Breaking News - New Acquisition - New Zealand Pattern Wheeled Carriers! - Inside Track | Renault TSF Tank Kent

The Weald Foundation is delighted to announce that we have secured two of these rare wheeled carriers. These carrier projects will arrive in the coming weeks. One of key objectives for the Weald Foundation has been to find and restore rare vehicles that contributed significantly to the Allied War effort. These will be added to our extensive working collection. Our first practical step and huge effort, concluded in 2018, was to return the World War One Renault FT and a Renault TSF to perfect running order. Under the banner of the “Empire Collection” we have selected important armoured vehicles that have generally been forgotten but contributed significantly. After the defeat at Dunkirk, England was unable to support the Armies in the colonies with equipment, forcing these nations to embark upon their own armoured vehicle development and production. A common thread with all the vehicles the Foundation has selected thus far is that the automotive components were provided by Canada. The subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company based in Ontario was capable of manufacturing suitable right-hand steering chassis and components in large volume. The rare vehicles that your Foundation has now secured include:. Australian Local Pattern Tracked Carrier Mk. I. . In 1940, the Australians commenced production of this carrier which had many similar features to the British Bren gun carrier No. 2 Mk. I that had been imported in 1939. The Australian Local Pattern Tracked Carrier Mk. I. was armed with a Vickers Water Cooled Machine gun. Only 160 of these 1940 LP Mk. I were completed before they were superseded by the LP Mk. II. Only four of these rare Australian LP Mk. I are known to have survived. South African Reconnaissance Car Mk. III (so-called Marmon Herrington). South Africa, starting from nothing in 1940, designed, developed and produced 5,786 armoured cars. The most numerous variant was the Mk. III of which 2,660 were built. About half were exported to equip British and other Forces in the Middle East and North Africa. While some of the last variant, the Mk. IV, are in Museums and Private collections in the Northern Hemisphere one had to travel to Africa to see the all-important Mk. III. The Foundation has a South African Reconnaissance Cars Mk. III (Marmon Herrington) produced in mid-1941 and a second one from mid-1942 so we will have an excellent spread of features to display when these are up and running once again. Ford of Canada supplied a running chassis, which was fitted with a Marmon Herrington front wheel drive and steering axle and the armoured body that was built in South Africa. New Zealand Pattern Carrier . The story of these New Zealand Pattern Carriers started in 1940 when India commenced development of their Wheeled Armoured Carrier. A post war official record states that by 1944 India produced 4,655 such Indian Pattern Wheeled Armoured Carriers. The Foundation’s efforts to secure an original Indian Pattern Wheeled Carrier have continued for two decades. But despite many exciting leads and commitments nothing has so far been successful. This is reason we are so excited to announce the takeover of a restoration project of two New Zealand Pattern Wheeled Carriers even while the hunt for an Indian example continues. The New Zealand Pattern Carrier is in effect the final development of the Indian Pattern Mk. IIB which was the most numerous model. In 1941 New Zealand started work on their version of this wheeled carrier and in due course produced two prototypes similar to the Indian Pattern Mk. IIA but using the later Canadian C191QRF chassis. Despite doubts about the requirement for such a carrier an order for 45 was placed in March 1942 and later increased to 100 in August. The production version incorporating several unique features the most visible of which was the welded armour body. A setback occurred when 100 chassis delivered by Canada in early 1943 were found to be the current chassis model C291QR that was being used in the final model of the Indian Pattern Mk. IV. This had a completely different armoured body with a central steering column rather that the expected right-hand one and larger wheels. New Zealand had to adapt the existing armoured bodies to fit these unexpected features. Production ceased in February 1944. A lot of research must now be undertaken, and parts sourced for these projects. We welcome further input by members in this preliminary work. News and photographs on this exciting project will appear when we transport the two New Zealand Pattern Carriers to the Weald Foundation workshop.

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