Universal Carrier

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Universal Carrier
Universal Carrier as mortar carrier with Bren mounted at front
Type	Armoured personnel carrier/weapon carrier
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
Wars	World War II Indonesian National Revolution Indochina War 1948 Arab–Israeli War Korean War Suez Crisis Biafran War
Production history
No. built	113,000
Specifications (Universal Carrier, Mk 1)
Weight	3 ton 16 cwt (3.75 t) laden[1] 3 ton 5 cwt (3.19 t) unladen
Length	12 ft (3.65 m)[1]
Width	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)[1]
Height	5 ft 2 inch (1.57 m)
Crew	3
Armour	7–10 mm
Main armament	Bren light machine gun or Boys anti-tank rifle
Secondary armament	one Vickers machine gun/M2 Browning machine gun, or 2-inch mortar/3-inch mortar, or Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank carried
Engine	3.9-liter (239 cu. in.) Ford V8 petrol[2] 85 hp (63 kW) at 3,500 rpm[2]
Suspension	Horstmann
Fuel capacity	20 imp gal (91 L)[1]
Operational range	150 miles (250 km)[2]
Speed	30 mph (48 km/h)[2]

The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier from the light machine gun armament,^[3] is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrongs and other companies.

The first carriers – the Bren Carrier and the Scout Carrier with specific roles – entered service before the war, but a single improved design that could replace these, the Universal, was introduced in 1940.

The vehicle was used widely by British Commonwealth forces during the Second World War. Universal Carriers were usually used for transporting personnel and equipment, mostly support weapons, or as machine gun platforms. With some 113,000 built by 1960 in the United Kingdom and abroad, it is the most produced armoured fighting vehicle in history.^{[citation needed]}

Design and development[edit]

The origins of the Universal Carrier family can be traced back generally to the Carden Loyd tankettes family, which was developed in the 1920s, and specifically the Mk VI tankette.^[4]

In 1934, Vickers-Armstrongs produced, as a commercial venture, a light tracked vehicle that could be used either to carry a machine gun or to tow a light field gun. The VA.D50 had an armoured box at the front for driver and a gunner and bench seating at the back for the gun crew. The War Office considered it as a possible replacement for their "Dragon" artillery tractors and took 69 as the "Light Dragon Mark III". One was built as the "Carrier, Machine-Gun Experimental (Armoured)", carrying a machine gun and its crew. The decision was made to drop the machine gun and its team and the next design had a crew of three – driver and gunner in the front, third crew-member on the left in the rear and the right rear open for stowage. A small number of this design as "Carrier, Machine-Gun No 1 Mark 1" were built and entered service in 1936. Some were converted into pilot models for the Machine gun Carrier, Cavalry Carrier and Scout Carrier – the others were used for training.

The engine was in the centre of the vehicle with the final drive at the rear.

The carrier put the driver and commander at the front sitting side by side; the driver to the right. The Ford Flathead V8 engine that powered it was placed in the centre of the vehicle with the final drive at the rear. The suspension and running gear were based on that used on the Vickers light tank series using Horstmann springs.^[5] Directional control was through a vertical steering wheel which pivoted about a horizontal axis. Small turns moved the front road wheel assembly, warping the track so the vehicle drifted to that side. Further movement of the wheel braked the appropriate track to give a turn.

The hull in front of the commander's position jutted forward to give room for the Bren gun (or other armament) to fire through a simple slit. To either side of the engine was an area in which passengers could ride or stores could be carried. Initially, there were several types of Carrier that varied slightly in design according to their purpose: "Medium Machine Gun Carrier" (the Vickers machine gun), "Bren Gun Carrier", "Scout Carrier" and "Cavalry Carrier". However, production of a single model came to be preferred and the Universal design appeared in 1940; this was the most widely produced of the Carriers. It differed from the previous models in that the rear section of the body had a rectangular shape, with more space for the crew.

Production[edit]

Australian-built machine gun carrier displayed at the Returned & Services League Club in Roma, Queensland

Serial number of the carrier displayed at the Roma (Qld) RSL

Production of Carriers began in 1934 and ended in 1960.^[2] Before the Universal design was introduced, the vehicles were produced by Aveling and Porter, Bedford Vehicles, the British branch of the Ford Motor Company, Morris Motors Limited, the Sentinel Waggon Works, and the Thornycroft company. With the introduction of the Universal, production in the UK was undertaken by Aveling-Barford, Ford, Sentinel, Thornycroft, and Wolseley Motors. By 1945 production amounted to approximately 57,000 of all models, including some 2,400 early ones.

The Universal Carriers, in different variants, were also produced in allied countries. Ford Motor Company of Canada manufactured about 29,000 vehicles known as the Ford C01UC Universal Carrier. Smaller numbers of them were also produced in Australia (about 5,000), where hulls were made in several places in Victoria and by South Australian Railways workshops in Adelaide, South Australia. About 1,300 were also produced in New Zealand.

