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The Ferret armoured car, also commonly called the Ferret Scout car, is a British produced armoured fighting vehicle designed and built for reconnaissance purposes. The Ferret was produced between 1952 and 1971 by the UK company, Daimler. It was widely adopted by regiments in the British Army as well as Commonwealth countries throughout the period.
History
The Ferret was developed in 1949 as a result of the British Army's need to obtain a replacement model for its Second World War light armoured vehicles. Due to the success of their Reconnaissance Scout Car, the "Dingo", Daimler, was employed to design and manufacture the Ferret.
The Ferret shared many similar design features with the Dingo, but featured a larger fighting compartment and a small machine gun turret. It was built from an all-welded ("monocoque") steel body, making the drive extremely noisy as all the running gear was within the enclosed body with the crew. Four wheel drive was incorporated together with solid rubber tyres ("Run Flat"). The turret, though not fitted to all models, carried a single machine gun. Six grenade launchers fitted to the hull (three on each side) carried smoke grenades in British service.
It is fast and small enough to be used in an urban environment but strong enough to negotiate rugged terrain off road. The Ferret is no longer in service in the British Army, although several Commonwealth countries still operate them to this day. They have been popular with private collectors due to the compact size and affordable price (some 10,000 dollars in the US).
Production
A total of 4,409 Ferrets, including 16 sub-models under various Mark numbers, were produced between 1952 and 1971.
Variants
There are several Marks of Ferret, including those with varying equipment, turret or no turret and armed with Swingfire anti-tank missiles. Including all the marks and experimental variants there have probably been over 60 different vehicles.
Mk 1
- FV701
- Liaison duties
- No turret
MK 1/1
- Heavier armour than Mk 1
- Sealed hull for fording.
Mk 1/2
- Extended height roof
- Crew of three
- Equipped with Bren or later GPMG gun
Mk 2
- Turret from Alvis Saracen APC
- Produced first
Mk 2/1 to 5
Small improvements at each stage including thicker armour.MK 2/6
Mk 2/7
- FV701
- Mk 2/6 stripped of anti-tank missiles after Vigilant withdrawn from service
Mk 4
- FV711
- Improved Mk 2
- Stronger suspension
- Flotation screen
Mk 5
External links
Trivia
- Ferrets were used in the 1996 film Spy Hard by US special forces.
Armored cars | Canadian armoured fighting vehicles | Reconnaissance vehicles
"Ferret armoured car"