In the Spring of 1941, the British Purchasing Commission submitted specifications for medium and heavy armored cars under the Lend-Lease program which could be procured as quickly as possible. The T13 was considered to fill this need, as it was already under development at the time, but due to its questionable progress it was recommended that the medium and heavy armored cars be designed. These were designated as the T17 and T18, respectively.
Both Ford and General Motors' Chevrolet subdivision submitted designs to fit the specifications of the T17. The Ford design was a six-wheel vehicle and powered by two V6 engines for a combined output of 180 horsepower. But in the final design, two Hercules JXD engines were selected. Combined with twin transmissions, the T17 had eight forward gears and two reverse gears. The suspension was a conventional leafspring design.
The first pilot T17 arrived at Aberdeen in March 1942, approximately six months after authorization. The second pilot, fitted with a new three-man turret, was shipped to Fort Knox. Testing revealed numerous mechanical defects and was finally halted by extensive failures to the axles and transmissions. A variety of changes were required, but it was determined that the T17's size and weight exceeded the original specifications for a reconnaissance vehicle. At the time, the Special Armored Vehicle Board only considered the use of armored cars for reconnaissance purposes. Because of this, the initial production contract was cut to 250 vehicles.
All 250 vehicles would be allocated to the British who designated the vehicle as the Deerhound. However, none of the T17s were shipped overseas because their intended theater of use, North Africa, was already beginning to wrap up. But the vehicles would see use as military police units for the United States with their 37 mm guns removed.
Given the T17 had a second reverse gear, I think it might be fair to give this vehicle a high reverse speed to give it some unique flavor. We can also bring over the Littlejohn adapter from the M22 Locust. While the Littlejohn was never actually fitted to a T17 to my knowledge, had the vehicle actually seen use with the British as intended, it surely would have at least been considered.
Guns: 37 mm Gun M5; 37 mm Gun M6; 37 mm Gun M6 w/ Littlejohn
Engines: Twin Ford V6 (180 hp); Twin Hercules JXD (220 hp)
Turrets (Turret Armor (mm)): T17 Pilot #1 (32/32/32); T17 (32/32/32)
Turrets (Turret Armor (mm)): T17 Pilot #1 (32/32/32); T17 (32/32/32)
Suspensions/Alternate Hulls, Total Weight (metric tons): T17 (12.88); T17 Improved (12.88)
Hull Armor (mm): 19/19/13
Top Speed: 97 km/h
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