AEC Armoured Command Vehicle

British armoured command vehicle

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AEC 4x4 ACV

A captured AEC Command Car used by Erwin Rommel in the North African campaign.

Type| Armoured command vehicle
Place of origin| United Kingdom
Service history
Used by| British Army
Wars| Second World War
Production history
Manufacturer| Associated Equipment Company
Birtley Ordnance Factory
Weymann Motor Bodies
Unit cost| £1,576
Produced| 1941 - 1948
No. built| 415
Variants| Low Power, High Power, AEC 6x6 ACV
Specifications
Mass| 12.2 t
Length| 20 ft 0 in (6.10 m)
Width| 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m)
Height| 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m)
Crew| 7-8 (3 officers, 3 radio operators, 2 drivers)

* * *

Armour| 10–12 mm (0.39–0.47 in)

Main
armament

| 1 x .303 inch Bren light machine gun, carried inside
Engine| AEC 187 6-cylinder diesel engine
95 hp (71 kW)
Power/weight| 7.8 hp/tonne
Suspension| wheeled 4x4

Operational
range

| 280 mi (450 km)
Maximum speed | 37 mph (60 km/h)

AEC Armoured Command Vehicle was a series of command vehicles built by the British Associated Equipment Company (AEC) during the Second World War .

## History[edit]

An ACV of the 23rd Infantry Brigade HQ at Francolise, 14 March 1944.

During the Second World War, the United Kingdom was the only country to develop and widely employ purpose-built armoured command vehicles. Those were essentially armoured buses based on truck chassis.

The most common ACV of the British Army was the AEC 4x4 ACV. The vehicle, based on AEC Matador chassis, entered production in 1941. A total of about 415 units were built. The vehicle was used for the first time in the North African Campaign and remained in service until the end of the war. Big and comfortable, it was nicknamed Dorchester by the troops, after the luxury hotel in London. Three ACVs of this type were captured by the German Afrika Korps. Two of them, named "Max" and "Moritz", were employed by Rommel and his staff throughout the campaign.

In 1944 a larger AEC 6x6 ACV was developed. The vehicle was based on AEC 0857 lorry chassis and was powered by the AEC 198 150 hp engine. The hull was welded from 9 mm thick rolled steel. The weight of the vehicle reached 17 tons. One hundred and fifty one units were built.

Both vehicles were built in two configurations, called LP (Low Power) and HP (High Power), with different radio equipment.

Some ACVs were conversions of Armoured Demolition Vehicles which used the same bodywork.

An AEC Dorchester at IWM

## Variants[edit]

High Power
One No. 19 wireless set, one R 107 High Frequency reception set. The No 19 set had a maximum output of 30 Watts and maximum range of 45 miles (72km).
Low Power body
two No 19 wireless sets. No 19 set with a maximum output of 30 watt and maximum range of 45 miles (72km) for communications with higher commands.

## See also[edit]

* Guy Lizard

## Notes[edit]

## References[edit]

* Forty, George - World War Two Armoured Fighting Vehicles and Self-Propelled Artillery, Osprey Publishing 1996, ISBN 1-85532-582-9.
* Moschanskiy, I (February 1999), "Бронетанковая техника Великобритании 1939–1945 часть 2" [Armored vehicles of the Great Britain 1939–1945 part 2], Моделист-Конструктор [Modelist-Konstruktor], Bronekollektsiya
* Henry, Richard (December 2015), "Armoured Command Vehicles", Military History Journal, vol. 16, no. 6, The South African Military History Society

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to AEC Armoured Command Vehicle.

* Aec.middx.net Archived 24 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
* Nase noviny
* AFRIKAKORPS / AANA Research AEC Dorchester 4X4 or DAK "Mammoth"
* Max Rommels AEC "Dorchester" 4x4, Armoured Command Vehicle in African theatre

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British Commonwealth armoured fighting vehicles of the Second World War

Tanks|

| Light tanks|

* Light tank Mk I, Mk II, Mk III, Mk IV and Mk V
* Light tank Mk VI
* Light tank Mk VII Tetrarch
* Light tank Mk VIII 'Harry Hopkins'
* Vickers 6-ton
* M3/M5 Stuart *
* M22 Locust *
* M24 Chaffee *

|

Cruiser tanks|

* Cruiser Mk I
* Cruiser Mk II
* Cruiser Mk III
* Cruiser Mk IV
* Covenanter
* Crusader
* Cavalier
* Centaur and Cromwell
* Challenger
* Comet
* Ram ‡
* Sentinel †

