The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier from its light machine gun armament was a common name describing a family of light armoured vehicles built by Vickers Armstrong 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 forces during WWII. 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.
