First actions of DACs was in the North African Campaign where crews proved their mettle in the hot desert sun and rolling terrain against battle-hardened enemy forces. The 40mm gun was useful against light-armored vehicles when loaded with AP (Armor Piercing) rounds and doubled as an effective anti-infantry measure when firing a HE (High-Explosive) projectile. However, this gun quickly began to lose its value as enemy armor protection increased which forced some ingenuity by engineers to bring more life out of battlefield systems like the 40mm QF. Later-war use of DACs saw the "Littlejohn" adaptor fitted to the main guns in an effort to help increase armor penetration at the expense of range. The adaptor was fitted to the muzzle end of the gun and perforated along its sides while being tapered to concentrate pressure allowing for a higher out-going velocity to be attained by the exiting projectile.
After the African Campaign had ended, the cars were seen in service all over the World War 2 battlescape including the European Theater and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. In mid-1944, the Coventry Armored Car (detailed elsewhere on this site) was added to the British inventory as the formal successor to the DAC. However, such was the success of the DAC that Coventry production was limited (220 units of the 1,700 planned) and the design arrived too late to see useful service in the war that the older design outlived the newer one - Daimler Armored Cars soldiered on into the post-war years to which production totaled 2,694 units.
Three primary production marks emerged from manufacture led by the initial Mk I model. The Mk I CS ("Close Support") version was fitted with a powerful 76mm main gun for demolition work. The Mk II form followed with a new turret, onboard smoke-generating equipment, improved engine cooling, and a hatch fitted over the driver's position. Some vehicles also saw their turret assemblies completely removed to become dedicated Command Vehicles (CVs) to serve at the regimental level.
Commonwealth operators were Australia, Canada, India, and New Zealand and post-war operators included Belgium, Israel, Malaysia, Qatar, and Sri Lanka. Beyond its service in World War 2, the Daimler Armored Car was seen in the fighting of the Korean War (1950-1953), the Vietnam War (1955-1975), the Arab-Israeli War (1948), the Indo-Pak War (1947, 1965, 1971), the Indo-China War (1962), the Ceylonese Insurrection (1971), and as recently as the Sri Lankan Civil War (1983-2009).
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