The United States of America manufactured Universal Carriers for allied use with GAE and GAEA V-8 Ford engines.^[6] About 20,000 were produced.

Operational history[edit]

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The Universal Carrier was ubiquitous in all the theatres during the Second World War with British and Commonwealth armies,^[7] from the war in the East to the occupation of Iceland.^[8] Although the theory and policy was that the carrier was a "fire power transport" and the crew would dismount to fight, practice differed. It could carry machine guns, mortars, infantrymen, supplies. artillery and observation equipment.^[7]

United Kingdom[edit]

A Universal Carrier of 52nd Reconnaissance Regiment catches air on manoeuvres, Scotland, 10 November 1942

The seven mechanized divisional cavalry regiments in the BEF during 1939–1940 were equipped with Scout Carriers – 44 carriers and 28 light tanks in each regiment. There were 10 Bren Carriers in each infantry battalion in the same period.^[9]

The reconnaissance corps regiments – which replaced the cavalry regiments in supporting Infantry divisions after 1940 – were each equipped with 63 carriers, along with 28 Humber Scout Cars.

Universal Carriers were issued to the support companies in infantry rifle battalions for carrying support weapons (initially 10,^[10] 21 by 1941,^[11] and up to 33 per battalion by 1943^[12]). A British armoured division of 1940–41 had 109 carriers; each motor battalion had 44.^[13]

British troops leap from their Universal Carrier during an exercise.

A British Carrier platoon originally had ten Universal Carriers with three carrier sections of three Universal Carriers each plus another Universal Carrier in the platoon HQ. Each Universal Carrier had a non-commissioned officer (NCO), a rifleman and a driver-mechanic. One Universal Carrier in each section was commanded by a sergeant, the other two by corporals.

All the Universal Carriers were armed with a Bren light machine gun and one carrier in each carrier section also had a Boys anti-tank rifle. By 1941, the carrier platoon had increased in strength to contain four carrier sections; one carrier in each carrier section also carried a 2-inch mortar.

By 1943, each Universal Carrier had a crew of four, an NCO, driver-mechanic and two riflemen. The Boys anti-tank rifle was also replaced by the PIAT anti-tank weapon. The Universal Carrier's weapons could be fired from in or outside of the carrier. A carrier platoon had a higher number of light support weapons than a rifle company.

To allow the Universal to function as an artillery tractor in emergencies, a towing attachment that could allow it to haul the Ordnance QF 6 pounder anti-tank gun was added from 1943. Normally the Loyd Carrier – which was also used as a general utility carrier – acted as the tractor for the 6-pdr.^[1]

Australia[edit]

Universal and the earlier Bren carriers were used by Australian Army units in the Western Desert campaign.^[14]

Germany[edit]

Captured Universal Carriers were used in a number of roles by German forces.

A total of around sixty Bren No.2 Carriers and Belgian army Vickers Utility Tractors were converted into demolition vehicles. Carrying a large explosive charge, these would be driven up to enemy positions under remote control and detonated, destroying both themselves and the target. Twenty-nine of both kinds were deployed in 1942 during the Siege of Sevastopol. They achieved some success in destroying Soviet trenches and bunkers, but a significant number were destroyed by artillery. Others were disabled by land mines before reaching their target or were lost because of mechanical breakdowns. A difficulty for the Germans using these foreign-built vehicles was the lack of spare parts.^[15]

Variants[edit]

The widespread production of the Carrier allowed for several variants to be developed, manufactured and/or used by different countries.

British variants[edit]

Bren Carrier No.2. Note a single rear compartment for one soldier with a sloping rear plate.

Universal Carrier Mk II

Flamethrower-equipped universal carrier at the Israeli Armored Corps museum in Latrun

Praying Mantis prototype at The Tank Museum

• Pre-Universal:^[9]
  • Carrier, Machine-Gun No. 2 – 1937
  • Carrier, Bren No.2
  • Carrier, Scout Mk 1
  • Carrier, Cavalry Mk 1 – 50 built by Nuffield, discontinued with reorganization of cavalry light tank regiments of Mobile Division^[9]
  • Carrier, Armoured Observation Post
  • Carrier, Armoured, 2-pounder
  • Carrier, Armored 6-pounder
• Mk. I (the original model)
• Mk. II (equipped with a towing hitch)
• Wasp: A flamethrower-equipped variant, using the "Flame-thrower, Transportable, No 2". The Mark I had a fixed flamethrower on the front of the vehicle fed from two fuel tanks with a combined capacity of 100 gallons. 1000 produced.^[14] The Mk II had the projector in the co-driver's position. The Mk IIC (C for Canadian) had a single 75 gallon fuel tank on the rear of the vehicle outside the armour protection, allowing a third crew member to be carried.
• Praying Mantis: An attempt to produce a low-silhouette vehicle that could still fire over obstacles. A one-man design based on Carden Loyd suspension was not adopted, but the inventor was encouraged to design a two-man version. This version appeared in 1943 and was based upon the Universal Carrier. The hull was replaced with an enclosed metal-box structure with enough room for a driver and a gunner lying prone. This box, pivoting from the rear, could be elevated. At the top end was a machine-gun turret (with two Bren guns). The intention was to drive the Mantis up to a wall or hedgerow, elevate the gun, and fire over the obstacle from a position of safety. It was rejected after trials in 1944.^[16] A Mantis survives in The Tank Museum.

