The
Universal Carrier, also known as the
Bren Gun Carrier from the light machine gun armament,
[3] is a common name describing a family of light armoured
tracked vehicles built by
Vickers-Armstrongs and other companies.
The first carriers – the Bren Carrier and the Scout Carrier with specific roles – entered service before the war, but a single improved design that could replace these, the Universal, was introduced in 1940.
The vehicle was used widely by
British Commonwealth forces during the
Second World War. Universal Carriers were usually used for transporting personnel and equipment, mostly support weapons, or as
machine gun platforms. With some 113,000 built by 1960 in the United Kingdom and abroad, it is the most produced armoured fighting vehicle in history.[