Armored car ( military ) A military armored ( or armoured ) car is a wheeled light armored vehicle , lighter than other armored fighting vehicle s , primarily being armored and / or armed for self - defense of the occupants . Other multi - axled wheeled military vehicles can be quite large , and actually be superior to some smaller tracked vehicles in terms of armor and armament . History . The armed car was invented by Royal Page Davidson at Northwestern Military and Naval Academy in 1898 with the Davidson - Duryea gun carriage and the later Davidson Automobile Battery armored car . These were not ' armored cars ' in the sense implied by the modern term , as they provided no real protection for their crews against any kind of opposing fire . They were also , by virtue of their small capacity engines , far less efficient than the cavalry and horse - drawn guns that they were intended to complement . At the beginning of the twentieth century , a number of military armored vehicles were manufactured by adding armor and weapons to existing vehicles . The first fully armored one was the " Motor War Car " designed by Vickers in England in 1902 . The Italians used armored cars during the Italo - Turkish War . A great variety of armored cars appeared on both sides during World War I and these were used in various ways . World War I . Generally , the armored cars were used by more or less independent car commanders . However , sometimes they were used in larger units up to squadron size . The cars were primarily armed with light machine guns . But larger units usually employed a few cars with heavier guns . As air power became a factor , armored cars offered a mobile platform for anti - aircraft guns . The first effective use of an armored vehicle in combat was achieved by the Belgian Army in August – September 1914 . They had placed Cockerill armour plating and a Hotchkiss machine gun on Minerva armoured cars . Their successes in the early days of the war convinced the Belgian GHQ to create a Corps of Armoured Cars , who would be sent to fight on the Eastern front once the western front immobilized after the Battle of the Yser . The British Royal Naval Air Service dispatched aircraft to Dunkirk to defend the UK from Zeppelins . The officers ' cars followed them and these began to be used to rescue downed reconnaissance pilots in the battle areas . They mounted machine guns on them and as these excursions became increasingly dangerous , they improvised boiler plate armoring on the vehicles provided by a local shipbuilder . In London Murray Sueter ordered " fighting cars " based on Rolls - Royce , Talbot and Wolseley chassis . By the time Rolls - Royce Armoured Car s arrived in December 1914 , the mobile period on the Western Front was already over . As described below , they had a fascinating birth and long and interesting service . More tactically important were the development of formed units of armoured cars , such as the Canadian Automobile Machine Gun Brigade , which was the first fully mechanized unit in the history of the British Army . The brigade was established on September 2 , 1914 in Ottawa , as Automobile Machine Gun Brigade No . 1 by Brigadier - General Raymond Brutinel . The Brigade was originally equipped with 8 Armoured Autocars mounting 2 machine guns . By 1918 Brutinel ' s force consisted of two Motor Machine Gun Brigades ( each of five gun batteries containing eight weapons apiece ) . The brigade , and its armoured cars , provided yeoman service in many battles , notably at Amiens . The Rolls - Royce Armoured Car was famously proposed , developed , and utilised by the 2nd Duke of Westminster . He took a squadron of these cars to France in time to make a noted contribution to the Second Battle of Ypres , and thereafter the cars with their master were sent to the Middle East to play a part in the British campaign in Palestine and elsewhere . These cars appear in the memoirs of numerous officers of the BEF during the earlier stages of the Great War - their ducal master often being described in an almost piratical style . World War II . The British RAF in the Middle East was equipped with Rolls - Royce Armoured Car s and Morris tenders . Some of these vehicles were among the last of a consignment of ex - Royal Navy armored cars that had been serving in the Middle East since 1915 . In September 1940 a section of the No . 2 Squadron RAF Regiment Company was detached to General Wavell ’ s ground forces during the first offensive against the Italians in Egypt . It is said that these armored cars became ‘ the eyes and ears of Wavell ’ . During the actions in the October of that year the Company was employed on convoy escort tasks , airfield defense , fighting reconnaissance patrols and screening operations . During the Anglo - Iraqi War , some of the units located in the British Mandate of Palestine were sent to Iraq and drove Fordson armored cars . " Fordson " armored cars were Rolls Royce armored cars which received new chassis from a Fordson truck in Egypt . The American M8 Light Armored Car was a 6x6 armored car produced by the Ford Motor Company during the Second World War intended initially as a fast wheeled tank destroyer . Its design style and excellent cross - country performance was well liked . In British service it was named ' Greyhound ' . However , the small 37 mm gun would not be effective against the front armor of German tanks so as an armored car , designated M8 Light Armored Car , it was used for reconnaissance instead . Its small 37 mm gun and light armor was seen as a flaw , but was produced in such a large volume and , coupled with its off - road capability , that this shortcoming was largely overlooked . The M8 Greyhound was a supportive element to the advancing American and British armored columns . It was used by the U . S . and British troops in Europe and the Far East until the end of the war . Military use . A military armored car is a type of armored fighting vehicle having wheels ( from four to ten large , off - road wheels ) instead of tracks , and usually light armor . Armored cars are typically less expensive and on roads have better speed and range than tracked military vehicles . They do however have less mobility as they have less off - road capabilities because of the higher ground pressure . They also have less obstacle climbing capabilities than tracked vehicles . Wheels are more vulnerable to enemy fire than tracks , they have a higher signature and in most cases less armor than comparable tracked vehicles . As a result they are not intended for heavy fighting ; their normal use is for reconnaissance , command , control , and communications , or for use against lightly armed insurgents or rioters . Only some are intended to enter close combat , often accompanying convoys to protect soft - skinned vehicles . Light armored cars , such as the British Ferret are armed with just a machine gun . Heavier vehicles are armed with autocannon or a small tank gun . The heaviest armored cars , such as the German , World War II era SdKfz 234 or the modern , US M1128 Mobile Gun System , mount the same guns that arm medium tanks . Armored cars are popular for peacekeeping or internal security duties . Their appearance is less confrontational and threatening than tanks , and their size and maneuverability is said to be more compatible with tight urban spaces designed for wheeled vehicles . However they do have a larger turning radius compared to tracked vehicles which can turn on the spot and their tires are vulnerable and are less capable in climbing and crushing obstacles . However when there is true combat they are easily outgunned and lightly armored . The threatening appearance of a tank is often enough to keep an opponent from attacking , whereas a less threatening vehicle such as an armored car is more likely to be attacked . Many modern forces now have their dedicated armored car designs , to exploit the advantages noted above . Examples would be the M1117 Armored Security Vehicle of the USA or Alvis Saladin of the post - World War II era in the United Kingdom . Alternatively , civilian vehicles may be modified into improvised armored cars in " ad hoc " fashion . Many militias and irregular forces adapt civilian vehicles into AFVs ( armored fighting vehicles ) and troop carriers , and in some regional conflicts these " technicals " are the only combat vehicles present . On occasion , even the soldiers of national militaries are forced to adapt their civilian - type vehicles for combat use , often using improvised armor and scrounged weapons .