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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.
| 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 | .55 in Boys anti-tank rifle |
Secondary | 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 (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.
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.
Between 1942 and 1945, 1761 units were produced in Oshawa, Ontario, though fewer than 1,000 were delivered overseas.[2]
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]
