A curious twist in the tale: the Alvis-Straussler Armored Car and its Hungarian offshoot Csaba – a vehicle that was used on both sides during the Second World War.
Nicholas Peter Sorrel Straussler, born in 1891 and died in 1966, (Hungarian: Straussler Miklós Péter) was a Hungarian-born engineer who made many important innovations for the British armaments industry. For example, he invented the Duplex Drive – the drive for Sherman tanks in water … and the Straussler Conversion Kit, a modification for the British 17-pounder anti-tank guns. The Royal Air Force used a transport trailer he developed for large numbers of bombs. With the Lipsoid tire he developed, Straussler was also one of the inventors of the first low-profile tires – although this was only after the Second World War.
In 1933, Straussler (who became a British citizen in the same year) developed the prototype of an armored car, A.C.1, which was manufactured in Budapest by the Manfred Weiß company. It was not a complete armored car, but a chassis with a wooden superstructure. The curious vehicle had some interesting details: Rear engine with gearbox in front, four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering. Thanks to its innovative wheel suspension, the vehicle was also very suitable for off-road use. In 1935, the A.C.2 was created on this basis. Some improvements were made: for example, the A.C.2 was given a second steering wheel for reversing. The first prototype was again given a wooden body, but then a prototype was produced that had a real armored body. Incidentally, this could be removed from the chassis in one piece. The armament consisted of a water-cooled Vickers machine gun in the turret. The Air Ministry received an A.C.2 armoured car from Straussler Mechanization Ltd. and tests were carried out by the Royal Air Force in the Middle East. In 1937, Alvis Ltd. from Coventry took over Straussler Mechanisation Ltd. and a third armoured car was built, the A.C.3. The armouring was improved over its predecessor and a powerful six-cylinder Alvis engine with 120 hp was used. The top speed was 73 km/h. A second machine gun was installed in the hull (to the left of the driver’s seat). The Dutch government ordered twelve of these vehicles for the Dutch East Indies Army (“Koninklijk Nederlandsch-Indisch Leger”), which were used in the battle against the Japanese in 1942. Three similar vehicles went to the Portuguese army.
The Royal Air Force had been impressed by the A.C.2 and ordered twelve of the improved A.C.3. The armor had been modified compared to the Dutch vehicles. The armored cars (official designation: “Car, Armoured, Alvis-Straussler, Type A”) went to an armored car company of the R.A.F. in Palestine, a detachment also served in the Aden Protectorate. From 1936, the Armstrong-Siddeley company produced three prototypes of a 6×4 configured armored car for the Royal Air Force based on Straussler’s armored car developments, which was more heavily armed than the Alvis-Straussler (it had a .50 caliber Vickers MG in the turret), but never made it to series production. The 39M Csaba, on the other hand, did make it to series production. This 4×4 armored reconnaissance vehicle, weighing around six tons, was a direct further development of the A.C.2 and was produced in Straussler’s home country of origin, Hungary, from 1939. The Manfred Weiß company in Csepel (near Budapest) built the vehicle for the Hungarian army.
After tests in 1939, the Hungarian army ordered 61 units, followed by an order for a further 40 units in 1940. These included vehicles designed as command tanks. The armament consisted of a 20mm KwK and a coaxial machine gun. In addition, a further machine gun could be used against aircraft through a turret hatch. The crew (three men) could easily carry this machine gun when dismounted. The Csaba was equipped with a steering wheel and all other necessary equipment for reversing. A 90 hp engine (from the Ford works in Cologne) accelerated the vehicle to around 65 km/h. The armor was riveted and had a thickness of nine millimeters. These armored reconnaissance vehicles were used by the Hungarian army in combat and (from 1944) also by the German Wehrmacht. In the post-war years, Straussler developed a truck for civilian and military use, which was shown at an automobile exhibition in the Netherlands. From there, the vehicle went to Hungary, at that time on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Straussler was taken to court for this incident, but got off with a warning.
