The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier, was a family of light armored tracked vehicles that saw widespread use by British Commonwealth forces during World War II. Derived from the 1920s Carden-Loyd tankette, from its introduction in 1940 the carrier served in a variety of roles such as troop transport, logistics, support weapon platform and artillery tractor.
The vehicle is one of the most manufactured armored fighting vehicles in the world, with over 113,000 units produced. In addition to the Commonwealth, the UC was delivered to other allies under the "Lend Lease" agreement, and was used by China, Soviet Union, and Free French Forces.[1]
Battlefield V[]
— In-game description
The Universal Carrier is featured in Battlefield V, originally confirmed in a blog post listing all vehicles available at launch.[2] It appears as the British counterpart to Germany's Kubelwagen.
The vehicle can seat four players; the driver, operating the vehicle from the hull front-right; the front gunner, sat parallel to the driver with access to a hull-mounted Bren Gun; the top gunner, who operates another Bren from a raised ring mount behind the driver; and a passenger, sitting beside the top gunner. Both machine guns have infinite ammunition but overheat after prolonged use, and while the top gunner position can rotate 360° the front gunner is limited to an angle of fire roughly 120° to the vehicle front.
Due to its caterpillar tracks, the Universal Carrier is slower than the Kubelwagen but has some distinct advantages; first, the vehicle performs better off-road, and although it cannot crush cover like stone and sandbag walls, it less likely to become stuck on rocks or in ditches thanks to greater ground contact of tracks over tires; second, it can turn on the spot allowing for manoeuvring in tight spaces and permits the driver to point the front gunner towards targets; and third, it can hold one extra passenger. Despite the appearance of armor protection the driver and passengers in the open top hull are still highly vulnerable to small arms and explosive damage, and its lower speed can make dodging enemy fire more difficult. The vehicle can additionally tow stationary weapons.
Firestorm[]
The Universal Carrier appears in Firestorm, spawning randomly on the ground around Halvøy. It is largely unchanged from its multiplayer rendition, with the Firestorm-specific limitations of fuel, inability to be repaired, and only 150 rounds available to the on board machine gun.
Gallery[]
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Trivia[]
- The Universal Carrier could originally only seat three players. The Front Gunner position was added to the vehicle in the 4.4 Update in September 2019.
- The front gunner position weapon has misaligned sights, meaning the user has to aim slightly to the right of their intended target.