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Improvised Armoured Car


john_g_kearney

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another view of the vehicle can be seen here

 

http://www.israeldailypicture.com/2011/12/arab-revolt-in-palestine-1938.html

 

Some background to the activities of the era can be found at the following website but no mention of the armoured car

 

http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/CC68BAB76EC42E79052565D0006F2DF4

 

IWM has a photo collection that refers to Police armoured cars in Palestine but I don't see any images to compare.

 

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/listing/object-205007654

Edited by johnny_doyle
typo
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view from the other side

 

The link appears to be broken; try this:

 

http://luirig.altervista.org/cpm/albums/matson-12/09197-Hebron-attack--August--19--1938--Closer-view-of-armoured-car-wrecked-amp--burned-close-to-Barclay-s.jpg

Looks as though a fairly substantial bomb has exploded in front of it...

That is a 1936 Ford utility for sure. It is identical to, if not the very same vehicle as in the second pic:

http://www.warwheels.net/PalestinePoliceForceTrucks.html

 

The rail-converted armoured truck is a 1938 Ford, identifiable by its distinctive radiator grille.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/330333/thread/1233528456/British-Palestine+armoured+cars

 

Fascinating stuff! I wonder, were these converted locally or were the modifications made in the UK?

Edited by mtskull
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Many thanks for these links, gentlemen; most useful. I had wondered if the car belonged to the Palestine Police Force and had done a bit of research; I had not found these links though. (Incidentally, my father had been very tempted to join the Police in 1946 when the left school. Given what a thankless and dangerous task policing Palestine was, I can't say that I am sorry that he did not in fact join them.)

 

Re who did the conversions, as the armoured cars are left-hand drive can we deduce that they were obtained and converted in the Middle East?

 

John.

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Some other ' improvised ' military vehicles .

Original Library of Congress LARGE MB file available via the Flickr links.

 

British Army railroad vehicles/trollies with machine-guns landed from the S.S. Dorsetshire in Palestine - circa 1936

British Army railroad vehicles/trollies with machine-guns landed from the S.S. Dorsetshire in Palestine - circa 1936

 

 

hmvf76.jpg

 

 

Railroad trolly on Palestine railroad - circa 1936

Railroad trolly on Palestine railroad - circa 1936

 

 

hmvf77.jpg

 

 

British soldiers on a Motor trolly on Palestine railroads preceding passenger trains to investigate track - circa 1936

British soldiers on a Motor trolly on Palestine railroads preceding passenger trains to investigate track - circa 1936

 

 

hmvf78.jpg

 

British soldiers on a Machine-gun coach at the rear of passenger train between Jaffa & Jerusalem - circa 1936

British soldiers on a Machine-gun coach at the rear of passenger train between Jaffa & Jerusalem - circa 1936

 

hmvf79.jpg

 

DesertBlooms88

Edited by DesertBlooms88
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I too was amused to see that the pickup trucks fitted with wheels for use on the railway have been fitted also with a suitable spare wheel. I suppose that if they were cast-iron, they might be liable to fracture.

 

I presume that these trucks have come from the garrison in India?

 

John.

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Could some of those cars be Willys? Very popular at the time in the region.

No, they are all Fords (except the ancient-looking railway vehicle; no idea what that is). 1936 V8's in the case of the truck and railway-modified pickups; the other railway vehicles are model T.

 

Fascinating pics; please keep them coming!

Edited by mtskull
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I have just twigged that the slats on the radiator on the improvised armoured car are horizontal, whereas the Fords (my posts 6 and 7) have vertical slats. So is it not a Ford after all?

John.

Good spot! How did I miss that?

So the destroyed armoured car can't be the very same vehicle as the one pictured on patrol; the fact that everything but the grille looks the same suggests that the destroyed vehicle has an identical body, but that it is fitted to a 1937 Ford, which had a different grille with horizontal slats and other features consistent with the wrecked grille. It is a pity that the bonnet and side panels are missing, as they might have provided further confirmation.

Edited by mtskull
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I think the inspection vehicle is a Great War vintage Baguley railcar. There is one preserved at the Statfold Barn Railway near Tamworth.

 

Steve :)

That is the beauty of this forum: whatever the question, you will always find someone who knows the answer! :-)

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This particular type of armoured trolley has been shown earlier in this thread but not this photo, which has a HIGH RES download at Library of Congress link

 

Eleventh Hussars arriving at Ludd. Armoured trolly preceding the troop train of the 11th Huzars 1938 July 15.

 

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/matpc/item/mpc2010004109/PP/

 

hmvf106.jpg

 

DesertBlooms88

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