Britain AEC Armoured Car Mark III

The AEC Armoured Car Mark III was designed in 1940, manufactured by the Associated Equipment Company(AEC) based on the existing 4 x 4 drive Matador Artillery tractor and was in use from 1943 to 1945. General Details Specifications Operational Date(s) 1943 - 1945 Quantity Produced 205 Weight 14 tonne Crew 4 M.G's small 2 M.G's large(>10mm) n/a Length 5.23 mtr Width 2.77 mtr Height 2.56 mtr Engine Details/Performance Max Road Speed 40 mph Max Cross Country Speed 20 mph Range Road 250 miles Range Cross Country 112 miles Fuel Type Diesel Fuel Capacity unknown Horse Power 158 hp Power/Weight 11 hp/tonne General Information The AEC Armoured Car Mark III was designed in 1940, manufactured by the Associated Equipment Company(AEC) based on the existing 4 x 4 drive Matador Artillery tractor and was in use from 1943 to 1945. The vehicle was powered by Associated Equipment Company(AEC) 'AEC 197' diesel powerplant producing 158 HP which could drive the vehicle on roads at up to 40 mph with a range of about 250 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was good providing a max speed of about 20 mph and a range of about 112 miles. It was armed with 2 light machine guns which were Bren Guns and BESA Machine Gun 7.92mm. Its main armament consisted of an Ordnance Q.F. 75mm which could penetrate 106 mm of flat plate at 200 metres This vehicle was originally designed to take the Valentine MkII turret with the Ordnance Q.F. 2pdr gun, but the MkIII was uprated to use the Ordnance Q.F. 75mm gun for the close support role and had thicker armour. Armour Details Turret Front 65mm @ 0° (65mm) Side 60mm @ 0° (60mm) Rear 60mm @ 0° (60mm) Top 10mm @ 90° (10mm) Superstructure Front 30mm @ 45° (42mm) Side 30mm @ 0° (30mm) Rear 15mm @ 45° (21mm) Top 10mm @ 90° (10mm) Hull Front 30mm @ 45° (42mm) Side 30mm @ 0° (30mm) Rear 15mm @ 45° (21mm) Top 16mm @ 90° (16mm) Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°) Effective Armour - Maximum 65 mm - Minimum 16 mm Weapon Details Bren Gun History The Bren gun was licenced from the Czechoslovak ZB vz.27 light machine gun which was designed and manufactured in Brno from 1935. It fired the standard British .303 rifle round. Manufactured 1930 - 2004 Calibre 7.70mm Length L/82 Rate of Fire 500 rpm   Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content Standard british .303 round(AP) 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 Standard british .303 round - HPBT(MG) 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 Weapon Details BESA Machine Gun 7.92mm History Developed by BSA from the Czechoslovak ZB vz.53 heavy machine gun which used the German 7.92×57mm Mauser ammunition. It was mostly used as the main armament of the Light Tank Mk VIC and Armoured cars such as the Humber Mk I to Mk III. This 7.92mm gun was used in the armoured divisions as their supply lines were separated from the infantry who used .303 bullets. Once the British started capturing German ammunition this could be immediately used in these tank machine guns. Manufactured 1939 - 1966 Calibre 7.92mm Length L/93 Rate of Fire 450 rpm   Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content Cartridge SA, 7.92(AP) 7.92mm 0.012Kg 785M/Sec Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.15 Penetration(mm@30°) 2 Penetration(mm@0°) 3 Hit Probability(%) 98 Weapon Details Ordnance Q.F. 75mm History This was a temporary fix to the problem of 6pdr guns not having a powerful enough HE shell. It was created by boring out the British 57mm 6pdr to take the American 75mm AP/HE shells, which reduced the Anti Tank performance but provided HE support. Manufactured 1943 - 1945 Calibre 75mm Length L/32 Number of Rounds  45     Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content AP(AP) 75mm 6.58Kg 618M/Sec Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.16 0.33 0.68 1.45 2.31 3.29 4.41 5.71 Penetration(mm@30°) 98 91 83 73 64 55 46 38 Penetration(mm@0°) 114 106 96 85 74 64 54 45 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 88 54 25 15 3

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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