Cheshire Military Museum has two new vehicles in its collection.
The scout vehicles, a Fox and a Ferret, are on long-term loan from C Squadron, Cheshire Yeomanry based at Fox Barracks on Liverpool Road and were delivered to the museum by Honorary Colonel Major Nigel Hill and Captain Mark Hodgkinson on behalf of the Yeomanry Squadron.
Director Andy Manktelow said: “We are delighted to offer a home to these vehicles which enhance our collection and are exhibited in the museum courtyard. We hope they will attract more visitors – particularly in the spring and summer of 2016’, making room for the vehicle included relocating a 4-ton concrete pillbox. The museum has also placed picnic furniture in the courtyard so that when the weather improves visitors can bring picnics with them and sit and admire the vehicles before or after visiting the other exhibits.
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The vehicles are post WW2, the Fox Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance is a 4x4 armoured car manufactured by Alvis and deployed by the British Army as a replacement for the Ferret scout car. It was introduced into service in May 1973 and withdrawn in 1994. The Fox was typically attached to armoured and mechanised infantry battalions. It was a high mobility light vehicle and has an all-welded aluminium armour hull and turret, it could ford one metre of water and the driver viewed through an integral periscope while the centred turret held the commander and gunner. The Ferret Armoured Car is a British armoured fighting vehicle designed and built for reconnaissance purposes by Daimler, it was produced between 1952 and 1971. It was fast and small enough to be used in an urban environment but strong enough to negotiate rugged terrain off road. A total of 4,409 Ferrets, including 16 sub-models, were produced.
To view the vehicles, the museum is open daily except Wednesdays from 10am to 5pm (last entry at 4pm) and is closed for a 2 week period over Christmas (19 December 2015 – 3 January 2016 inclusive).
