The Morris CS9/Light Armoured Car was a British armoured car used by the British Army in the World War II. The vehicle was based on a Morris Commercial C9 4×2 15-cwt truck chassis. On this chassis a rivetted hull was mounted with an open-topped two-man turret. The armament consisted of either Boys anti-tank rifle and Bren light machine gun or Vickers machine gun. The vehicle carried a No. 19 radio set.
The prototype was tested in 1936. A further 99 cars were ordered and were delivered in 1938. Thirty-eight of these cars were used by the 12th Royal Lancers in the Battle of France, where all of them were destroyed or abandoned.
Another 30 served with the 11th Hussars in the North African Campaign. It was found that when fitted with desert tyres the vehicle had good performance on soft sand. However, its armour and armament were insufficient. The vehicle was retired halfway through the North African Campaign.
A model of the Morris CS9 has been released for the Early Desert War, as part of the releases for Hellfire and Back by Battlefront. However I have decided to use them as part of my Early War Britis. I will therefore be painting mine green.
There are two models in the blister.
With my anorak firmly zipped up (!) the BattleFront CS9 is the desert version but with European theatre tyres. The AA Bren mount wasn’t fitted to the cars that went to France; their Bren was mounted in the turret as per your picture. I’ve filed off the mounting box on the back of the turret and chopped up the Brens so they fit through the turret mounting slit. Also, the Boys rifle gunner is way too high up: I’ve chopped mine almost in half so only head and shoulders are visible. Again, your photo shows the correct position.