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.