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The Coventry Armoured Car was designed to replace the Humber and Daimler armoured cars, but by the summer of 1944 interest in it had faded, the numbers ordered was massively cut, and it never saw combat during the Second World War.
The Coventry Armoured Car was designed to take the best features of the Humber and Daimler armoured cars. It was thus a joint effort of the Daimler and Rootes groups. The hull was closer in shape to the Daimler design, although it was rather longer, and the gap between the wheels was filled in with storage space. It also abandoned the independent suspension and four drive shaft arrangement of the Daimler and instead used a more conventional system with front and rear axles and two drive shafts. Duplicate controls were provided at the rear to allow it to be driven from either end. It was powered by a rear-mounted Hercules six-cylinder engine. The turret was similar to that of the Daimler, but somewhat flatter. It carried less armour than the Daimler, but was heavier at 11.5 tons. One report discovered that the four unusually heavy wheels accounted for 1.25 tons of this.
The original aim had been for the Coventry to replace both the Daimler and Humber on their production lines. Daimler production was meant to end in 1943. However the Daimler was proving to be very popular, so an order for another 300 was placed, and later in 1943 it was decided to keep it in production alongside the Coventry. As a result the Coventry was only built on the Humber production line.
An order for 1,700 Coventry armoured cars was placed in 1943. The plan was to replace the 2-pounder of the Mk I with the 6-pounder although this never happened. This was later replaced by a plan for a 75mm gun armed Mk II, but this never entered production. By May 1943 the Eighth Army was already suggesting that the Coventry was out of date. It underwent trials at Lulworth a few months later, and the results were poor – the layout of the fighting compartment produced a low standard of fighting efficiency.
63 Coventry Armoured cars were accepted in 1944 and 220 in 1945.
Armoured Car, Coventry, Mk I
The Mk I was armed with a 2-pounder gun and 7.92mm machine gun in a 3 man turret. Originally 1,700 were ordered, but in August 1944 this was reduced to 300, all of which were to go to India. It appears that none actually reached India during the war. Some Mk Is did go to the French after the war, where they saw action in Indo-China. This was the only time the Coventry armoured car actually saw combat.
Armoured Car, Coventry, Mk II
The Mk II replaced the 2-pounder with a 75mm gun. The idea was first suggested in the summer of 1943, and it was given the official designation AFVW90. One of the original pilot vehicles was rebuilt to this configuration, which had a larger turret with a flat face. However the larger gun meant that only two men could be carried in the turret. An order was placed for 900 Mk IIs. However August 1943 this was reduced to only two.
Production: 283
Engine: 175hp six-cylinder Hercules RXLO
Hull Length: 4.71m
Hull Width: 2.64m
Height: 2.35m
Crew: 4
Weight: 10.35 tonnes
Engine: 175hp
Max Speed: 68km/ hr road
Max Range:
Armament: 2-pounder gun and coaxial BESA machine gun
Armour: 14mm