- Yes
- No
- As a tech tree vehicle
- As a premium
- As an event vehicle
- I don’t want it
INTRODUCTION
The Daimler Ferret was a replacement for the Daimler Dingo and its contemporaries of WW2 vintage. An astounding 4409 were built and serve all over the world in many forms. This post will talk about the Mk2/6 with ENTAC missiles replacing the usual Vigilant missiles.
VEHICLE HISTORY
The vast multitude of armoured and scout cars built for the Second World War were slated to be replaced and in 1947 a requirement was issued, Daimler won the contract, thanks in no small part to the success of the Daimler Dingo scout car. It was developed in 1949 and a prototype was produced in 1950 and they entered service two years later in 1952.
The Ferret shares many similarities with its predecessor the Dingo such as a H-form drive train which helps lower the height of the vehicle. It is fitted with a water cooled 4.26 litre Rolls-Royce B.60 petrol engine generating 130 bhp at 3750 rpm, the gear box is a 5-speed pre-selector gearbox with all gears available in reverse as well as forward. It can achieve a maximum speed of 58mph.
With its improved power-to-weight ratio and longer wheelbase it improves over the Dingo over broken ground in both speed and mobility.
The Mk2 added a .30 calibre Browning machine gun (later a GMPG) in a one-man traversable turret at the cost of one crew member and increasing the height of the vehicle.
This unique vehicle can be found at the Army Museum at Bandiana, Victoria Australia, it seems to have originally been a mk2/6 owing to the existing support/elevation bar for the missile boxes. Any more info would be welcome.
ARMAMENT & ARMOUR
The Ferret is armoured with 6-16mm steel plate all around and has 6 forward-mounted smoke dischargers to facilitate a quick getaway.
The ENTAC missiles is a French missile developed in the 1950s, it replaced the Nord SS.10 and was very similar in form and function. It is a wire-guided MCLOS missile with the signature French shape of the period.
The ENTAC missiles are mounted at a shallower angle than the Vigilant allowing for a slight reduction in minimum range, this may be because the ENTAC has a minimum range of 400m owing to a delay before guidance kicks in, much greater than that of Vigilants 100m so a flatter trajectory is desirable.
The ENTAC missile has a maximum range of 2km, higher than Vigilant, it contains a 4kg warhead capable of penetrating up to 650mm of RHA.
SPECIFICATIONS
Crew | 2 |
---|---|
Weight | 3.7t |
Length | 3.7m |
Width | 1.91m |
Height | 1.88m |
Engine | Rolls-Royce B60 6L |
Power | 130bhp @ 3750rpm |
Top speed | 58mph |
Armament(s) | 1 x 30. Cal MG, 2 x ENTAC ATGM |
Ammunition | At least 3 boxes of .30 cal, 2 spare ENTAC ATGMs |
Traverse | 360° |
Reload | n/a |
Hull armour | 6-16mm |
Turret armour | 6-16mm |
Stabilizer | no |
NVGs | no |
Active defences | 6 x smoke dischargers |
SOURCES