Car, Scout, Humber, Mark I (E1949.317)
Fitted with No. 19 wireless set.
This vehicle was unofficially modified with extra plating on the roof, floor and commander's seat by Capt. Gull (Technical Adjutant, 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards, Guards Armoured Division).
It covered 11,500 miles in North West Europe without breakdown, starting at Arromanches on 3rd July 1944 and finished at Cuxhaven at Wars end. It was then driven to Cologne and brought back to the U.K.
Precise Name: Car Scout Humber Mark I
The wheeled armoured scout car was the British Army’s principal reconnaissance vehicle from the beginning of World War II until the 1980s. Scout cars were smaller and much quieter than a tracked vehicle; units equipped with scout cars relied on stealth to obtain information, rather than fighting for it. Scout Cars were also used as liaison vehicles and for various specialised functions such as forward air control.
Although the British Army had selected the Daimler Dingo (see E1985.96 Car Scout Daimler Mark II) as its standard Scout Car, by 1941 the demand for Scout Cars exceeded Daimler’s production capacity. As a result the Rootes Group, who were already producing the Humber Armoured Car, (see E1949.318 Armoured Car, Humber Mark I), were asked to design a new Scout Car.
The Rootes design (called the Car Scout Humber Mark I) was larger than the Daimler Dingo and could accommodate three men. It was based on the same 87hp petrol engine and suspension components as the other Rootes designed four-wheel drive vehicles. Less advanced technically than the Dingo, it was rear engined and used semi-elliptic leaf springs for the suspension. The front springs were transverse. The hull was completely enclosed with two sliding roof hatches. A Bren light machine gun could be mounted on the roof and fired by remote control from inside the vehicle.
In the later stages of the war Humber Scout Cars tended to be issued to British and allied armoured divisions while the infantry had the Dingo. Two major versions of the Humber were produced: the Mark I, described above, and the Mark II that had a modified gear box with synchromesh to second as well as third and fourth gears. Some 4,300 Humber Scout Cars were produced between the end of 1942 and 1945.
The Tank Museum’s Humber was modified by its’ commander, Captain Gull of the Guards Armoured Division. He had additional plating fitted to the roof, floor and commander’s seat. This vehicle covered 11,500 miles in North West Europe without a breakdown, starting at Arromanches in Normandy and finishing at Cuxhaven in Northern Germany in May 1945. It is displayed in the markings of the 1st Battalion, The Coldstream Guards, Guards Armoured Division.
British Tanks and Fighting Vehicles 1914-1945; B.T. White; SBN 7110 0123 5; Ian Allan, London, 1970.
Summary text by Mike Garth V1.0