At the outbreak of the
Second World War, the United Kingdom was unable to meet the needs of the
Commonwealth for
armoured fighting vehicles. This led many Commonwealth countries to develop their own AFVs. In mid-to-late 1941 a specification for a heavy armoured car was issued by the Australian Directorate of Armoured Fighting Vehicles Production. Two prototype hulls and turrets were built and tested on the same chassis in 1942. The vehicle suffered from excessive weight and in 1943 the project was cancelled. The vehicle utilised a
Canadian Military Pattern truck chassis and engine produced by
General Motors Canada, the rear-engined Model 8446 with
GMC Model 270 engine. The same chassis as used for the Canadian
Fox Armoured Car. To this a welded armoured body fabricated from Australian Bullet-proof Plate (ABP-3) of thickness to the front and to the sides and rear was fitted. The vehicle was completed by a welded turret with 30 mm all-round protection similar in design to that of the
Crusader tank. The armament consisted of a
QF 2-pounder Mk IX gun and a coaxial .303-inch
Vickers machine gun. A pilot model of an
armoured personnel carrier with an open-topped hull and no turret was also built. ==References==