Universal Carrier


The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier and sometimes simply the Bren Carrier from the light machine gun armament, is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrongs and other companies.
The first carriers – the Bren Carrier and the Scout Carrier with specific roles – entered service before the war, but a single improved design that could replace these, the Universal, was introduced in 1940.
The vehicle was used widely by British Commonwealth forces during the Second World War. Universal Carriers were usually used for transporting personnel and equipment, mostly support weapons, or as machine gun platforms. With some 113,000 built by 1960 in the United Kingdom and abroad, it is the most produced armoured fighting vehicle in history.

Design and development

The origins of the Universal Carrier family can be traced back generally to the Carden Loyd tankettes family, which was developed in the 1920s, and specifically the Mk VI tankette.
In 1934, Vickers-Armstrongs produced, as a commercial venture, a light tracked vehicle that could be used either to carry a machine gun or to tow a light field gun. The VA.D50 had an armored box at the front for driver and a gunner and bench seating at the back for the gun crew. The War Office considered it as a possible replacement for their "Light Dragon" artillery tractors and took 69 as the "Light Dragon Mark III". One was built as the "Carrier, Machine-Gun Experimental ", carrying a machine gun and its crew. The decision was made to drop the machine gun and its team and the next design had a crew of three – driver and gunner in the front, third crew-member on the left in the rear and the right rear open for storage. A small number of this design as "Carrier, Machine-Gun No 1 Mark 1" were built and entered service in 1936. Some were converted into pilot models for the Machine gun Carrier, Cavalry Carrier and Scout Carrier – the others were used for training.
The carrier put the driver and commander at the front sitting side by side; the driver to the right. The Ford Flathead V8 engine that powered it was placed in the center of the vehicle with the final drive at the rear. The suspension and running gear were based on that used on the Vickers light tank series using Horstmann springs. Directional control was through a vertical steering wheel which pivoted about a horizontal axis. Small turns moved the front road wheel assembly, warping the track so the vehicle drifted to that side. Further movement of the wheel braked the appropriate track to give a turn.
The hull in front of the commander's position jutted forward to give room for the Bren gun to fire through a simple slit. To either side of the engine was an area in which passengers could ride or stores could be carried. Initially, there were several types of Carrier that varied slightly in design according to their purpose: "Medium Machine Gun Carrier", "Bren Gun Carrier", "Scout Carrier" and "Cavalry Carrier". However, the production of a single model came to be preferred and the Universal design appeared in 1940; this was the most widely produced of the Carriers. It differed from the previous models in that the rear section of the body had a rectangular shape, with more space for the crew.

Production

Production of Carriers began in 1934 and ended in 1960. Before the Universal design was introduced, the vehicles were produced by Aveling and Porter, Bedford Vehicles, the British branch of the Ford Motor Company, Morris Motors Limited, the Sentinel Waggon Works, and the Thornycroft company. With the introduction of the Universal, production in the UK was undertaken by Aveling-Barford, Ford, Sentinel, Thornycroft, and Wolseley Motors. By 1945 production amounted to approximately 57,000 of all models, including some 2,400 early ones.
The Universal Carriers, in different variants, were also produced in allied countries. Ford Motor Company of Canada manufactured about 29,000 vehicles known as the Ford C01UC Universal Carrier. Smaller numbers of them were also produced in Australia, where hulls were made in several places in Victoria and by South Australian Railways workshops in Adelaide, South Australia. About 1,300 were also produced in New Zealand.
The United States of America manufactured Universal Carriers for allied use with GAE and GAEA V-8 Ford engines. About 20,000 were produced.

Operational history

The Universal Carrier was ubiquitous in all the theatres during the Second World War with British and Commonwealth armies, from the war in the East to the occupation of Iceland. Although the theory and policy was that the carrier was a "fire power transport" and the crew would dismount to fight, practice differed. It could carry machine guns, mortars, infantrymen, supplies, artillery and observation equipment.

United Kingdom

The seven mechanized divisional cavalry regiments in the BEF during 1939–1940 were equipped with Scout Carriers – 44 carriers and 28 light tanks in each regiment. There were 10 Bren Carriers in each infantry battalion in the same period.
The reconnaissance corps regiments – which replaced the cavalry regiments in supporting Infantry divisions after 1940 – were each equipped with 63 carriers, along with 28 Humber Scout Cars.
Universal Carriers were issued to the support companies in infantry rifle battalions for carrying support weapons. A British armoured division of 1940–41 had 109 carriers; each motor battalion had 44.
A British Carrier platoon originally had ten Universal Carriers with three carrier sections of three Universal Carriers each plus another Universal Carrier in the platoon HQ. Each Universal Carrier had a non-commissioned officer, a rifleman and a driver-mechanic. One Universal Carrier in each section was commanded by a sergeant, the other two by corporals.
All the Universal Carriers were armed with a Bren gun and one carrier in each carrier section also had a Boys anti-tank rifle. By 1941, the carrier platoon had increased in strength to contain four carrier sections; one carrier in each carrier section also carried a 2-inch mortar.
By 1943, each Universal Carrier had a crew of four, an NCO, driver-mechanic and two riflemen. The Boys anti-tank rifle was also replaced by the PIAT anti-tank weapon. The Universal Carrier's weapons could be fired from in or outside of the carrier. A carrier platoon had a higher number of light support weapons than a rifle company.
To allow the Universal to function as an artillery tractor in emergencies, a towing attachment that could allow it to haul the Ordnance QF 6 pounder anti-tank gun was added from 1943. Normally the Loyd Carrier – which was also used as a general utility carrier – acted as the tractor for the 6-pdr.
In Motorised Infantry Battalions in BAOR in the early 1950s the Universal was issued one per platoon carrying the Platoon Commander, driver, signaller and the 2” Mortar group Nos 1 & 2.

Australia

Universal and the earlier Bren carriers were used by Australian Army units in the Western Desert campaign.

Germany

Captured Universal Carriers were used in a number of roles by German forces.
A total of around sixty Bren No.2 Carriers and Belgian army Vickers Utility Tractors were converted into demolition vehicles. Carrying a large explosive charge, these would be driven up to enemy positions under remote control and detonated, destroying both themselves and the target. Twenty-nine of both kinds were deployed in 1942 during the Siege of Sevastopol. They achieved some success in destroying Soviet trenches and bunkers, but a significant number were destroyed by artillery. Others were disabled by land mines before reaching their target or were lost because of mechanical breakdowns. A difficulty for the Germans using these foreign-built vehicles was the lack of spare parts.

Variants

The widespread production of the Carrier allowed for several variants to be developed, manufactured and/or used by different countries.

Argentine variants

Many variants of the British Universal Carrier have been fielded and used by the armed forces of the following countries, amongst many others:
soldiers travelling on a British Universal Carrier received from the UK under the American Lend-Lease programme near Boulevard of Carol I in the Romanian capital of Bucharest in August 1944.

Pre-war/Second World War period