Britain
Armadillo MkIII

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The Armadillo MkIII was designed in 1940, manufactured by Bedford Vehicles based on the existing 4 x 2 drive Bedford 1.5 ton lorry chassis and was in use from 1940 to 1941.

Stanley Arthur Devon, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons General Details Specifications Operational Date(s) 1940 - 1941 Quantity Produced 877 Weight 6.5 tonne Crew 5 M.G's small 1 M.G's large(>10mm) n/a Length 6.22 mtr Width 2.18 mtr Height 3.09 mtr Engine Details/Performance Max Road Speed 40 mph Max Cross Country Speed 8 mph Range Road 280 miles Range Cross Country 56 miles Fuel Type Petrol Fuel Capacity 32 gal Horse Power 72 hp Power/Weight 11 hp/tonne General Information The Armadillo MkIII was designed in 1940, manufactured by Bedford Vehicles based on the existing 4 x 2 drive Bedford 1.5 ton lorry chassis and was in use from 1940 to 1941. The vehicle was powered by Bedford '3.6 L' petrol powerplant producing 72 HP which could drive the vehicle on roads at up to 40 mph with a range of about 280 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was adequate providing a max speed of about 8 mph and a range of about 56 miles. It was armed with 1 light machine gun , a Lewis Gun. Its main armament consisted of a 37mm COW gun which could penetrate 28 mm of flat plate at 400 metres The Armadillo Mark III was produced in Britain during 1941 and intended as a defense against the threat of invasion(Home Guard) or paratroop attacks on airfields(RAF). Based on the standard Bedford 1.5 ton lorry chassis, it comprised a two layer wooden fighting compartment with a 6 inch gap containing a layer of gravel to protect from bullets with a driver's cab protected by mild steel plates. For all intents and purposes it was a mobile pillbox. Armour Details Turret Front n/a Side n/a Rear n/a Top n/a Superstructure Front n/a Side n/a Rear n/a Top n/a Hull Front n/a Side n/a Rear n/a Top n/a Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°)

Weapon Details Lewis Gun (Machine Gun) History The lewis gun was designed by an American Colonel Isaac Lewis in 1911. The Birmingham Small Arms Company purchased a licence to manufacture the Lewis machine gun in England, which made Lewis very wealthy. Lewis and his factory moved to England before 1914, away from possible seizure in the event of a German invasion as it was originally based in Belgium. The Lewis gun used a horizontal pan magazine which held either 47 or 97 0.303 rounds. The gun was used by a large number of Countries during World War II, and in most Theatres of the War. Manufactured 1914 - 1945 Calibre 7.70mm Length L/87 Rate of Fire 500 rpm   Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content Standard british .303 round - HPBT (BALL Standard Small Arms) 7.70mm 0.01Kg 761M/Sec Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.17 Penetration(mm@30°) 1 Penetration(mm@0°) 2 Hit Probability(%) 98 Standard british .303 round (BALL Standard Small Arms) 7.70mm 0.017Kg 783M/Sec Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.15 Penetration(mm@30°) 4 Penetration(mm@0°) 5 Hit Probability(%) 98 Weapon Details 37mm COW gun (Machine Gun) History The Coventry Ordnance Works designed this gun as an anti aircraft weapon during World War I, however it didn't go into production until late 1918. It fired clips containing 5 rounds of shells, and was during World War II mounted on the Armadillo, a beach landing defence vehicle. Manufacturer Coventry Ordnance Works Manufactured 1918 - 1942 Calibre 37mm Length L/62 Rate of Fire 90rpm   Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content 37x190R HE (HE High Explosive) 37mm 0.65Kg 594M/Sec ≈0.098Kg explosive Range(Mtr) 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 Flight Time(Secs) 2.31 7.34 Direct Fire Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.17 0.36 0.76 1.72 3 4.75 7.34 11.56 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 77 29 8 2 0 Blast/Fragmentation Effects Burst radius Infantry in open 99% kill 2 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill 5 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill 13 mtr  Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr 0 mm An explosion within 2 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 99% casualties - lethal. An explosion within 5 mtr of infantry in the open will cause > 66% casualties and could damage some AFV's. An explosion within 13 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 33% casualties. The blast effect of this shell exploding within 1 mtr of an armoured vehicle will not cause any significant armour damage.

Hit probability is based on a static 2 x 2.4 metre panel at 0 degrees(vertical) at the range specified.

The data that has been used to create these records has come from Wikipedia, The Lone Sentry, The Bundes Archive and numerous books and websites that have provided the detailed information that has not been available anywhere else. The information we use to calculate the penetration tables, flight times and the hit probability comes from the Gun Calibre, the Shell Mass(Kg) and the muzzle velocity, plus range reductions to allow for gravity and wind resistance. This calculation originally came from a pre-war Krupp calculation which has been modified, and seems to fit the actual test results.

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Page Last Updated: 2023-01-12 07:54:27