Roden 731 British Armoured Car Pattern 1920 Mk1 1/72

£16.99
MRP £16.99

Must be ordered - delivery as soon as possible.
(Product Ref 98657)
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A history of this armoured car would require a great many pages, devoted to its lengthy and varied service in the British armed services; and it is connected, oddly enough, with aviation. At the beginning of WWI the British military directed their thoughts to the need to protect newly built airfields against their being suddenly overwhelmed by enemy troops. The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) suggested to the Admiralty that a special armoured car be developed, which could not only execute defensive functions but also as necessary support army units in combat, and fulfill communication and transport duties. Soon, the Air Department of the Admiralty made overtures to a firm in the motor industry, Rolls-Royce, which had been producing cars for about ten years.In 1906 this firm introduced the highly successful Silver Ghost, which continued to be built by the factory while the War was already under way. Admiralty engineers developed an original simple armoured superstructure for the Silver Ghost chassis, which appeared to be successful in all respects. In December 1914 the first three cars were issued to the army. A rotating turret fitted with a Vickers machine gun was installed on top of the armored body. On the whole the design appeared to be just what was wanted, and soon the motor company received a new order for additional cars. With the onset of physical fighting at the Western Front soldiers became interested in the armoured car. However, the idea of sending the car into the battle area, which featured impassable mud for kilometer after kilometer, was intimidating from the very beginning. The fragile suspension of this passenger car with an armoured shell would never be able to survive in these conditions. The active military service of this car in the trench war was over before it had even begun. However the War quickly spread from Europe to other regions of the world. The Middle East, and Africa, where the war also began for the possession of the German colonies, were the most promising for the application of the fast and reasonably well protected armoured car.
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