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Dec, 1stDAIMLER FERRET
The Daimler Ferret was produced in response to a War Office specification for a light scout car to replace the highly successful wartime Daimler Dingo. Production started in 1951 and the vehicle was in service with the British Army (to my knowledge) from mid 1952 until 1993.
War Office Policy Statement 14 of 1947 describes the scout car:
The Scout Car is a light armoured wheeled vehicle, of inconspicuous size intended for the purposes of reconnaissance and inter-communication. It must be fast and highly mobile, and be capable of offensive and defensive action within its role
The Ferret fulfils all those requirements admirably - weight less than four tons, about the size of a Landrover Discovery and relatively quiet. Top road speed is 55 mph, easy cruise at 40, 30 mph is sustainable cross country. The five speed pre-selector gearbox drives through a forward/reverse transfer box allowing equal speed in either direction.
The engine is one of the Rolls Royce B series family as was becoming widely adopted throughout the Britsh Army, in this case a 129bhp six cylinder of 4260cc (B60). As the engine and most of the gear train was inside the hull the noise is kept inside for the crew to enjoy
Weaponry varied between versions and according to the era. The driver's personal weapon would be either a Sten or a Stering 9mm sub machine gun, main armament would be .303 Bren, .30 Browning M1919 or 7.62mm GMPG. Smoke grenade launchers are mounted on each front wing.
The turreted version of the Ferret is shown in these pictures, this is the Mark 2. It carries a crew of two, driver and commander/gunner. The turretless version carries three personnel, is the Mark 1 and paradoxically entered service in October 1952, four months after the Mark 2. There is neither heating nor airconditioning in the vehicle, the crew dress according to the ambient temperature. When closed down on patrol the crew are packed inside the hull with 2500 rounds of machine gun ammunition, radio sets, ammunition for personal weapons, grenades, spare optics, ready use rations, maps, tools and personal effects. The effect is one of extreme cosiness, the smell after a long, hot patrol is abominable.
There are many variants of the Mark 1 and 2 Ferrets and larger wheeled Marks 3, 4, and 5. The Ferret was replaced in British Army service by the CVR(W) Fox and the CVR(T) Scorpion family of light tracked vehicles. That the Ferret fulfilled a useful role is exemplified both by its long service with both British and overseas forces and by the fact that the Jordanians decided in 2006 to re-engine some fifty of the vehicles they had in store with modern diesels and return them to operational duties.
This document offers both a very brief and biased view of the vehicle. For a definitive history I can recommend Pat Ware's book "Ferret, the FV700 series in British Army Service", Warehouse Publications, Croydon 1997. ISBN 0-9525563-4-0
