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Otter light reconnaissance car
Otter light reconnaissance car
	An Otter crossing a Bailey bridge over the Volturno river at Grazzanise in October 1943
Specifications
Mass	4.44 t (4.37 long tons; 4.89 short tons)
Length	4.50 m (14 ft 9 in)
Width	2.16 m (7 ft 1 in)
Height	2.44 m (8 ft 0 in)
Crew	3
Armour	up to 12 mm
Main; armament	.55 in Boys anti-tank rifle
Secondary; armament	0.303 in (7.7 mm) Bren light machine gun
Engine	GMC 6 cyl. gasoline; 106 hp (79 kW)
Power/weight	24.1 hp/tonne
Suspension	4 x 4 wheel, leaf spring
Maximum speed	75 km/h (47 mph)

The Otter light reconnaissance car, known officially by the British as "Car, Light Reconnaissance, Canadian GM (R.A.C.)",^[1] was a light armoured car produced in Canada during the Second World War for British and Commonwealth forces.

History

The Otter light reconnaissance car (LRC) was developed by General Motors Canada to meet the demand for this type of armoured car. The design followed the layout of the British Humber Mark III LRC.

Design

The Otter was based on the Chevrolet C15 Canadian Military Pattern truck chassis and used many standard GM components. It took a crew of three – driver and commander seated in the vehicle front, while the gunner occupied the turret position at the rear. A Wireless Set No. 19 was mounted in the rear with A and B set aerials extending from the rear of the fighting compartment on mounting arms.

The primary armament consisted of a hull-mounted Boys anti-tank rifle and a Bren light machine gun in a small open-topped turret. A smoke discharger is mounted alongside the mounting for the Boy's anti-tank rifle.

Although it used a more powerful engine than the Humber, it was larger and heavier (by a ton); overall performance was less than that of the Humber but still acceptable.

Production

Between 1942 and 1945, 1761 units were produced in Oshawa, Ontario, though fewer than 1,000 were delivered overseas.^[2]

Usage

The Otter served with Canadian units in the Italian campaign and Northwest European operations. It was also employed by the South African Army^[3] and the British RAF Regiment. Some RAF regiment vehicles used aircraft armament such as 20mm cannon and 0.303 Browning machine guns. After the war, the Otter was used by the Jordanian Army during the First Arab-Israeli War and Dutch Army during the Indonesian Revolution. The Syrian Army also operated the type after the war, with turretless Otter armed with 7.5 mm FM 24/29 light machine gun in pintle mounts or with 37 mm Puteaux SA 18 in a turret taken from other British-built armoured car.^[4]

Variants

Car, Light Reconnaissance, Canadian, G.M. Mark 1(R.A.C.) with a turret.^[5]
Car, Light Reconnaissance, Canadian, G.M. Mark 2 (R.A.C.) without a turret.^[6]

Surviving vehicles

The Karl Smith Collection in Tooele, Utah.
The RAF Regiment Museum, Honington.
Hellenic Historical Vehicles Preservation Club, Greece,^[7]
Fort Nieuw Amsterdam Open Air Museum, Surinam.

Gallery

Otter armoured car captured by the Haganah from the Arab Liberation Army in 1948.
GMC Otter light reconnaissance car, Bridgehead 2011
Otter at the Amersfoort Cavalry Museum
RAF Regiment Otter at Prkos Airfield
Otter MK1 at Katakolo beach, Greece. This image was taken at the place where Otters landed at on 24 September 1944. The vehicle itself is part of the Hellenic Historical Vehicles Preservation Club collection in Greece. (www.sdio.gr)

References

Notes

^ Drivers Instructions and Workshop Manual for Car, Light Reconnaissance, Canadian, G.M. Mark 1 and G.M. Mark 2 (R.A.C.)
^ canadiansoldiers.com article
^ "Lesakeng". South African Armour Museum. 2012-12-06. Archived from the original on 2013-07-03. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
^ Zaloga, Steven (July 1995). "Strangers In a Strange Land: Early Syrian Armor 1948–56". Museum Ordnance, Volume 5, Number 4. Darlington, Maryland: Darlington Productions, Inc. pp. 4–5.
^ Drivers Instructions and Workshop Manual for Car, Light Reconnaissance, Canadian, G.M. Mark 1 and G.M. Mark 2 (R.A.C.)
^ Drivers Instructions and Workshop Manual for Car, Light Reconnaissance, Canadian, G.M. Mark 1 and G.M. Mark 2 (R.A.C.)
^ "ΣΔΙΟ". www.sdio.gr. Retrieved 2016-02-13.

Bibliography

White, BT AFV Profile No. 30 Armoured Cars – Marmon-Herrington, Alvis-Straussler, Light Reconnaissance (1971) Profile Publishing
Roger V.Lucy, ""The Otter Light Reconnaissance Car in Canadian Service", Service Publications,Ottawa, 2012