Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Anti Treaty Armoured Cars?



Queen of the west improvised armoured car

The “Queen of the west” was an improvised armoured car, built by the irregular IRA on the chassis of a Crossley tender. She is probably the most well known of the improvised vehicles that the irregulars built during the Irish civil war.

Constructed with a boiler which had been taking from the Mulranny hotel in Co Mayo and mounted on the chassis of a Crosley, the boiler been reinforced by fitting extra metal plates with concrete in-between, loopholes been added for weapons to fire through, with metal plates fitted to protect the engine. The work been carried out at the garage of a Thomas Moran which was next to the Mulranny hotel in Co Mayo. A small slit for the driver to see through can be seen as well as the door to the rear of the vehicle which has several spare tyres droop over it.

Taking part in the fighting in and around Clifden Co Galway in October of 1922 the “Queen of the west” fell into the hands of the Irish national army after a successful attack on positions held by the irregulars at Clifden.
Her new owners renamed her “The girl I left behind me” and used her temporarily before been abandoned in a bog in north Mayo where she lay partly submerges until 1934 at which time an attempt was made to retrieve her with the intention of placing her in a motor museum.

After the civil war Thomas Moran attempted and failed to claim from the Irish state £1,156 in damages caused to his public house and his garage which was next to the Mulranny hotel.
Moran claimed that national army troops arrested him, broke up everything in his premises and fired their rifles through the roof and windows, three motor cars and a lorry were smashed, gallons of oil were spilled and his premises looted.


 I found some cheap days gone by trucks on E bay that will fit the bill nicely, Just have to add some armour plate from a tank kit.


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