Infantry tanks|

* Matilda I
* Matilda II
* Valentine
* Churchill

Medium tanks|

* Grant/Lee *
* Grizzly I ‡
* Sherman *
* Sherman Firefly
* Vickers Medium Mark II

Self-propelled
artillery|

| field|

* Bishop
* Priest*
* Sexton ‡

|

anti-tank|

* Deacon
* 17pdr SP Achilles
* Archer
* M10 tank destroyer *

Armoured personnel
carriers|

* Kangaroov
* Loyd Carrier
* M2 half-track *
* M3 half-track *
* M5 half-track *
* M9 half-track *
* Terrapin
* Universal Carrier

Scout cars and
armoured cars|

| Scout cars|

* Daimler Dingo
* Dingo Scout Car †
* Humber Scout Car
* Lynx Scout Car ‡
* S1 Scout Car †

|

Armoured cars|

* AEC Armoured Car
* Boarhound Armoured Car *
* Coventry Armoured Car
* Daimler Armoured Car
* Fox Armoured Car ‡
* Greyhound Armoured Car *
* Guy Armoured Car
* Humber Armoured Car
* Indian Pattern Carrier §
* Lanchester 6×4 armoured car
* Marmon-Herrington Armoured Cars SA
* Morris CS9
* Rhino Heavy Armoured Car †
* Rolls-Royce Armoured Car
* Rover Light Armoured Car †
* Staghound Armoured Car *
* Standard Beaverette

Reconnaissance cars|

* Humber Light Reconnaissance Car
* Morris Light Reconnaissance Car
* Otter Light Reconnaissance Car ‡

Armoured command
vehicles|

* AEC Armoured Command Vehicle
* Guy Lizard

Armoured trucks|

* Armadillo
* Bedford OXA
* Bison
* C15TA Armoured Truck ‡
* Leyland Beaver-Eel
* White Scout Car *

Experimental vehicles|

* A20
* AC4 †
* AC3 'Thunderbolt' †
* Alecto
* Australian experimental light tank †
* Basilisk Armoured Car
* Bedford Cockatrice and Heavy Cockatrice
* Avenger
* Black Prince
* Bob Semple tank ¶
* Excelsior
* Hillman Gnat
* Schofield ¶
* TOG 1
* TOG 2
* Tortoise
* Valiant

* Key: * American lend-lease, † Australian, ‡ Canadian, § Indian, SA South African, ¶ New Zealand, v field conversions of vehicles of various origins

Background: British armoured fighting vehicle production during World War II, Tanks in the British Army

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AEC vehicle model range

Buses|

* 400-series
* 500-series
* B-type
* Bridgemaster
* K-type
* LS-type
* LT-type
* Merlin/Swift
* Monocoach
* NS-type
* Q-type
* Ranger (between wars)
* Ranger (post war)
* Regal
* Regal I
* Regal II
* Regal III
* Regal IV
* Regal V
* Regal VI
* Regent
* Regent II
* Regent III
* Regent III RT-type
* Regent IV
* Regent V
* Reliance (660)
* Reliance
* Reliant
* Renown (1920s two-axle)
* Renown (3-axle)
* Renown (1960s)
* Routemaster/Routemaster FRM
* S-type
* ST-type
* Sabre
* Swift
* T-type
* X-type

Trolleybuses|

* 601
* 602
* 603/603T
* 604
* 605
* 607
* 661T
* 662T
* 663T
* 664T
* 691T
* 761T

Trucks|

* 4G6
* 10
* 18
* 201
* 428
* 501
* 506
* 691
* 692
* 701
* 1100
* Majestic
* Mammoth
* Mammoth Major
* Mandator
* Marshall
* Matador
* Mercury
* Militant
* Mammoth Minor 6
* Mammoth Minor 8
* Mogul
* Monarch
* Mustang
* Roadtrain
* TG6
* Y Type

Armoured vehicles|

* Armoured Car
* Armoured Command Vehicle

Engines|

* AEC 9.6L
* AEC 11.3L

Related companies|

* ACLO
* Associated Daimler Company
* Barreiros AEC
* British Leyland
* British United Traction
* Charles H Roe
* Crossley Motors
* Maudslay Motor Company
* Park Royal Vehicles
* Thornycroft
* UTIC-AEC

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