Series II Gun Buggy

History

In 1963–64 the Australian Army converted short-wheelbase Land Rovers into dedicated anti-tank vehicles for the M40A1 106 mm recoilless rifle, having procured 72 of the guns for Land Rovers and M113 APCs. The conversions — designated Fitted For Rifle 106mm (kit LV6/MT/C100064) and universally nicknamed the Gunbuggy — were carried out by RAEME at 3 Base Workshop, Broadmeadows, Victoria, on existing Series 2 and brand-new Series 2A ¼-ton GS 88s. Research published by Australian War Memorial researcher Mike Cecil (Army magazine, August 2002) put the fleet at 69 vehicles: 24 on Series 2 and 45 on Series 2A, plus a couple of later Series 3 109″ trial units. A surviving logbook records one conversion taking 301 man-hours on a vehicle with 185 miles on the odometer.

The rebuild was drastic. Doors, roof and tailgate were removed permanently (seatbelts were fitted instead, the vehicle being driven "as fast as possible"), the seat bulkhead was cut away so the gun mount could sit on the chassis centre crossmember, and a barrel clamp ring replaced the windscreen — twin small clamp-on windshields, used only on parade, gave the type its distinctive split-screen look. The rear suspension and chassis were reinforced, twin fuel tanks moved into the seatbox with fillers under the seats, and the rear body was extensively reworked to stow six 106 mm shells in tubes along the sides. The gun carried a .50-calibre spotting rifle and could traverse 360 degrees; crews of four operated in pairs, closing fast, firing and leaving the scene within seconds — the back-blast made a 30-metre arc behind the vehicle lethal, and many crewmen suffered hearing damage.

Gunbuggies equipped the anti-tank troops of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps and the anti-armour platoons of the Royal Australian Regiment, saw service in Vietnam in their first decade, and in Vietnam some had the rifle replaced by an M60 machine gun once it was clear no enemy armour would be met. Like the rest of the fleet they were delivered in gloss Deep Bronze Green and repainted flat Australian Olive Drab after 1967. Remarkably, some remained in service as late as 1996 — REMLR calls the Australian-engineered Gunbuggy the longest-serving Land Rover conversion — and examples are preserved at the Australian War Memorial, the Army Museum Bandiana and the Australian Armour and Artillery Museum.

Imagery

Registry record

Manufacturer

The Rover Company (Australian-assembled Series 2/2A 88″ donors)

Manufactured

1963–64 conversions; in service to the mid-1990s

Modifier / coachbuilder

RAEME 3 Base Workshop, Broadmeadows, Victoria ↗

Engine type

2.25 L petrol inline-four

Production run

69 conversions (24 Series 2, 45 Series 2A), plus Series 3 trial units

Country of origin

Australia (conversion; UK-designed base vehicle)

Status

retired (mid-1990s); examples preserved in Australian museums

Catalogue data

Record kind

Named model

Model line

Series II

Wheels

4

Base catalogue fields are exported from the Difflocked game. In-game physics values are arcade tuning, not certified historical measurements, and are deliberately not shown as specifications here.

Sources & citations

Researched sources

• Gunbuggy Series 2 + 2A (conversion details, fleet numbers per Mike Cecil, RAEME Broadmeadows, service to 1996) ↗ — Registry of Ex-Military Land Rovers (REMLR) (accessed 2026-09-10)
• Land Rover Series 2 with 106 mm M40A2 Recoilless Rifle (preserved example, object record) ↗ — Australian War Memorial (accessed 2026-09-10)
• Australian Land Rover Series 2A SWB "Gun Buggy" with 106mm Recoilless Rifle (photo survey) ↗ — WarWheels.net (accessed 2026-09-10)
• Australian Armour and Artillery Museum on its Gunbuggy (Vietnam deployment; rifle swapped for M60 in theatre) ↗ — Australian Armour and Artillery Museum (accessed 2026-09-10)