S1 scout car

Scout Car S1 (American) is an armoured car produced in Australia for the United States Army during the Second World War.

Scout Car S1
Scout Car S1 (American)
Place of origin	Australia
Service history
Used by	United States
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designed	1942
Manufacturer	Ford Australia
No. built	40
Specifications
Mass	4 tonnes
Length	4.4 m (14 ft 5 in)
Width	1.9 m (6 ft 3 in)
Height	1.8 m (5 ft 11 in)
Crew	5 (Commander, Driver, 3 Gunners)
Armor	6 mm
Main armament	1 .50 Browning M2HB machine gun
Secondary armament	2 .30 Browning M1917A1
Engine	Ford V8 95 hp (71 kW)
Power/weight	23.7 hp/tonne
Suspension	4x2 or 4x4, leaf spring

History and description

In 1942, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) in Australia issued a requirement for a light armoured car to be used in patrolling and airfield defence. The requirement resulted in a vehicle designated Scout Car S1 (American). About 40 vehicles were produced by Ford Australia.

The vehicle was based on a Ford F15 4x2 chassis (a single 4x4 vehicle was built). The open-topped armoured hull was similar to that of the M3 Scout Car. The armament consisted of one .50 inch (12.7 mm) heavy machine gun and two .30 inch machine guns on skate rails, operated by the crew of five. ^[1]

They served in defence of Australia and did not see any combat. ^[2]

Survivors

As of late 2017, two S1 cars are known to be preserved: one restored at the Australian Armour and Artillery Museum, in Cairns,^[3] and another in a private collection.^{[n 1]}

Footnotes

1. As posted in Facebook on 10 Nov 2017 by the Australian Armour and Artillery Museum.