36 http://www.militaryvehiclesmagazine.com
AustinA90wasa four-cylinder2,660cc
petrolengineasfittedinthecivilian“At-
lantic”sports saloonandseenasa less
expensivealternativetotheRolls-Royce
B40.Records indicatethat veryfew of
thisversion werebuilt, perhaps asfew
asthreeandnotmorethansix.Thethird
versionwaslabeledthe“WN3.”Around
500 of this civilian version were pro-
duced.
CHARACTERISTICSOFA CHAMP
The cargo version of the Austin
Champweighs3,668pounds(1.63tons)
unladenand4,480pounds(twotons)lad-
en.It measures 12 feetinlength,fivefeet
andfiveinchesinwidth,andjustoversix
feetinheight.
Fitted with a Rolls-Royce 2838cc
80hp gasoline engine, it could reach
speeds of up to 64mph in 5th gear at
3,750rpm.It developeda torqueratingof
107lb-ftat2,000rpm.Witha 20-gallon
capacity a fuel tank, it had an operational
range of some 300 miles on roads. A full
synchromesh transmission boasted fi ve
forward and fi ve reverse gears.
A snorkel device for the engine was
developed for deep water fording in
depths of more than six feet. It is under-
stood this device was only ever used by
the British Royal Marines who operated
30 vehicles. Another 400 Champs went
into service with the Australian army.
Kits were produced to add armor to
the vehicle. In the end only around 50
sets of these were produced. Only 42 of
these were ever used to test the idea.
Being British manufactured, the
Champ is a right-hand drive vehicle. This
allows a machine gun to be mounted on
a pintle that could be operated by the
passenger. The weapon most commonly
used was the .303-inch (7.7mm) calibre
Bren Gun, but photographs show other
weapons, including Vickers machine
guns, being mounted.
The vehicle also served as a platform
to mount the 106mm RCL anti-tank
weapons, but there were not many such
confi gurations. Support weapons, such
as 3-inch mortars, could be carried along
with ammunition and crews. Some for-
mer British service members recall the
mortars being fi red while in the rear of
the vehicle.
When the Land Rover entered mili-
tary service in the late 1940s, it proved
to be much cheaper to produce and more
popular with the troops. By the 1950s,
the service days of the Champ were num-
bered. Finally, in the mid-1960s the de-
cision was taken to retire the entire fl eet
of Champs from service. Thus, by 1966,
almost the entire stock of the FV1801
Champ, had been sold as surplus to pri-
vate owners.
The Champ had been an otherwise
unremarkable vehicle in military service,
operating in conventional roles such as
ambulances, cable-laying duties for com-
munications, but mainly as a cargo truck
for moving troops and transporting sup-
plies. The Champ never captured the ci-
vilian market, and it seemed that nobody
mourned its passing.
It is estimated that there are probably
only around 1,000 of these vehicles still
leftinanykindofsuitablecondition.To-