Otter Light Reconnaissance Car
| Otter Light Reconnaissance Car | |
|---|---|
|
An Otter crossing a Bailey bridge over the Volturno river at Grazzanise in October 1943 | |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 4.44 t (4.37 long tons; 4.89 short tons) |
| Length | 4.50 m (14 ft 9 in) |
| Width | 2.16 m (7 ft 1 in) |
| Height | 2.44 m (8 ft 0 in) |
| Crew | 3 |
|
| |
| Armour | up to 12 mm |
Main armament | .55 in Boys anti-tank rifle |
Secondary armament | 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Bren light machine gun |
| Engine |
GMC 6 cyl. gasoline 106 hp (79 kW) |
| Power/weight | 24.1 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | 4 x 4 wheel, leaf spring |
| Speed | 75 km/h (47 mph) |
The Otter Light Reconnaissance Car (known officially by the British as "Car, Light Reconnaissance, Canadian GM Mark I") was a light armoured car produced by Canada during the Second World War for British and Commonwealth.
History
The Otter Light Reconnaissance Car (LRC) was developed by General Motors Canada to meet the demand for this type of armoured car. The design followed the layout of the British Humber Mark III LRC. The Otter was based on the Chevrolet C15 Canadian Military Pattern truck chassis and used many standard GM components. The armament consisted of a hull-mounted Boys anti-tank rifle and a Bren light machine gun in a small open-topped turret. Although it used a more powerful engine than the Humber, it was larger and heavier (by a ton); overall performance was less than the Humber but still acceptable.
Between 1942 and 1945, 1761 units were produced in Oshawa, Ontario, though fewer than 1,000 were delivered overseas.[1] The Otter served with Canadian units in the Italian Campaign and Northwest European operations. It was also employed by the South African Army[2] and the British RAF Regiment. Some RAF regiment vehicles used aircraft armament such as 20mm cannon and 0.303 Browning machine guns. After the war the Otter was used by the Jordanian Army and Dutch Army during the Indonesian Revolution.
Surviving Vehicles
- The Karl Smith Collection in Tooele, Utah.
- The RAF Regiment Museum, Honington.
- Hellenic Historical Vehicles Preservation Club, Greece, [3]
Gallery
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Otter armoured car captured by the Haganah from the Arab Liberation Army in 1948.
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GMC Otter Light Reconnaissance Car, Bridgehead 2011
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Otter at the Amersfoort Cavalry Museum
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RAF Regiment Otter at Prkos Airfield
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Otter MK1 at Katakolo beach, Greece. This image was taken at the place that landed at Semptember 24, 1944. This vehicle is part of the Hellenic Historical Vehicles Preservation Club collection at Greece. (www.sdio.gr)
See also
References
- Notes
- ↑ canadiansoldiers.com article
- ↑ "Lesakeng". South African Armour Museum. 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
- ↑ "ΣΔΙΟ". www.sdio.gr. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
- Bibliography
- White, BT AFV Profile No. 30 Armoured Cars - Marmon-Herrington, Alvis-Straussler, Light Reconnaissance (1971) Profile Publishing
- Roger V.Lucy, ""The Otter Light Reconnaissance Car in Canadian Service", Service Publications,Ottawa, 2012
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Otter Light Reconnaissance Car. |