Armoured Autocar
The Armoured Autocar was a Canadian armoured car used as a mobile machine gun nest during the First World War. Development The Armoured Autocar was developed by Major Raymond Brutinel, who immigrated to Canada from France. Brutinel, a Captain in the French Army Reserve, became a self-made millionaire in Canada prior to the beginning of World War I. At the beginning of the war, he promoted an idea to combine machine guns and mechanical mobility. Brutinel assured the Minister of Militia that he could raise a mobile machine gun unit with private funds. Raising units with private funding was a standard practise of the time. As Vickers machine guns were unavailable at the time, Brutinel travelled to the Colt Company of Hartford, Connecticut and placed an order for 20 Colt machine guns. He then travelled to the Autocar Company of Ardmore, Pennsylvania to purchase truck chassis which had a reliable reputation, and which could support the weight of the armour. He then moved on to the Bethlehem Steel Company where he bought stocks of 9.5mm armour plate. Design Returning to Canada, Brutinel directed the design of the armoured bodies that would be mounted on the truck chassis. The end result