View source for AEC armoured command vehicle

{{Short description|British armoured command vehicle}}
{{No footnotes|date=April 2009}}
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{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox weapon
 |name=AEC 4x4 ACV
 | image=File:AEC Dorchester ACV.jpg
| image_size = 300
 |caption= AEC command car
 |type= Armoured command vehicle
 |is_vehicle=yes
 |is_UK=yes
 |service=
 |used_by=[[British Army]]
 |wars=[[World War II|Second World War]]
 |designer=
 |design_date=
 |manufacturer=Associated Equipment Company<br>Birtley Ordnance Factory<br>Weymann Motor Bodies
 |unit_cost= £1,576
 |production_date= 1941 - 1948
 |number= 415
 |variants= Low Power, High Power, AEC 6x6 ACV
 |weight=12.2 t
 |length={{convert|6.10| m|ftin|order=flip|abbr=on}}
 |width={{convert|2.36| m|ftin|order=flip|abbr=on}}
 |height={{convert|2.90| m|ftin|order=flip|abbr=on}}
 |crew=7-8  (3 officers, 3 radio operators, 2 drivers)
 |armour={{convert|10|-|12| mm|in|abbr=on}}
 |primary_armament=1 x .303 inch [[Bren light machine gun]], carried inside
 |secondary_armament=
 |engine=AEC 187 6-cylinder [[diesel engine]]
 |engine_power=95 hp (71 kW)
 |transmission=
 |fuel_capacity=
 |pw_ratio=7.8 hp/tonne
 |suspension=wheeled 4x4
 |clearance=
 |vehicle_range={{convert|450| km|abbr=on|order=flip}}
 |speed={{convert|60| km/h|abbr=on|order=flip}}
}}

'''AEC armoured command vehicles''' (ACVs) were a series of command vehicles built by the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Associated Equipment Company]] (AEC) during the [[World War II|Second World War]] .

==History==
[[File:IWM-NA-12991-ACV-19440314.jpg|thumb|left|An ACV of the [[23rd Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|23rd Infantry Brigade]] HQ at [[Francolise]], 14 March 1944]]
During the [[World War II|Second World War]], the United Kingdom was the only country to develop and widely employ purpose-built armoured command vehicles. Those were essentially armoured buses based on truck chassis.

The most common ACV of the [[British Army]] was the ''AEC 4x4 ACV''. The vehicle, based on [[AEC Matador]] chassis, entered production in 1941. A total of about 415 units were built. The vehicle was used for the first time in the [[North African Campaign]] and remained in service until the end of the war. Big and comfortable, it was nicknamed "Dorchester" by the troops, after [[Dorchester Hotel|the luxury hotel in London]].

[[File:Szybki wóz pancerny Morris Mk II (2-2015).jpg|thumb|Captured AEC ACV used by [[Erwin Rommel]] in the North African campaign]]
Three ACVs of this type were captured by the [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[Afrika Korps]]. Two of them, named "Max" and "Moritz", were employed by [[Erwin Rommel|Rommel]] and his staff throughout the campaign.

In 1944 a larger ''AEC 6x6 ACV'' was developed. The vehicle was based on the AEC 0857 lorry chassis and was powered by the AEC 198 150&nbsp;hp engine. The hull was welded from 9&nbsp;mm thick rolled steel. The weight of the vehicle reached 17 tons. One hundred and fifty one units were built.

Both vehicles were built in two configurations, called ''LP'' (low power) and ''HP'' (high power), with different radio equipment.

Some ACVs were conversions of armoured demolition vehicles that used the same bodywork.

[[File:IWM LWFH Dorchester.jpg|left|thumb|An AEC Dorchester at IWM]]

{{clear left}}

==Variants==
;High power
:One No. 19 wireless set, one R 107 high-frequency reception set. The No. 19 set had a maximum output of 30 watts and maximum range of 45 miles (72 km).
;Low-power body
:Two No. 19 wireless sets. No. 19 set with a maximum output of 30 watts and maximum range of 45 miles (72 km) for communications with higher commands.

==See also==
*[[Guy Lizard]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*Forty, George – ''World War Two Armoured Fighting Vehicles and Self-Propelled Artillery'', Osprey Publishing 1996, {{ISBN|1-85532-582-9}}.
*{{citation |last=Moschanskiy, I |trans-title=Armored vehicles of the Great Britain 1939–1945 part 2 |title=Бронетанковая техника Великобритании 1939–1945 часть 2 |work=Моделист-Конструктор [Modelist-Konstruktor] |publisher=Bronekollektsiya |date=February 1999 }}
<!-- (И. Мощанский - ''Бронетанковая техника Великобритании 1939–1945 часть 2'', Моделист-Конструктор, Бронеколлекция 1999-02). -->
*{{citation |url=http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol166rh.html |work=Military History Journal |volume=16 |number=6 |date=December 2015 |title=Armoured Command Vehicles |first=Richard |last=Henry |publisher=The South African Military History Society}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://aec.middx.net/pix/acv1a.htm Aec.middx.net] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524210505/http://aec.middx.net/pix/acv1a.htm |date=24 May 2011 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090119071251/http://www.nasenoviny.com/VehiclesWheeledEN.html Nase noviny]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080115171212/http://www.afrikakorps.org/mammoth.htm AFRIKAKORPS / AANA Research AEC Dorchester 4X4 or DAK "Mammoth"]
*[http://www.o5m6.de/wehrmacht/max.php  Max Rommels AEC "Dorchester" 4x4, Armoured Command Vehicle in African theatre]

{{WWIIBritishAFVs}}
{{AEC range}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}

[[Category:Armoured cars of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:World War II armoured cars]]
[[Category:Command vehicles]]
[[Category:AEC vehicles]]
[[Category:World War II armoured fighting vehicles of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944]]