.
Motor War Car
Motor War Car was the first armored car ever built. It was designed in 1902 by F.R. Simms and a single prototype was built by Vickers & Maxim. The vehicle was an improvement over Simms' earlier design known as "Motor Scout" which was the first armed (but not armored) vehicle powered by a gasoline engine.
The vehicle had Vickers armor 6 mm thick and was powered by a 16 hp Daimler engine giving it a maximum speed of around 9 miles per hour (14.5 km/h). The armament, consisting of two Maxim guns, was carried in two turrets with 360° traverse. Some sources also mention a single QF 1 pounder pom-pom.<ref>Template:Citation/core{{#if:|}}</ref><ref>Template:Citation/core{{#if:|}}</ref>
It had a crew of four. Simms' Motor War Car was presented at the Crystal Palace, London, in April 1902.<ref>Armoured Fighting Vehicules of the World, Duncan, p.3</ref>
Another armoured car of the period was the French Charron-Girardot-Voigt 1902, presented at the Salon de l'Automobile et du cycle in Brussels, on 8 March 1902.<ref>Gougaud, p.11, L'Aube de la Gloire, Les Autos-Mitrailleuses et les Chars Français pendant la Grande Guerre, 1987, Musée des Blindés, ISBN 2904255028.</ref>
References
- Armoured Fighting Vehicules of the World Volume I, Cannon Books, 1998, ISBN 1899695028
