Daimler Little John is a British Recon unit. Its 2-pdr saw a vastly increased penetration performance thanks to the Littlejohn adaptor, introduced late in the war. Indeed, a 2-pdr gun equipped with the adaptor even surpassed the penetration capacities of the 6-pdr, the successor to the former anti-tank gun. One Daimler Little John can be fielded in phase B and two packs of two units each can be fielded in phase C, making it a relatively late-game unit.
The Daimler Little John is a very hard-hitting recon unit hampered by its limited 800m range, below the usual engagement ranges of 1000m or 1200m. It is also very weakly armoured, a non-veteran unit and its gun is quite inaccurate, so relatively close engagements are a necessity if one wants to make use of the Daimler's gun.
Overview[ | ]
A parallel development of the Dingo, the Daimler Armored Car was one of the finest British fighting vehicle design of World War II. Incorporating many advanced solutions, including a fluid flywheel, preselector gearbox, and an H-drive arrangement with epicyclic gearing, giving it excellent maneuverability in the field, especially on steep inclines. It was lightly armored, up to 16mm on the front, and armed with a QF 2-pdr (40mm) gun and a coaxial BESA machinegun, in keeping with its intended role as a recon and liaison vehicle. The Little John variant was a Daimler AC fitted with the Littlejohn squeeze bore adaptor, in order to improve the gun's performance. The adaptor reduced the bore size uses armour-piercing, composite non-rigid (APCNR) rounds for more armor piecing capability using obsolete 2-pdr guns.
Originally prototyped in 1939, the armored car entered service in 1941 due to issues with the gear box. A total of 2694 Daimler Armored Cars were produced. The design was innovative enough that it remained in service with the British Army and other Commonwealth nations well beyond the end of the war, into the 1960s.
- The name is not a reference to Robin Hood, but a literal translation of its inventor's surname. The adaptor was designed by František Janeček and František Karel Janeček, Czech refugees who fled German-occupied Czechoslovakia in the 1930s, finding refuge in Great Britain. Their last name literally means Little John.
Strategy[ | ]
The Daimler Little John is a peculiar unit. It arrives in phase B and mainly sees action in phase C, where heavy-calibre guns and tanks are deployed. In contrast, the recon unit is very squishy and cannot reliably engage armoured units at maximum range due to the poor accuracy of the gun. The enemy, in contrast, will usually have no problem destroying the Daimler at these ranges and beyond. The Daimler's speed, though, is respectable at 30 km/h off-road speed.
This means that the Daimler must be supported by other Allied units, who take the brunt of the fire while the little unit gets up and close to fire its gun. The enemy must preferably be panicked and incapable of return fire. It could also hide behind bocage terrain to surprise enemy tanks at close range if the opportunity presents itself. Still, the Daimler Little John is somewhat costly at 85 points and is a high-risk high-reward unit to commit in a fight.
The player can make a choice between the Daimler Little John or the Daimler AC, a cheaper version (70 points) with a less accurate and much weaker gun but longer range. This is up to personal preference, but the more expensive Daimler Little John arguably requires more situational play and work to make it shine.
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