Took the family paintballing today for my youngest daughter's 13th birthday, but in the 'safe area' between the rounds was this neglected looking armoured car. Now it looks like a Daimler, but I could write everything I know about AFV'S on the back of a stamp. The engine compartment has no floor, it really is just a shell used as a garbage bin by the public. Any ideas?
That's a Daimler Ferret Mark 2 (Ferret armoured car - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Over here in Canada, its one of the more popular types of AFV owned by collectors.
That would be a Ferret, Gordon. The FV700 series of Postwar British armour. So, yes, Daimler. Much loved by it's users, and 50MPH+ on the Motorway. ~A Edit - sorry, cross-posted with Alan above.
If you want, you should be able to pick one up for between 10-14K USD (7000-9000 GBP). Its cheaper than a new car, and you'll get a lot more attention driving to work in the morning!
And no problems with boy racers! Thanks guys, nice to know the memory banks still have some life in them.
That might be true that it generally mounted a 7.62, don't know. I can say that the weapon pictured is a great deal larger in caliber and is not a 7.62.
To me the "gun" looks like a square piece of pipe with a round pipe (3/4"s?) attached to the end. Its "barrel" is much too thin to be an automatic weapon.
Depends on Mark & period, but the initial Armament on a turreted Ferret would have been a Browning .30 cal., with a mixture of that or a Bren on the turret-less versions. I think GPMG only replaced .30 fittings around when the Ammo went NATO, but I'm no Ferret expert. That one is indeed a metal tube, but it's a bin, so you wouldn't really bother too much with authenticity... FV700 carried some weird setups in it's time. Swingfire Ferrets are most pleasing to my eye. ~A
Can't help wondering if anyone ever approaches the organisers and asks if it's for sale? I realise Joe Public probably doesn't care; I heard at least two people say "look, an old tank".
There's a lot preserved in running order, Gordon. Maybe the gubbins from inside this one died so that another might live...