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FV 1620 Hornet
co-authored by Jiří Tintěra
The vehicle, with its Malkara anti-tank missiles, was a remarkable British improvisation. The creation of this self-propelled launcher was decided around 23 August 1959, after the Malkara anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) was inducted into the British Army's arsenal. This was notwithstanding the fact that the project's initiator, the Australian Army, had terminated development of the weapon without introducing it into the arsenal.
When the FV1620 was designed, it was envisaged that the vehicle would be airlifted to its destination and dropped by parachute. Within ten minutes of landing, the vehicle was to be ready for combat. The gunner/operator station, who was also the vehicle commander, was located on the left side of the cabin. The operator could control the flight of the missile to the target in two ways, either directly from the vehicle or by means of a profitable control console located within 80 m of the vehicle (other materials speak of 45 m). The missile was guided to the target by commands transmitted over wires that were unwound from coils located on the vehicle.
Because it was a small production run, a modified Humber wheeled armoured personnel carrier chassis was used to manufacture the FV1620, with a launcher (OZ) for two Malkara ATGMs installed at the rear of the vehicle. A storage compartment was placed underneath this device to allow the transport of two more missiles in a disassembled state. It took the trained crew 2 minutes to load them onto the launcher. The missile had a powerful warhead, capable of destroying all tanks of the time by means of a burst effect (Hopkinson effect).
The vehicle, with the battle name Hornet, was in service with the British Army from 1962 in a number of 24. Their use was governed by special regulations, perhaps due to the high purchase price of Malkara missiles. Any firing was only allowed at targets of particular importance. Whereas targets of lesser importance, or less resistant, were destroyed by cheaper anti-tank weapons.
In the 1970s, the FV1620 Hornet tank missile interceptors were replaced by more structurally simple vehicles.
Basic data of the FV1620 Hornet vehicle - Country of origin: Great Britain - Prototypes reportedly built by Wharton Engineering - Finalist was a British firm: the Royal Ordnance Factory in Nottingham - 24 units produced in total (3 prototypes and 3 batches of 7 units) - British Army designation: FV1620 Hornet - in service from 1962 - after 1965 12 were transferred to reserve - after 1976 all machines were retired from service
- crew: 3 men (commander, driver, radio operator)
- max. 7003 kg (16100 lb av) including platform and parachutes - unmanned weight: 5824 Mg (12840 lb av) - curb weight: 5216 Mg (11500 lb av)
- ejection pallet, type: ~20 m) - deployable parachute, number and type: 1x 21-ft (approx. parachute diameter: 6.4 m)
Dimensions - length: 5639 mm (18 ft 6 in) - width: 2032 mm (6 ft 8 in) - height on the move: 2337 mm (7 ft 8 in) - height of the intentional axis of the vehicle guidance device: 2108 mm (6 ft 11 in) - max. height with weapon: 3416 mm (11 ft 2.5 in)
Armor - nose: 12.7 mm (0.5 in) - sides, rear, ceiling and bottom: 6.4 mm (0.25 in)
Performance - max. 40 mph (~64 km/h) - range: 250 miles (~400 km) - ford: 2 ft 6 in (~0.76 m) - vehicle was not capable of crossing ditches
Weaponry - type, name: Malkara heavy anti-tank missile - number of missiles carried: 4 pieces (2 in launcher and 2 in storage compartment)
A few FV1620 vehicles currently serve as exhibits 05BK02 - probably in private collection, attends many reunions 06BK66 - Tank Museum Bovington, formerly at Museum of Army Transport, V. UK 11BK42 - Musee des Blindes, Saumur, France NFF 672 - probably in private collection, attends many reunions 1x wreck of third prototype in private collection, Australia
Note
The word Malkara, read: Melkere, means in one dialect of Australian bushwhacking: a wooden defensive shield. The last user of the FV1620 Hornet was the 16th Independent Parachute Brigade. The English system of measurements was converted from Svatopluk Cernoch's Mechanical Technical Manual, SNTL, Prague 1959, ISBN not available Technical data was prepared according to: ČSN 011300, SI Tables, Prague 1977
Source Milan Šesták a kolektiv: Rozpoznávání raket - letadel - tank, Naše vojsko, Prague 1964, ISBN nemá Vjačjeslav Špakovskij: Aeromobil′nyj anti-tank, Tankomastjer 2003/06/43-47, ISSN 1728-9211 Philip Trewhitt: Obrněná bojová vozidla, Svojtka Publishing House, Prague 2000, ISBN 80-7237-234-3 Chris Bishop: Modern Military Weapons - Large Encyclopedia, Svojtka Publishing House, Prague 2004, ISBN 80-7237-863-5
URL : https://www.valka.cz/FV1620-Humber-Hornet-t41035#380426
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