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The 11th Hussars and the 12th Lancers were the first cavalry regiments to be mechanised when vehicles replaced their horses.
The last mounted parade of 11th Hussars with horses was held at Aldershot on 10th April 1928. By 1929 the regiment had replaced its horses with 117 vehicles, including 10-year-old armoured cars, 30 motor cycles, 16 Austin 7 cars, and some six-wheeled lorries.
Initially Rolls-Royce armoured cars were received, and these were temporarily added to by the Lanchester. The Rolls-Royce armoured cars were 1924 pattern. The vehicle was lightly armoured, carried a crew of three and had a single Vickers .303 machine gun on a ball mounting in the turret. In 1935 wireless was fitted to one car in every troop.
The traditional role of Hussars was reconnaissance, which was to be the role of armoured cars.
The 11th Hussars were able to draft the first manual on the use of armoured cars – The Armoured Car Manual for Tactical Handling and Drill. They embarked on a strenuous programme of training which covered driving, vehicle maintenance and operating machine guns. The regiment was split up between the various training schools for nearly a year.
In October 1930 the 11th went to Tidworth, and then sailed for Cairo in November 1934. The Rolls-Royce type was still used by the regiment in 1941 in North Africa. The original turrets were replaced by a two man type, increasing the crew to four, and the armament to a .55 Boyes rifle and a .303 Bren gun. The 6 ton vehicle had a speed of 45 mph and a range of 180 miles. Its mobility was affected by soft sand but it performed well on the hard desert surface.
