Danish Army
Specific: Ordered along with
the Humber Mk I and Mk IV from Britain. 8 Staghounds
(Mk III) believed to be received in 1946. A total of 14 vehicles were
delivered. The vehicles
were demobbed in 1953, but remained in inventory until 1960.
Historical: The Staghound was designed and
produced by Chevrolet Division of General Motors
Corporation's. General specifications, drawn up by the
British Purchasing Commission Staff based in Washington
and the US Armoured Board, had been provided by Ordnance
Department in July 1941. The specifications called for
both medium (T17) and heavy armoured cars (T18).
Medium type prototypes were entered by The Ford Motor Company with the 6 x
6 T17 and the Chevrolet Division of General Motors Corporation with the 4 x 4 T17E1.
Despite sharing a common designation, the only physical component these
designs shared was the turret, developed by the Army's Rocks Island
Arsenal.
The first pilot T17E1 was handed over to Aberdeen Proving Ground in
March 1942. The design was quite sophisticated including automatic
transmission and a stabilized gun in a power-operated tower.
The British opted for the 37 mm gun-equipped T17E1, which
they felt would be excellent for long-range
reconnaissance and convoy escort.
Production commenced at a slow pace in October 1942 with only 157
examples finished by the end of 1942. Same month the Staghound (British
designation) was authorised for Defense Aid
(Lend-Lease) to the British.
When production ended in December 1943 some 2844 vehicles
had been produced.
From the beginning armoured with a 37 mm gun (Mk I), but
later 32 vehicles had the turret replaced with
the turret from the Crusader tank (Mk III), which became
available as the Crusader was superseded by the Cromwell
and the Sherman tanks.
Field modified with a 3 inch
howitzer it was known as Mk II, and the Mk IV had a 75 mm howitzer.
Length: 5.38 m (212 inches).
Width: 2.69 m (106 inches).
Height: 2.33 m (92 inches).
Weight: 15.000 kg (33.000 lb.).
Armour: 50 mm (0,195 inches) max.
Engines: 2 ea. GMC 6-cylinder, 4.425 cm3 (270 cubic
inches) displacement, carburettor, liquid-cooled.
Horsepower: 97 ea. at 3.000 rpm.
Transmission: 4-speed, type GM Detroit
Transmission Division Hydramatic.
Transfer case: 2-speed with front axle disconnect,
type 3670164.
Electrical system: 24 V.
Brakes: Hydraulic brakes with Bendix Hydrovac
power cylinders.
Tyres: 14.00 - 20.
Fording depth:
without preparation: 0.81 m (32 inches).
with deep water fording kit: N/A.
Fuel type: Petrol.
Fuel capacity: 623 liter (137 gallons) including
jettison tanks.
Range: 250 km (156 miles) not including jettison
tanks.
Crew: 4.
Armament: 75 mm gun, 7.92 mm BESA
machine gun, 2 51 mm smoke dischargers.
Additional: Max. speed was 90 km/h.
Other users were Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cuba,
Egypt, Honduras, India, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, the Netherlands,
Nicaragua, New Zealand, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Saudi
Arabia, South Africa, Sudan, Syria and Switzerland.
A similar model was the T17E2, armed with twin Browning .50-cal. AA MG´s
in a British made Frazer-Nash turret. The first production vehicle was
completed in September 1943 and a total of 1.050 vehicles were produced.
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