Lynx II, hull # 4225

[David Dunlop]

The model numbers and marks for the Ford Lynx can be a bit confusing if one tries to cross reference them to other production scenarios. It is best to look at the history of the Lynx Scout Car on its own.

This design came to Canada during the war as the Daimler Dingo, a British design, which it was hoped could be manufactured in Canada. To make it work on Canadian production lines, it morphed into something similar, but very different to the original Dingo. This was the Lynx I and it went through two 'Marks' to reach a vehicle which could go into production. So basically, the first batch of these scout cars to roll off the Ford lines was the Lynx I Mark III and it had some serious problems, the most significant of which were bad axles and a very heavy, difficult to use, folding armoured cover for the crew compartment. At about the 200th vehicle mark in production, Ford actually stopped production, to introduce improved axles and a lighter weight folding armoured hatch. Ford also took advantage of this break to introduce a number of smaller changes to the Lynx like improved rad cooling/protection, better engine cover hinges and latches, etc. etc. These changes were important to the vehicle (but did not solve all the serious problems), but they collectively did not drastically alter the basic look or design of the Lynx MkIII. As a result, Ford simply added the '*' to the existing ID for the vehicle while they continued to sort out the issues at hand. When Ford finally had a solution to everything that needed to be done to improve the Lynx I, it had changed enough in design, it warranted the Lynx II designation, which overall was an excellent vehicle.

Hope this helps.


David