Humfox MK I

nathanclawfish · August 25, 2023, 9:22am

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                                  Humfox MK I

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/892150435648000070/1141240929383104522/humber_ac_01.png

Vehicle design and service history:

The Fox armoured car was built by General Motors Canada, based off the Humber Armoured car MK III, adapted to be manufactured locally in Canada. This involved replacing the Karrier KT4 chassis with that of a Canadian Military Pattern truck (CMP) chassis, along with modification of the turret armament to include a 0.30 in (7.6 mm) and 0.50 in (13 mm) Browning machine guns, in place of the normal Besa machine guns. The four-man crew consisted of the vehicle commander, the driver, a gunner and a wireless operator, and deemed a successful design 1,506 vehicles were manufactured by the end of the hostilities in 1945.

After the war, the Dutch experienced a shortage of Humber armoured cars for use in the Dutch East Indies. As such, they acquired 39 Foxes from a dump at Deelen, 34 of which were modified to include turrets taken from Humber MK.IV armoured cars, which at the time were the backbone of the Royal Netherlands Army’s recce squadrons. The first conversion took place in October of 1946 at Machinefabriek Wilton Fijenoord in Rotterdam, which then underwent firing trials on the 7 November 1946 which were deemed an overall success, prompting the conversion of another 33 armoured cars. The retained M6 37mm gun maintained the advantage of having armament uniformity with the existing Humber MK.IV in service, as well as the fact the Fox’s GMC engine was easier to maintain due to the RNlA used large numbers of GMC trucks with the same powerplant. This resulting hybrid vehicle was christened the “Humfox”, and was commonly used in squadrons in conjunction with Ford Lynx or Humber Mk.III Reconnaissance Cars, with the Armoured car’s main service taking place in Indonesia, where some were passed on to the Indonesian Army after independence.

Vehicle specification:

Mass 8 t

Length 4.6 m (15 ft 1 in)

Width 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in)

Height 2.4 m (8 ft)

Crew 3

Armour up to 15 mm (0.59 in)

Main armament M6 37 mm high velocity gun

Secondary Armament 1 x 7.92 mm Besa machine gun

Engine GMC 6-cylinder petrol 97h.p.

Suspension Wheel 4x4

Operational range 250 km (160 mi)