British Universal Carrier

This Flames of War pack comes with everything you need to assemble a platoon of 3 Universal Carriers with all the variant parts.

The Universal Carrier is the name give to the collection of vehicles that faithfully served with the British and Commonwealth armies in every theatre during the course of the Second World War. It even found its way into the Red Army as part of the Lend-Lease program.

The Universal Carrier proved to be a very versatile vehicle; able to transport troops and supplies in addition to weapons such as machine-guns or mortars. The driver and commander sat in the front of the vehicle with the driver of the right hand side; the commander manned the weapon, commonly a Bren gun mounted slightly forward of the driving position.

Powered by an engine placed in the centre of the vehicle, steering was provided by the combination of small movements made on a steering wheel. This turned the front road wheels slightly to enable the vehicle to drift in that direction. Turning the steering wheel to a greater degree would brake the tracks and turn the vehicle more sharply in the appropriate direction.

Several different types of the carrier existed, each design differing slightly to accommodate weapons such as a medium machine-gun or mortars and even a flamethrower. The Universal Carrier also proved useful in towing guns such as the 6 pdr anti-tank gun.