The Ferret was developed in 1949 in response to a British Army requirement issued in 1947. 'Light reconnaissance cars' existed during the
Second World War, notably the
Daimler Dingo. Given its experience with the successful Dingo (6,626 produced and one of two British AFVs produced throughout WWII) Daimler was awarded a development contract in October 1948, and in June 1950, the first prototype of the Car, Scout, 4×4, Liaison (Ferret) Mark 1 was delivered. Designated the FV 701(C), it was one of several versions resembling the original Daimler scout cars, and represented the basic model Ferret. This shared many similar design features with the Dingo, notably the
H form drive train in which a central differential eliminates loss of traction due to wheel-slip, and parallel drive shafts considerably reduced the height of the vehicle (roughly equivalent to that of a tracked AFV) compared to conventional armoured car designs. Like the Daimler scout car, the Ferret suspension consisted of pairs of transverse links and single coil springs, the wheels driven by Tracta constant-velocity joints, but the Ferret benefited from epicyclic reduction gears reducing transmission torque loads, essential with the six cylinder 4.26 litre water-cooled Rolls-Royce
B.60 petrol engine. Connected by a fluid coupling to a pre-selector five speed epicyclic gearbox, all gears available in reverse, in its original form, the Ferret produced at 3,300 rpm and at 3,750 in its final form. This improved
power-to-weight ratio, longer wheelbase ( compared with the Dingo's ) and the fitting of larger 9.00×16
run flat tyres increased speed and mobility over broken ground. Compared with the Daimler Dingo and Canadian Ford Lynx, the Ferret featured a larger cabin, directly mounted to the hull (the Ferret is much noisier than Dingo, lacking a
monocoque body). steel plate protects the crew from shell splinters at most angles except directly overhead because the basic vehicle was open-topped and unarmed, except six forward-firing
grenade launchers fitted to the hull over the front wheels (normally carrying smoke grenades), a feature found on all subsequent marks and models. However, the Ferret normally carried a .303" (7.7 mm)
Bren light machine gun or a
pintle-mounted .30" (7.62 mm)
Browning light machine gun in addition to the crew's personal weapons.
Ferret Mark 2 , London Compared to the lightly armed and protected Mark 1, the Mark 2 was designed from the outset to mount a .30" (7.62 mm) Browning in a one-person traversable turret, at the cost of one crew member. While this offered better crew protection and protected the exposed gunner, the turret raised the height of the vehicle. == Service ==