1956 Ferret Scout Mk 2 Military Vehicle

The Ferret Scout Car Mark 2, was developed by the British Army in the late 1940s and came into production in the 1950s. The Ferret first saw service in the British Army in 1952, and a little later in Australia.

There were many series and Marks of the Ferret. In Australia two were primarily used. The Mark1, which had no turret and a crew of three, and the Mark2, with a turret and a crew of two. This is the Mark 2.

The Australian Army used the Ferrets as scout cars until the 1960s, they were disposed of by public auction in the early 1970s. The Ferret is a light armored car, intended for light reconnaissance work, they are very mobile and were well suited to their role. The vehicle was designed by Daimler, as a further development on the successful Daimler Dingo of WW2. The Ferret is fully armored and the standard model of the Ferret Mk2 was further strengthened shortly after its design and became the Mk2/3 (this is the usual model referred as the Mk2). The motor was Roll Royce B60 motor, giving the vehicle a power to weight ratio of 29.35 break horse power per tonne, the vehicle weighs 3.6 tonnes, although a combat weight would be 4.3 tonnes. It is four wheel drive, constant, and has a top speed of 93 k.p.h. (approx 50 m.p.h.). The Ferret is 3.8 metres long by 1.9 metres wide and is 1.9 metres high, not including radio aerials. The ground clearance is .33 of a metre and the track width is 1.5 metres.

The steering wheel is 'inverted', it runs at a 45 degree angle away from the driver, this is probably not an unusual feature to drivers of armored vehicles but to everyone else is most disconcerting. However, once used, there would be no loss of ability to the driver. The gear box is a fluid drive pre select gear box. The gear selector is placed into the desired driving gear, AND then the clutch is engaged. There are 5 gears to select from, although the First gear is only intended for very low range work. On the left side of the driver is a selector lever which allows the driver to change the gearbox to reverse, this changed all gears, (so you can get out of trouble as fast as you got into it!). The gear box allows the Ferret to be driven off from a standing position in any

gear.

Source: Grants Militaria (http://www.grantsmilitaria.com)