In 1938 the South African authorities began funding development of a new
armoured car for the
Union Defence Force. The outbreak of World War II led to a vehicle based on a
Ford 3-ton truck chassis. As South Africa then lacked a developed automotive industry, many components of the vehicle had to be imported. Chassis components were purchased from
Ford Canada and fitted with a four-wheel drive train produced by the American company
Marmon–Herrington (hence the designation). The armament was
UK-made (with the exception of the
U.S.-made
M1919 Browning machine gun), and armour plates were produced by the South African
Iron & Steel Industrial Corporation (ISCOR). Final assembly was done by the local branch of the
Dorman Long company among others. The first version, the "South African Reconnaissance Vehicle" Mk I, entered service in 1940. It was a long wheelbase four-wheeled chassis with drive to only one axle. It was armed with two
Vickers machine guns: one in a cylindrical turret and the other in the left side of the hull. In March 1943 a completely redesigned Mk IV/Mk IVF entered production. It was a monocoque with rear-mounted engine and a turret-mounted 2-pounder with a coaxial .30 in (7.62 mm) Browning machine gun as the standard armament. Due to the inability of Marmon–Herrington to supply sufficient drivetrains, the Mk IVF used a Ford Canada drive train. Further versions were designed but never got beyond the prototype stage. By that time (late 1943), the North African Campaign had ended, the mountainous geography of the
Italian campaign did not suit armoured cars, and the British and Commonwealth armies were receiving enough armoured cars from other sources. In total, 5,746 Marmon–Herrington armoured cars were built. About 4,500 were used by South African units, while others were employed by British,
Indian,
New Zealand,
Greek,
Free French,
Polish,
Dutch East Indies, and
Belgian forces. After World War II, a few were given to the
Trans-Jordan and saw combat with the
Arab Legion in the
1948 Arab-Israeli War. The Mk IVF saw combat as late as July–August 1974, during the
Turkish invasion of Cyprus, when it was used by the
Cypriot National Guard. The Greek army used Marmon–Herringtons in the islands of the
Aegean well into the 1990s, in mechanized infantry battalions of special composition, alongside
Jeeps,
M-113s, and
Leonidas AFVs. They were finally phased out of service with the introduction of
VBL AFV, six decades after their introduction. ==Variants==