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Introduction:
By September 1940 the UDF (Union Defence Force) set out to design a new armoured car with heavier armour and a shorter wheel base, this new armoured car would be know as the SARC Mk3 (South African Reconnaissance Car). The Mk3 was powered by a Ford V8 engine and featured a shorter wheelbase in order to save weight and increase mobility. The General configuration of the vehicle remained similar to the SARC Mk2, although the angles of the armour had been improved and a new octagonal turret was designed to replace round turret found on the older Mk1 and 2’s. The armament fitted on the SARC Mk3’s varied, depending on the turret which was fitted. The SARC Mk3 was usually seen equipped with a .55 Boys anti-tank gun as its primary and a .303 Bren machine gun or a .303 Vickers machine gun as a secondary. However, as the war went on it was found the Boys anti-tank gun was struggling to penetrate enemy armour, this led to numerous Mk3’s being up gunned usually with captured weapons of which there was a sufficient number. For this forum post we will focus on the SARC Mk3 equipped with a 47mm anti-tank gun.
Specifications:
Armament: 47mm (47/32) M35
Ammunition: APHE, APBC
Crew: 3 (driver, commander, gunner)
Engine: Ford V8
Horsepower: 95hp
Transmission: Manual (4 forward, 1 reverse)
Drivetrain: 4x4
Top Speed: 88km/h
Primary sources:
Marmon Herrington (A History of South African Reconnaissance Car) written by William Marshall (page 29-34)
Surviving the Ride written by William Marshal and Helmoed Heitman Romer (page 13)
Secondary Sources:
War Wheels (Marmon-Herrington Armoured Reconnaissance Car Mk3) Data sheet: https://warwheels.net/images/MarmonHerringtonMk3statsheet2.pdf
Tank Encyclopedia (Marmon-Herrington Mk.III): Marmon-Herrington Mk. III (1941)