Bronco CB35074 British 17pdr Self-Propelled Gun Archer

The Archer was a British tank destroyer from the Second World War. The first prototypes were built in 1943, and serial production was carried out in the period 1944-1945. In total, 655 copies of this vehicle were built. Archer was single-powered General Motors 6046 Model 6-71M engine with 195 HP. It was armed with a 17lb 76.2mm QFSA II cannon and a single 7.7mm Bren machine gun.

The Archer was based on the chassis of the Valentine tank, and was armed with a great 17-pounder anti-tank gun. It was supposed to improve the ability to combat German tanks by British mechanized and armored units. The Archer had a simple, but highly unconventional design, as the barrel of the cannon was directed towards the rear of the vehicle, which was to facilitate ambushing enemy tanks and then quickly leaving the action. In the course of operation, it turned out that the Archer has several advantages: first of all, it has great weapons, and thanks to its low silhouette it was easy to disguise. However, it had a very thin armor and was characterized by low ergonomics of the interior, which made it extremely difficult for the crew to operate. The vehicle entered service at the end of 1944 and fought during the Italian campaign and fights in France and western Germany (1944-1945), also as part of Polish Armed Forces in the West (PES). They also took part in the fighting during the Suez Crisis (1956) in the Egyptian army. The Archer type cars were withdrawn from the British Army in the early 1950s.