bison

In the event of an Axis invasion of the British mainland, British local industry built several improved large tanks for local defense. After the fall of France in May 1940, the threat seemed very real, and it was realized that the country lacked a real defense against a full-scale ground or air attack.

This has led companies to use regular trucks (trucks) and add various protections and weapons to them - resulting in combat vehicles with little military value, but alleviating civilian fears of a direct invasion. The core of these vehicles is nothing more than an armored mobile shelter.

Thornycroft was one of the British companies that worked on several armoured trucks during this period, one of his creations was the "Bison Concrete Armoured Truck" for the British Home Guard. Introduced in 1940, the design was attributed to Charles Bernard (C.B.) Mathews who operated Concrete, Limited.

The name "Bison" identified several like-minded designs, as there was no standard for the vehicle - any truck chassis could form its base, as long as it had the ability to tow a heavy body. This generally means that the engine can be of any make and model available on the original chassis, and the wheel arrangement can vary between two or three axles. The standard design places concrete slabs in critical areas of the truck - such as the engine block and crew compartment. Aiming slots are provided for the crew inside to engage enemy elements with rifles and pistols. There are hatches for passengers and service personnel to disembark and disembark.

Concrete was used in times of war as more valuable metals were not available.

In the end, the invasion of the British mainland never happened, and the Bison trucks were pulled into more basic second-line tasks, such as defending RAF airfields for the remaining days. It plays nicely with the Bison's advantages on flat terrain where the heavy vehicle lacks strong off-road capability.

Three large bison types have been identified - Type 1 is the lightest type with a canvas armoured compartment, while Type 2 is similar but larger in size and has a separate crew compartment aft. The Type 3 is the largest offering - and therefore the heaviest - and integrates the crew compartment with the cockpit for improved communications.

In any case, their tactical value and utility have been questioned - although their psychological impact on British civilians is largely due to local propaganda, which is well known.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

Not applicable.

Changes