Leyland Beaver-Eel

Armoured truck

Leyland Beaver-Eel
Leyland Beaver-Eel
Type	Armoured truck
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1940-1945
Used by	Royal Air Force
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Leyland
Designed	1940
Manufacturer	Leyland Derby Carriage Works
No. built	336
Specifications

Main armament	20mm cannon
Secondary armament	.303in machine guns
Drive	6x4

The Leyland Beaver-Eel, known officially as the Tender, Armoured, Leyland Type C, was an armoured truck used by the Royal Air Force throughout World War II for airfield defence duties.

Overview

The Leyland Beaver-Eel was one of several armoured vehicle types designed in 1940 on the orders of Lord Beaverbrook and Admiral Sir Edward Evans for the defence of Great Britain, as a part of the hasty measures taken by the British Government following the Dunkirk evacuation and the threat of invasion.^[1]^{[page needed]}^[2]^[3]^{[page needed]}

The first prototype was designed, built, tested and approved, and deliveries of production vehicles commenced, all within 10 days of Admiral Evans’ visit to the Leyland Motors factory in June 1940. Leyland built 250 Beaver-Eels in its own factory, whilst an additional 86 were built by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway's Derby Carriage Works.^[2]^[3]^{[page needed]}

The Beaver-Eel consisted of an open topped armoured body mounted a Leyland Retriever 3-ton 6x4 lorry chassis. The vehicle was armed with a 20mm cannon and .303in machine guns.^[1]^[3]^[4]

The Beaver-Eel was used throughout the war by the Royal Air Force on the British mainland for aerodrome and aircraft factory defence.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b Fletcher 1989
^ ^a ^b Michael Seth-Smith, The long haul: a social history of the British commercial vehicle industry, London: Hutchinson Benham Ltd, 1975, ISBN 0-09-124440-4.
^ ^a ^b ^c White (1970)
^ ^a ^b Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd, Leyland: Seventy years of progress, Leyland: Leyland Motor Corporation, 1967.

Fletcher, David (1989). The Great Tank Scandal: British Armour in the Second World War - Part 1. HMSO. ISBN 978-0-11-290460-1.
Brian Terence White, British Tanks and Fighting Vehicles, 1914-1945, London: Ian Allan, 1970, ISBN 0711001235

British Commonwealth armoured fighting vehicles of the Second World War

Tanks

Light tanks	Light tank Mk I, Mk II, Mk III, Mk IV and Mk V Light tank Mk VI Light tank Mk VII Tetrarch Light tank Mk VIII 'Harry Hopkins' Vickers 6-ton M3/M5 Stuart * M22 Locust * M24 Chaffee *
Cruiser tanks	Cruiser Mk I Cruiser Mk II Cruiser Mk III Cruiser Mk IV Covenanter Crusader Cavalier Centaur and Cromwell Challenger Comet Ram ‡ Sentinel †
Infantry tanks	Matilda I Matilda II Valentine Churchill
Medium tanks	Grant/Lee * Grizzly I ‡ Sherman * Sherman Firefly Vickers Medium Mark II

Self-propelled
artillery

field	Bishop Priest* Sexton ‡
anti-tank	Deacon 17pdr SP Achilles Archer M10 tank destroyer *

Armoured personnel
carriers

Scout cars and
armoured cars

Scout cars	Daimler Dingo Dingo Scout Car † Humber Scout Car Lynx Scout Car ‡ S1 Scout Car †
Armoured cars	AEC Armoured Car Boarhound Armoured Car * Coventry Armoured Car Daimler Armoured Car Fox Armoured Car ‡ Greyhound Armoured Car * Guy Armoured Car Humber Armoured Car Indian Pattern Carrier § Lanchester 6×4 armoured car Marmon-Herrington Armoured Cars ^SA Morris CS9 Rhino Heavy Armoured Car † Rolls-Royce Armoured Car Rover Light Armoured Car † Staghound Armoured Car * Standard Beaverette
Reconnaissance cars	Humber Light Reconnaissance Car Morris Light Reconnaissance Car Otter Light Reconnaissance Car ‡