The REME Museum has three examples of Husky computers in our collection. This article discusses the origins of these computers and their contribution to the operation of the British Armed Forces.

---

Computer development

The years following World War Two saw important and increasingly rapid developments in computer technology on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Machines with evocative names like ENIAC, Leo and Pegasus were built, each of which ‘pushed the envelope’ of what these early machines could actually do. However, the nature of the designs and the limitations of the components meant that each of these machines had drawbacks. Essentially, they generated considerable amounts of heat, were enormous and also enormously expensive. Only the very largest businesses and government departments could afford to buy them.

Glen Beck and Betty Snyder programming the ENIAC at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Philadelphia, showing the vast size of early computers, c 1947-1955. © US Army, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain.

These limitations notwithstanding, the demand for business computers increased during the 1950s and 1960s as it was realised they could save time and money by automating certain routine tasks. This demand fuelled increasing investment in research and development, a process that led to machines growing more powerful at the same time as they became physically smaller.

Eventually another group of users, albeit on a much smaller scale, began to benefit from these changes. Known as the ‘Homebrew’ movement in the US, the 1970s and 80s saw a small number of dedicated people writing software for compact, primitive machines like the Altair 8800 or even designing their own hardware. Members of this community ultimately founded companies with which we are now familiar, like Apple and Microsoft.

The same period in the UK saw the emergence of what became known as the ‘home market’. Legendary 8-bit micros like the ZX81, ZX Spectrum, the Dragon 32 and the Commodore 64 were purposefully aimed at parents who were convinced to buy them for their children. Both the government and wider society assured them that the future would be characterised by the ubiquity of information technology.

The ZX Spectrum, an 8-bit machine that gave many people their first experience of using a computer. © Bill Bertram, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5.

The Dragon 32 was made in Kenfig Hill, located between Port Talbot and Bridgend in 1982-84. © Bill Bertram, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5.

As computers aimed at both business and home users became smaller and cheaper, armed forces around the world began to think there may be uses for these machines beyond code-breaking or the calculation of ballistic trajectories. What they really needed, however, was something portable, rugged and powered by batteries.

It took until the very late 1970s for machines of this nature to arrive on the market. GRiD Systems Corporation was founded in 1979 and was based in Silicon Valley. The computers they produced were innovative and included a number of ‘firsts’ – the first clamshell design, the first use of an electro-luminescent display in a portable model and the first computer to include a fully-functioning telephone system and handset. They were so well designed for use in extreme environments that one was taken into space on the STS-51-G mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery in June 1985.

The Husky computers

At around the same time, British companies were making some significant contributions to this field, and foremost amongst these was the firm of Husky of Foleshill, Coventry.

Husky were originally known as DVW Microelectronics (the initials came from the founder, David Viewing). In 1981, they received a commission from Severn Trent Water to produce a rugged computer, suitable for an outdoor environment, that their engineers could use in the field. The Husky was born.

The Husky was quite compact and easy to transport, it even had a canvas carrying strip attached to the reverse. It had many similarities with the Sinclair ZX81 (also released in 1981). It employed a membrane keyboard (although the Husky’s keys were very slightly domed rather than flat), used the BASIC programming language and was powered by a Z80 chip (although in the Husky’s case, it was actually a low power clone). There were also a number of major differences. It had an integral LCD monochrome screen, a very small speaker, an RS232 serial port, another port for a bar code ‘wand reader’, two tripod mounts and far more useable memory (unless you bought the separate 16KB expansion pack, the ZX81 had only 1KB of memory).

Such was the Husky’s innovative design that it was featured on the BBC’s flagship science programme ‘Tomorrow’s World’. The machine caught the attention of the British Armed Forces and they commissioned a military version of the Husky to be used as part of the Rapier surface-to-air missile project, which entered service in 1971.

The Rapier missile system in action. PO S J Lewis © Crown copyright 2001, Open Government License.

Front view of the military DVW. 2015.8461.

The top of the Husky computer. Components left to right: RS232 port, ‘light wand’ jack and screw top for the battery compartment. 2015.8461.

The Museum is fortunate in having two examples of the company’s next machine, the Hunter. Although the Husky was pretty tough, the Hunter took things to a different level. The exterior case was aluminium and waterproofing came as standard; it weighed over a kilo. There are various stories of the computer being dropped from a great height and continuing to work, or even being driven over by a military vehicle and surviving. The Husky company (they changed their name circa 1984) were well aware these were major selling points and made much of them in their advertising. For example, visitors to Husky’s headquarters were greeted with a tank of piranha fish swimming around an example of a working Hunter. One of its civilian uses was in the construction project of the Pont Tywysog Cymru, the second Severn crossing.

Front view of the Husky Hunter. E:00.0050.

Side view of the Hunter computer. A tripod bush sits between the screw top for the battery compartment and the RS232. E:00.0050.

One of the Museum’s Hunters is marked by a small sticker, noting that it was a prototype used in the Digital Automotive System Control Unit (DASCU) of a Challenger Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle (CRARRV).

The prototype Hunter used in the DASCU of a CRARRV. 1997.4090.

Based on an article by former Curator, Richard Davies, published in The Craftsman, April 2025.