Australian variants[edit]

An Australian 3 inch mortar carrier

Windsor carrier, Overloon Museum

T16 carrier

• Carrier, Machine Gun, Local Pattern, No. 1: Also known as "LP1 Carrier (Aust)". Australian production similar to Bren carrier but welded and some minor differences.^[17]
• Universal Carrier MG, Local Pattern No. 2: Also known as "LP2 Carrier (Aust)". Australian-built variant of the Universal Carrier. Also produced in New Zealand. Used 1938–1939 Ford commercial axles; the 2A had 1940 Ford truck axles.
• 2-pounder Anti-tank Gun Carrier (Aust) or Carrier, 2-pdr Tank Attack: A heavily modified and lengthened LP2 carrier with a fully traversable QF 2 pounder anti-tank gun mounted on a platform at the rear and the engine moved to the front left of the vehicle. Stowage was provided for 112 rounds of 2pdr ammunition. 200 were produced and used for training.^[18]
• 3 inch Mortar Carrier (Aust): A design based on the 2 Pounder Carrier with a 3-inch mortar mounted in place of the 2 pounder. Designed to enable the mortar to have 360 degree traverse and to be fired either from the vehicle, or dismounted. 400 were produced and were ultimately sent as military aid to the Nationalist Chinese Army.^[18]

Canadian variants[edit]

• Carrier, 2-pdr Equipped: Canadian modification to mount 2-pdr gun. 213 used for training.^[17]
• Wasp Mk IIC: Canadian version of the Wasp flamethrower variant.
• Windsor Carrier: Canadian development with a longer chassis extended 76cm and an additional wheel in the aft bogie.

United States variants[edit]

• T-16: The Carrier, Universal, T16, Mark I. was a significantly improved vehicle based upon those built by Ford of Canada, manufactured under Lend Lease by Ford in the United States from March 1943 to 1945. It was longer than the Universal with an extra road wheel on the rear bogie; making for a pair of full Horstmann dual-wheel suspension units per side, the engine was a Mercury-division 3.9 litre displacement Ford flathead V8 delivering the same power. Instead of the steering wheel controlling the combination brake/warp mechanism, the T-16 had track-brake steering operated by levers (two for each side). During the war, it was chiefly used by Canadian forces as an artillery tractor. After the war, was used by Argentine, Swiss (300) and Netherlands forces.

German variants[edit]

• 2 cm Flak 38 auf Fahrgestell Bren(e): Single barrel German 2 cm Flak 38 cannon mounted over the engine compartment of a captured Bren carrier.
• 3.7 cm Pak auf Fahrgestell Bren(e): Captured carrier of 1940, reused by the Germans and fitted with a 3.7 cm PaK 36 gun.
• Panzerjäger Bren 731(e): Bren carriers captured by the Germans and fitted with a triple Panzerschreck transport rack as a tank destroyer. They were not fired from the Bren gun carrier, only transported.^[19]

Italian variants[edit]

• Fiat 2800: In 1942, at the request of the Italian Army (Regio Esercito), Fiat produced a prototype carrier copied from a captured Universal Carrier; it was known as the Fiat 2800 or CVP-4. It is uncertain whether production vehicles were manufactured.^{[citation needed]} Bren carriers captured by the Italians in the field were often fitted with Breda M37 machine guns.^[20]

Operators[edit]

Many variants of the British Universal Carrier have been fielded and used by the armed forces of the following countries, amongst many others:

Soviet Red Army soldiers travelling on a British Universal Carrier received from the UK under the American Lend-Lease programme near Boulevard of Carol I in the Romanian capital of Bucharest in August of 1944.

