Universal Carrier

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Universal Carrier
Universal Carrier as mortar carrier with Bren mounted at front
Type	Armoured personnel carrier/weapon carrier
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
Used by	United Kingdom and British Commonwealth, France
Wars	World War II
Production history
No. built	113,000
Specifications (Universal Carrier, Mk 1)
Mass	3 ton 16 cwt (3.75 t)[dubious – discuss] laden[1] 3 ton 5 cwt (3.19 t)[dubious – discuss] unladen
Length	12 ft (3.66 m)[1]
Width	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)[1]
Height	5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
Crew	3
Armour	7–10 mm
Main armament	Bren light machine gun or Boys anti-tank rifle
Secondary armament	one Vickers machine gun/M2 Browning machine gun, or 2-inch mortar/3-inch mortar, or Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank carried
Engine	3.9-litre (238 cu in) Ford V8 petrol[2] 85 hp (63 kW) at 3,500 rpm[2]
Suspension	Horstmann
Fuel capacity	20 imp gal (91 L)[1]
Operational range	150 mi (240 km)[2]
Maximum speed	30 mph (48 km/h)[2]

The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier and sometimes simply the Bren Carrier from the light machine gun armament,^[3] is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrongs and other companies.

The first carriers – the Bren Carrier and the Scout Carrier with specific roles – entered service before the war, but a single improved design that could replace these, the Universal, was introduced in 1940.

The vehicle was used widely by British Commonwealth forces during the Second World War. Universal Carriers were usually used for transporting personnel and equipment, mostly support weapons, or as machine gun platforms.