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 armoured 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 armoured 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.), but down hill, without a Police escort, and no governor, ...... a bit more. Fuel consumption is only about 34 litres per kilometer. 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 Ferret Mk2 (Mk2/3) carries two crew, a driver and a commander. The Ferret shown here has the turret housing the .30 cal. Browning Machine gun, and a local S.M.G. This would usually be the Owen Machine Carbine, or the Austen (Australian Sten Gun) both in 9mm. It appears the Austen may have been the preferred weapon for the ferret in Australia because of the advantage of the 'schmiesser' type folding stock. This weapon was stored in the drivers compartment on the right, just above the gear change lever. A .303" Bren, Light Machine Gun, if carried, was secured along the driver's left side on the floor. The radio sets carried in the Ferret, were of a standard pattern for all British vehicles at this time.

When the Ferrets were 'decommissioned' they all were carrying the C42 and B47 series of radios. These radios allowed the radio to be used as an intercom, essential for any conversation within the noisey vehicle, a re-broadcast centre - where an external man held radio could be re-broadcast by the more powerful 24volt radios of the Ferret, and of course as a communications method to advise of any intelligence gathered.
The Ferret is generally cramped for room when it is fully laden. But it also has the capability to store some items on the outside of the vehicle. There are various tie down points on the outside of the vehicle, and there are some 'bins' attached to the outside of the vehicle, for less essential gear. The steering wheel is an obvious feature to the new driver. 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 armoured 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. The Ferret Scout Car, in all its Marks and models, has seen service in over 36 countries, and only just recently it appears to being phased out of the British service. .

Grant

This page was last updated by Russell Napier 26th June, 1997.