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The AEC Armoured Command Vehicle was a purpose built armoured command vehicle, designed to provide enough space for unit commanders and all of their equipment, and saw service with the British Army from 1941 onwards.
The AEC Armoured Command Vehicle was based on the chassis of the AEC Matador Artillery tractor. It was produced in response to a General Staff specification of early 1940 which called for a family of related vehicles. This consisted of an Armoured Mine Layer (AML), Armoured Demolition Vehicle (ADV), Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) and Armoured Command Vehicle (ACV). All four versions would have a fully enclosed body, adapted for their particular role. Orders were placed with AEC and Weyman Motor Bodies for a small number of each type. Weyman were to assemble the hulls. The Armoured Command Vehicle is the only version that definitely entered production.
The Armoured Mine Layer would carry a large number of anti-tank mines inside the hull, and drop them through a chute in the floor. While it was still under development it was decided that anti-tank mines needed to be buried rather than laid on the surface, so the chute was removed and the vehicle renamed the Armoured Mine Carrier (AMC). It was then decided that this was too expensive and this project was cancelled. The vehicles that had already been ordered were built as ACVs instead.
The Armoured Demolition Vehicle was intended for use by the Royal Engineers, to allow them to work on bridges and other structures without leaving the safety of the vehicle. It was to carry a compressor, rock drill and pile driver, each of which could be operated through openings in the floor and roof. A report from April 1941 said that the ADV had entered production, but it never appears again, and they were probably completed as ACVs.
The Armoured Personnel Carrier variant was cancelled during the design process and the ordered vehicles were completed as AVCs.
The ACV was the only version to enter production, and was a successful design. It was built in two versions, with high power and low power communications equipment. It looked like a simple armoured bus, with flat sides, and armoured hatches at the front for the drivers. It was powered by a 95hp diesel engine.
The ACV version served in North Africa, where it became known as the Dorchester, a name probably connected to the luxury hotel. A number of Dorchesters went to the Australians.
Three that were captured by the Germans were used by General Rommel and General Cruewell, who found them rather more effective than the German half track command vehicles. Rommel’s vehicles were named Max and Moritz after characters in a children’s story, while the type was called the Mammut or Mammoth.
The AEC Armoured Command Vehicle remained in use with the British army throughout the war, serving in North Africa, Italy and North-Western Europe.
The 4x4 version was followed later in the war by the six wheel drive Armoured Command Vehicle 6x6 powered by a 150hp diesel engine. This was also produced in HP and LP versions. It looked similar to the smaller 4x4, but with a pair of rear wheels close together.