Deacon (artillery)

British self-propelled gun

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AEC Mk I Gun Carrier
("Carrier, 6-Pdr Gun, A.E.C., Mk I Deacon")

Type| Self-propelled artillery
Place of origin| United Kingdom
Service history
In service| 1942–43
Used by| United Kingdom
Turkey
Wars| Second World War
Production history
Manufacturer| AEC/Park Royal Vehicles
No. built| 175
Specifications
Mass| 12 long tons (12 t; 13 short tons)
Length| 21 ft (6.39 m)
Width| 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m)
Height| 9 ft 3 in (2.82 m)
Crew| 5

* * *

Armour| 6 to 20 mm (0.24 to 0.79 in)

Main
armament

| QF 6 pounder (57 mm)
24 rounds

Secondary
armament

| none
Engine| AEC A173 7.7L 6-cyl diesel
95 hp (71 kW)
Power/weight| 7.8 hp/tonne
Drive| wheeled, 4x2, 4x4
Transmission| 4 + reverse gears, with two-speed transfer box
Suspension| leaf spring
Ground clearance| 13 in (330 mm)

Operational
range

| 174 miles (280 km)
Maximum speed | 19 mph (30 km/h)

The AEC Mk I Gun Carrier, known as Deacon, was a British armoured fighting vehicle of the Second World War. It was an attempt to make the QF 6 pounder anti-tank gun into a self-propelled artillery piece. It was employed only during the North African Campaign from 1942 to 1943.

## History

[edit]

The Deacon was developed in 1942 to provide British Army units in North Africa with a mobile anti-tank weapon. It can be seen as a development of the practice of carrying smaller artillery pieces en portee (sitting on the back of trucks). This meant that the artillery could quickly move albeit with some loss of traverse. The basis of the Deacon Gun Carrier was an AEC Matador truck chassis. A 6-pounder gun with enclosed armoured shield was mounted on the flat bed at the rear of the chassis. The gunner and loader operated the gun from behind the shield. The conventional cab was replaced with a boxy armoured construction that covered the engine and the driver's position. Production started in December 1942 and 175 were built.

## Combat service

[edit]

The Deacon was used against German armoured vehicles in North Africa, an environment in which wheeled vehicles were as manoeuvrable as tanks. They are credited with action at El Hamma, where the 76th (Royal Welch Fusiliers) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, was the victor in a battle against a German force that included Panzer III tanks.[citation needed] Deacons were withdrawn at the end of the campaign in North Africa, as they were not considered suitable for use in Europe. Some were converted to armoured ammunition carriers and others were sold to Turkey in 1943.[1]

## Service name

[edit]

Giving it the name Deacon was part of what became consistent naming of British self-propelled guns with ecclesiastical titles. A 1941 design with the Ordnance QF 25-pounder was nicknamed "the Bishop", as its appearance was said to resemble a bishop's mitre. A replacement, the US 105 Millimeter Howitzer Motor Carriage M7, was given the service name "Priest" by the British, as part of its superstructure was said to resemble a priest's pulpit. A related design in 1943 with the QF 25-pounder was "Sexton". In more recent post-war years, the Royal Artillery used a self-propelled gun known as the "Abbot".

A Deacon disguised as a lorry, October 1942

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Haugh 2008, p. 1.

## Sources

[edit]

* Moschanskiy, I. (1999). Бронетанковая техника Великобритании 1939–1945 часть 2 [Armored vehicles of the Great Britain 1939–1945]. Vol. 2\. Modelist-Konstruktor, Bronekollektsiya 1999-02/Моделист-Конструктор, Бронеколлекция 1999-02.
* Haugh, D. R. (25 February 2008). "AEC Deacon Datasheet" (PDF) (revised ed.). Warwheels.net. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
* Chamberlain, Peter; Milson, John (1975). Self-propelled anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns. WW2 Fact Files. New York: Arco.

## External links

[edit]

* Deacon with picture

* v
* t
* e

British Commonwealth armoured fighting vehicles of the Second World War

Tanks|

| Light tanks|

* Light Mk I
* Mk II
* Mk III
* Mk IV
* Mk V
* Mk VI
* Mk VII "Tetrarch"
* Mk VIII "Harry Hopkins"

* Stuart I - IV *
* Stuart V
* Stuart VI
* Locust I *
* Chaffee I *

* Vickers 6-ton (Training tank)

|

Cruiser tanks|

* Cruiser Mk I
* Mk II
* Mk III
* Mk IV
* Mk V "Covenanter"
* Mk VI "Crusader"
* Mk VII "Cavalier"
* Mk VIII "Centaur"
* Mk VIII "Cromwell"
* Challenger
* Comet

* Ram ‡
* Sentinel †

Infantry tanks|

* Infantry Mk I "Matilda I"
* Infantry Mk II "Matilda II"
* Infantry Mk III "Valentine"
* Infantry Mk IV "Churchill"

Medium tanks|

* Medium Mk II
* Grant/Lee *
* Sherman *
* Grizzly I ‡
* Firefly

Self-propelled
artillery|

| Field|

* Bishop
* Priest *
* Sexton ‡

|

Anti-tank|

* Deacon
* 3-in. SP Achilles *
* 17pdr SP Achilles
* SP 17pdr Archer

Armoured
personnel
carriers|

* Kangaroov
* Loyd Carrier
* Terrapin
* Universal Carrier (T16 Universal Carrier *)

* M2 half-track *
* M3 half-track *
* M5 half-track *
* M9A1 half-track *

Scout cars and
armoured cars|

| Scout cars|

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

|

Armoured cars|

* AEC
* Beaverette
* Boarhound *
* Coventry
* Daimler
* Fox ‡
* Greyhound *
* Guy AC
* Humber AC
* ACV-IP §
* Lanchester 6×4
* Marmon-Herringtons SA
* Morris CS9
* Rhino †
* Rolls-Royce
* Rover †
* Staghound *

Recon. cars|

* Humber LRC
* Morris LRC
* Otter LRC ‡

Armoured
command
vehicles|

* AEC ACV
* Guy Lizard ACV

Armoured
trucks|

* Armadillo
* Bedford OXA
* Bison
* C15TA ‡
* 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 ¶
* T14 *
* TOG 1
* TOG 2
* Tortoise
* Valiant
* Skink ‡

* 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
*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Stuart I - IV]: M3/M3A1 Stuart
*[Stuart V]: M3A3 Stuart
*[Stuart VI]: M5A1 Stuart
*[Recon.]: Reconnaissance
*[ACV]: armoured command vehicle