Mystery Armoured Car

[Jakko Westerbeke]

I don’t think they are CMP wheels. I’m far from an expert on the CMP, but all photos I found of them with a short search show wheels without those eight holes in them, the tyres look too wide and fat to me and the pattern is clearly not an all-terrain type like you usually see on CMP trucks.

This vehicle also seems to be very short-nosed for a simple body transplant from a Rolls-Royce armoured car. I get the impression the nose was cut off just in front of the forward engine cover catch and the front plate then re-fitted to the armour. Though having said that, I find photos showing different locations for those catches:

Catch set back.jpgCatch forward.jpg

… so maybe the nose wasn’t shortened after all? Though it still looks shorter than on the two above.

[Jack Geratic]

There was the Fordson version where the bodies were placed on a longer Ford chasis. Comparing details at the front, it has a different style suspension with the leaf spring on top, and the front door cover shorter to accommodate this, so not quite either. The tires are also very much oversized, and that may be contributing to the stubby look of the vehicle.

https://www.keymilitary.com/article/fighting-fordsons

https://warwheels.net/FordsonACindex.html


regards,
Jack

[Jakko Westerbeke]

My first thought was also it might be a Fordson, but a lot of details are wrong, I think, even ignoring the wheels. But to get to the bottom of this probably needs someone who knows more about these armoured cars than I do

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

No expert in this field, so I checked out my copy of British Armoured Cars 1914 to 1945 by BT White which showed that the Turret is an "Admiralty Pattern", possibly fitted to a Rolls Royce 1920 Pattern Armoured car. I note the lack of a side door as on the 1924 model
An internet search came up with this one which appears to be the same, with smaller wheel/tyre combo. (pic from the Shutterstock site). Only info was it's listing as Israel British Troops.
HMAC Capetown on the bonnet
The left hand drive shown in the original post threw me, but I believe the image maybe reversed due to the pioneer tool layout being opposite to this one.
I think the huge tyres and wheel arches are hiding the true length of the vehicle?
Rich.

[MarkV]

Thanks for the photo Rich, but these are Rolls Royce Armoured Cars equipped with the later War Department wheels. The car in my first posting is on a different chassis and has a modified body.

I noticed that the turret on the mystery car seems to have come from a Rolls Royce Armoured Car Mk 1A. These had a ball mount for the mg. The mystery car has the opening shaped to take a ball mount, but the ball is missing. Makes me think this is assembled unofficially from salvaged bits..

MarkV

Originally Posted by Richard Coutts-Smith

No expert in this field, so I checked out my copy of British Armoured Cars 1914 to 1945 by BT White which showed that the Turret is an "Admiralty Pattern", possibly fitted to a Rolls Royce 1920 Pattern Armoured car. I note the lack of a side door as on the 1924 model
An internet search came up with this one which appears to be the same, with smaller wheel/tyre combo. (pic from the Shutterstock site). Only info was it's listing as Israel British Troops.
HMAC Capetown on the bonnet
The left hand drive shown in the original post threw me, but I believe the image maybe reversed due to the pioneer tool layout being opposite to this one.
I think the huge tyres and wheel arches are hiding the true length of the vehicle?
Rich.

[Lynn Eades]

Would the possibly be aircraft tyres?

[Paul Singleton]

I am curious as to how the front wheels are mounted. I see empty wheel stud holes in the front wheels, whereas the rear wheel nuts are clearly visible.