Pre-war/Second World War period[edit]

•  Australia^[13]
•  Belgium (used by in-exile Belgian forces in the Middle Eastern regions during the war, after the country was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany in 1940)^{[citation needed]}
•  Canada^[21]
•  Czechoslovakia (15 UCs received from the USSR (served in I Corps of the Czechoslovak Army-in-exile on the Eastern Front)^{[citation needed]}
•  France: used by Free French Forces^[22]
•  Nazi Germany (by the German Wehrmacht, which operated a small number of seized UC vehicles captured mainly from the UK)
•  Greece (fielded by Free Greek troops following the country's fall to Nazi German occupation in the Middle East, like the exiled Belgian military forces)^[8]
•  Kingdom of Italy: a few captured UCs used by the Regio Esercito unit of the Italian Army^[23] and one locally-produced copy (the Fiat 2800 [it])
•  Republic of China (1500 UCs supplied by Australia^[13] during the war, with a sizeable number of these (about 400) being 3-inch mortar-carrier versions)^{[citation needed]}
•  New Zealand^[24]
•  Poland: operated by the in-exile Polish Armed Forces in the West^[25]
•  United Kingdom (the main operator in WWII)
•  United States (57 UCs en-route for Canadian troop units in Hong Kong were in the Philippines when the Japanese invaded both Hong Kong and the Philippines, with 40 UCs taken over and operated by the US 1st Provisional Tank Group^[26])
•  Soviet Union (received 200^[13] before the end of 1941 and 2,560 Universal Carriers and similar Lloyd Carriers starting from then until the end of WWII in 1945^[27])
•  Thailand (118 UCs operated in 1944, possibly supplied (covertly) by the UK)^{[citation needed]}

Post-war period[edit]

•  Argentina (most likely supplied by the UK after September of 1945)^{[citation needed]}
•  Biafra (very likely obtained from a French trader, with some converted and modified locally with extra armour)^[28]
•  Egypt^[29] (possibly provided by departing British forces from the Middle East)
•  France (small numbers used by the French expeditionary corps, the CEFEO, fighting in Indochina^[30])
•  Ireland: 200+ received during WWII. Still in service in the 1960s^[29]
•  Israel^[29] (received many from withdrawing British troops in Palestine, aside from buying them from the scrapyards of various European countries after WWII and capturing them from Egypt between their conflicts)
•  Kuwait (former British stocks, which were retired from frontline service in 1961)^{[citation needed]}
•  Federal Republic of Germany (the Bundeswehr received 100 ex-British UCs in 1956)^[29]
•  The Netherlands: a number operated following WWII (possibly ex-British UCs), especially in the independence war in their former colony of Indonesia (the Dutch East Indies) between 1945 to 1949, as part of the Indonesian National Revolution. A small number were lost and subsequently taken over by the new Indonesian Republic's military. Some were armed with a M40 recoilless rifle.^[29]
•   Switzerland (used and fielded predominantly US-built T16 versions of the Universal Carrier up until possibly the early 1960s)^{[citation needed]}

Gallery[edit]

• 

  A Wasp flamethrower tank on display in the Canadian War Museum

• 

  An Australian 2-pounder anti-tank gun UC variant

• 

  A British Indian soldier guarding a captured significantly-modified Universal Carrier, used by Indonesian nationalist militia during the Battle of Surabaya in the Indonesian National Revolution

• 

  A British Army Universal Carrier leads some German prisoners-of-war into a European town.

• 

  Australians driving Bren Carriers towards Bardia, Libya, January 1941

See also[edit]

• C2P
• Kettenkrad "track-cycle"
• Komsomolets armored tractor
• Lorraine 37L
• Loyd Carrier
• M29 Weasel
• Raupenschlepper Ost

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Watson, Nigel (2007). Universal Carriers Volume 1: Dragon – Armoured MG – Cavalry – Scout – AOP – Bren – Lloyd – Universal. Watson Books. ISBN 978-0955600906.
• Watson, Nigel (2008). Universal Carriers Volume 2: Universal – Mortar – Medium Machine Gun – T16 – Windsor – Local Pattern – Oxford – Cambridge – Flamethrowers – Armoured Snowmobile – Variants. Watson Books. ISBN 978-0955600913.
• Watson, Nigel (2011). Universal Carriers Volume 3 (Drawing Archive): Variants – Parts – Hull Details – Restored, Project Vehicles & Wrecks – Veteran Experiences. Watson Books. ISBN 978 0 9556009 2 0.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Universal Carrier.

• Universal Carrier production and technical data
• mapleleafup.net "The Ford Universal Carrier"
• diggerhistory.info "Bren Carrier"
• Britain's Carriers at wwiivehicles.com
• Eighth Army Bren Gun carrier in the Middle East, 1941 (photo)
• Bren Gun carrier with German Machine Gun in Gazala, Middle East, 1941 (photo)
• Assembling Bren Gun carriers in New Zealand (photo)
• Restored Bren Gun carrier being driven by a collector in Australia (video)
• Images of ex-Argentinean T16 carriers for sale (retrieved 2014-04-05)