The FV1620 Humber Hornet (FV1620, truck 1-ton, air portable, armoured launcher, Hornet launcher) was a specialised air-deployable armoured fighting vehicle designed to carry the Malkara, an anti-tank guided missile developed by Australia and the United Kingdom.
| Humber Hornet | |
|---|---|
 Humber Hornet at Bovington Tank Museum | |
| Type | Anti-tank missile carrier |
| Place of origin | Australia / United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Australia, United Kingdom |
| Wars | Cold War |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Humber (Rootes Limited)/Wharton Engineering |
| Produced | 1958-1961 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 5.70 tonnes |
| Length | 5.05 m (16 ft 7 in) |
| Width | 2.22 m (7 ft 3 in) |
| Height | 2.43 m (8 ft 0 in) |
| Crew | 3; commander, driver, gunner |
| Armor | 8–16 mm (0.31–0.63 in) |
Main armament | 2x Malkara anti-tank missile |
| Engine | Rolls-Royce B60 Mk 5A six cylinder petrol engine. 120 hp (89 kW) |
| Suspension | Wheels 4x4 |
Operational range | 402 km (250 mi) |
| Maximum speed | 64 km/h (40 mph) on-road. |
History
editThe Hornet was developed in the 1950s to provide British and Australian airborne units with an air-dropped long-range anti-tank capability.[1] Based on the British Army's FV1611 Humber "Pig" one-ton four-wheel drive armoured truck, it carried two Malkara, missiles on a retractable boom at the rear, as well as two reloads. It could be transported by air in a Blackburn Beverley and air-dropped on a cluster of 6 special parachutes.
Operation
edit
The gunner fired the missiles from inside the cab and controlled them by means of a joystick attached to a wire which unreeled from the rear of the missile and connected to the sights.[1] Electronic signals controlling the missile's flight were transmitted through the wire.
With a 27 kg warhead, the Malkara missiles carried the largest warhead ever fitted to an anti-tank weapon and could destroy any tank in service at the time.
The vehicle remained in service with British units until being replaced in the 1970s by the Ferret armoured car Mk 5 equipped with Swingfire missiles. It was also operated by a squadron of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment.
See also
edit- Comparable vehicles
References
editBibliography
edit- Trewhitt, Philip (1999). Armored Fighting Vehicles. New York, NY: Amber Books. p. 147. ISBN 0-7607-1260-3.
- "FV 1620 Humber "Hornet/Malkara" Anti-Tank Vehicle" WarWheels.net
- Moores, Andrew (1995), "FV1620 Hornet: A British Pig with an Australian Sting" (PDF), Armored Car - The Wheeled Fighting Vehicle Journal, no. #30 (July-August), p. 4
External links
edit
- Tank Chats #93 Humber Hornet. The Tank Museum. 24 January 2020 – via Youtube.
- MilitaryFactory.com factsheet