Staghound - Aussie Marines.

[zenrat]

Chevrolet T-17E4 Staghound Armoured Car.

The T17E armoured car was an armoured car manufactured by Chevrolet in the United States during the Second World War.  It saw service with British and other Commonwealth forces during the war under the name Staghound.  A number of other countries used the Staghound after the war; some vehicles continued to serve until the 1980s.\

RAMC Staghound - 3 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

In July 1941, the U.S. Army Ordnance issued specifications for a medium armoured car alongside a specification for heavy armoured car (which resulted in the T18 Boarhound).  Ford Motor Company built a six wheel, all driven (6 x 6) prototype which was designated T17 and Chevrolet a four wheel, all driven (4 x 4) model designated T17E.  At the same time, the British Purchasing Commission was looking for medium and heavy armoured cars for use in the war in North Africa.  Had the U.S. adopted the T17E, it would have been called the M6.  Both the T17 and T17E used the same turret which was designed by Rock Island Arsenal with British requirements driving some of the design features such as putting at least two crew in the turret and placing the radio in the turret so that it was close to the commander.

RAMC Staghound - 14 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

The British allocated the name Staghound to the T17E series.  British liaison officers had contact with Macpherson, the Chevrolet engineer in charge of the project, and felt they had influenced him sufficiently to produce something that met all their requirements.  Accordingly, in December the British Purchasing Commission "formally requested" production of 300 vehicles; the US Army authorized production of 2,000 in January 1942.  The British order was confirmed in March 1942 when the pilot T17E was delivered to the Aberdeen Proving Ground.  Testing showed flaws but these were expected to be correctable and a further 1,500 were contracted for.

RAMC Staghound - 15 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Production started in October 1942.  The US Army convened a board to examine the state of the multitude of armoured car projects and recommended, in December 1942, the cancellation of the larger designs and standardisation on a smaller vehicle.  This lighter vehicle would appear as the M8 Greyhound vehicle.  However, the British applied for T17E production to be continued for the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease.  3,844 Staghounds were produced in total.
The Staghound was an innovative design that incorporated some advanced features.  It had two rear-facing 6-cylinder engines with automatic transmissions (with 4 forward and 1 reverse gears) feeding through a transfer case to drive both axles. Either two- or four-wheel drive could be selected. Either engine could be shut down while in motion and taken out of the drive train.  Additionally, a power steering pump was incorporated that could be switched on or off manually from the driver's instrument panel depending on steering conditions.  Steering and suspension components were directly attached to the hull as the structure was rigid enough to dispense with the need for a separate chassis.

RAMC Staghound - 24 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

The Staghound entered service too late for use in the North African Campaign where its combination of armour, range and main armament would have been an advantage in a light reconnaissance role.  As a result, it first saw operational service in Italy, where many units found its large physical size too restrictive in the narrow roads and streets of Europe. It saw most service at squadron and regimental headquarter level; an armoured car regiment having three Staghounds with the Regimental HQ and three with each HQ of the four squadrons in the regiment.  Conditions for the Staghound improved when the Italian campaign became more mobile in the middle of 1944, and the Staghound was also used in north-west Europe campaign.
After WW2, the Staghounds were distributed among smaller NATO countries in Europe and to the Middle East.  For instance, Mk I and Mk III Staghounds were used during the Lebanese Civil War by both Christian and Muslim militias.

RAMC Staghound - 10 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

During the late 1950s the Republic of Australia contracted Chevrolet to supply upgraded Staghounds for use by their Defence Forces.  Designated T17E4 these vehicles had larger, more powerfull engines, no bow machine gun, and a T-60 turret fitted with two .50 calibre machine guns.  The majority served with the Air Force (airfield defence) and Marines.  They were retired in the seventies.
The last new Staghound variant to be offered for export was probably a Swiss model retrofitted with several modern armament packages, including 30mm and 47mm anti-tank guns. It was marketed unsuccessfully to Syria.[

RAMC Staghound - 25 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

The Model.
Italeri Staghound T17E2 (anti aircraft).
Turret and wheels from Hobby Boss Cadillac Gage Commando.
Aftermarket brass gun barrels.

[NARSES2]

That's come out really well mate   

[Old Wombat]

Looks like she belongs in Vietnam or some African conflict.

[zenrat]

Thanks blokes.

 

[buzzbomb]

Yes.. that hits the button for me. I like it

[DogfighterZen]

    

[zenrat]

Thanks folks.

[PR19_Kit]

I had to Google 'Staghound' to see where the backstory stopped being real-world.

They really DID have two engines! 

[NARSES2]

I had to Google 'Staghound' to see where the backstory stopped being real-world.

The sign of a rather good backstory 

[zenrat]

I must admit to having plagiarised almost all the back story from Wikipaediea.

The two engines 4wd set up is interesting.  It sounds like something cobbled together for Beyond Thunderdome or Fury Road but obviously worked.
Engines IRL were 270ci straight sixes.  RAMC Staghounds had 302ci variants.
Chevrolet made straight six engines up to 500+ ci but I suspect they would have had physically bigger engine blocks which might not have fitted into the available space.

Ooh, big deja vu moment typing that.  Did one of you just adjust The Matrix?

[Captain Canada]

Very nice ! The weathering and dirt look incredible. I like the look of her with that turret. My old 1980 Chev C10 pickup had a 250ci straight 6. Bullet proof !