Bedford QLD (12.7mm M55 "Firling") - Danish anti air vehicle

Til_Dovre_Faller · January 18, 2025, 8:22pm

BEDFORD QLD (M55)

TYPE: Self Propelled Anti Air Vehicle

ARMAMENT

Spoiler

1x4 12.7x99mm M55 Machine Gun Trailer
-Ammunition capacity: Uncertain, but the mg’s mags have 200 rounds a piece
-Placement: Fixed on the flatbed
Mass: 1,087 kg
Barrel length: 1.6 m L/50
Shell: 12.7×99mm
Shell weight: 0.6 kg
Caliber: 12.7 mm
Action: Short recoil-operated
Elevation: -5° to +90°
Traverse: 360 degrees
Rate of fire: 575 x 4 = 2,300 rpm
Muzzle velocity: 890 m/s
Effective firing range: 1.5 km (effective AA), 4.5 km (maximum AA)
Maximum firing range: 1.8 km (horizontal), 2.5 km (maximum)
Feed system: Belt-fed

TECHNICAL DATA
Mass: 3,277 kg (empty)
Mass: 6,985 kg (loaded)
Length: 5.99 m
Width: 2.26 m
Height: 2.54m
Crew: 1 + 11 passengers
Engine: Bedford, 6-cyl 3,519 cc petrol, 72 hp
Payload capacity: 3 tons
Suspension: Wheel, 4x4
Operational range: 250 Km

HISTORY
Bedford QLDs were taken over by the Danish Defence Forces from British forces in Germany immediately after the Germans capitulated at the end of World War II. The trucks were taken over and transported to Skrydstrup Air Base where all the trucks had been assembled to undergo repairs and service in order to be ready for later delivery to the regiments. The Danish Army Technical Corps subsequently purchased several more trucks which were stored for use as spare parts.

When the second world war broke out, the Bedford company was contracted by the British army to start production of an 4 wheel drive, 3 ton general service truck. A prototype of the vehicle was ready as soon as February the same year, and production started the following year, March 1941. There were produced a number of models and variants, however the most noumerous and popular one was the QLD.

The Bedford QLD was used for a variety of tasks in the Danish Armed Forces, personnel vehicles, transport of goods and equipment, for pulling artillery guns and for workshop purposes. It was also used with a 12.7mm quadrilateral cannon of the anti-aircraft battery. The vehicle was then replaced by the GMC-353 in the late 50s/early 60s in relation to the weapons aid from the USA.

IN GAME
This could be a great low tier anti air vehicle, for that matter we already have a similar vehicle in-game, located in the Italian techtree, the CM52 but we also have similar vehicles such as the American M16 MGMC. This could be added in either a Danish subtree within the Swedish techtree or in a new independent Norwegian/Danish techtree. The br would be somewhere around 2.0-3.0