Alvis Saracen
Encyclopedia
The FV603 Saracen is a six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier
built by Alvis
and used by the British army
. It became a recognisable vehicle as a result of its part in the policing of Northern Ireland.
. A .303 Bren gun could be mounted on an anti-aircraft ring-mount accessed through a roof hatch and there were ports on the sides through which troops could fire. Although removed from active service, it saw extensive use into the 1980s in Northern Ireland
and was a familiar sight during "The Troubles
". At times they even appeared on the streets of Hull
, a less-hostile atmosphere for driver training in a city of similar appearance to Belfast
, and only a few miles from the Army School of Mechanical Transport
.
As a member of the FV 600 series it shared a similar chassis with the FV601 Saladin
armoured car, the Salamander
fire engine and the Stalwart High Mobility Load Carrier. The chassis, suspension and final drive remained similar, but the engine, transmission and braking systems varied significantly.
The Saracen was in turn used as an armoured personnel carrier, armoured command vehicle and ambulance. The FV 603 model saw many variants in detail, including radio or command fitments and specialist equipment for Artillery or Signals use.
The Saracen series also includes:
Saracen was produced before Saladin because of the urgent need for a personnel carrier to serve in the Malayan Emergency
, entering production in 1952.
The Saracen was produced both with and without turrets fitted.
Brunei
Hong Kong
South Africa
South African Army
Lebanon
Saracens were initially equipped with an L3A4 (Browning .30 Cal) machine gun in the turret, and a Bren gun
for the gun-ring at the rear of the vehicle. Later Marks carried the LMG, and L7 GPMG.
, which was set during World War II
, a decade before the Saracen was first built.
In the Tom Sharpe
novel Riotous Assembly
, a Saracen armoured car is destroyed by a monstrous elephant gun by Konstabel Els of the South African Police.
In the 1983 debut album Script for a Jester's Tear
, by British progressive rock group Marillion
, the Saracen was referred to in the final song: "...crawling behind a Saracen's hull from the safety of his living room chair..." The lyrics of Forgotten Sons describe the conflict in Northern Ireland
and the discrepancy between what was really happening and the perception of the conflict by the British public.
The Saracen was used in the 1995 film of Judge Dredd
as carriers for prisoners and personnel carriers for Judges. 101 FC
s were also used as taxis.
During the 2009 G-20
demonstrations in London, members of the Space Hijackers
protest group drove their Saracen into the City of London and parked it outside the Royal Bank of Scotland
in Bishopsgate. The Saracen, which had been painted bright blue with black and white chequered stripe
s, was equipped with CCTV and marked "RIOT" (but not "police"). The group were reportedly there to protect the RBS building from "bad" demonstrators, although the police declined their assistance. Instead the vehicle was searched and police questioned the protestors, who were dressed in plain blue overalls and helmets. The vehicle's eleven occupants were arrested for impersonating police officers and for traffic offences, and were later charged with impersonating police officers, although the case was dropped before coming to court.
Armoured personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
built by Alvis
Alvis Cars
Alvis Car and Engineering Company Ltd was a British manufacturing company that existed in Coventry, England from 19191967. In addition to automobiles designed for the civilian market, the company also produced racing cars, aircraft engines, armoured cars and other armoured fighting vehicles, the...
and used by the British army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. It became a recognisable vehicle as a result of its part in the policing of Northern Ireland.
History
The FV603 Saracen was the armoured personnel carrier of Alvis' FV600 series. Besides the driver and commander, a squad of 8 soldiers plus a troop commander could be carried. Most models carried a small turret on the roof, carrying a Browning .30 machine gunM1919 Browning machine gun
The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century. It was used as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, and anti-aircraft machine gun by the U.S. and many other countries, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War...
. A .303 Bren gun could be mounted on an anti-aircraft ring-mount accessed through a roof hatch and there were ports on the sides through which troops could fire. Although removed from active service, it saw extensive use into the 1980s in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and was a familiar sight during "The Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
". At times they even appeared on the streets of Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, a less-hostile atmosphere for driver training in a city of similar appearance to Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, and only a few miles from the Army School of Mechanical Transport
Defence School of Transport
The Defence School of Transport is situated in Leconfield, East Riding of Yorkshire, England on a former RAF base . The site is now called Normandy Barracks.-History:...
.
As a member of the FV 600 series it shared a similar chassis with the FV601 Saladin
Alvis Saladin
The Saladin is a six-wheeled armoured car built by Alvis, and fitted with a 76mm gun.Used extensively by the British Army, it replaced the AEC Armoured Car that had been in service since World War II.-History:...
armoured car, the Salamander
Alvis Salamander
The Alvis Salamander is a 6X6 Airport Crash Tender with off-road capabilities, developed in 1956.It shares the same common six-wheel-drive chassis and other components with the FV 601 Saladin armoured car and FV 603 Saracen armoured personnel carrier...
fire engine and the Stalwart High Mobility Load Carrier. The chassis, suspension and final drive remained similar, but the engine, transmission and braking systems varied significantly.
The Saracen was in turn used as an armoured personnel carrier, armoured command vehicle and ambulance. The FV 603 model saw many variants in detail, including radio or command fitments and specialist equipment for Artillery or Signals use.
The Saracen series also includes:
- FV 604 Armoured Command Vehicle (ACV): with extra radio equipment and distinctive "penthouse" roof extensions to support .
- FV 610 Armoured Command Post (ACP): higher sides to the armoured rear compartment allowed radios to be racked above the map tables. There were also fittings for canvas awnings to the rear and sides. A small generator was also carried on a front wing.
- FV 606/ FV 611 Armoured Ambulance.
Saracen was produced before Saladin because of the urgent need for a personnel carrier to serve in the Malayan Emergency
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
, entering production in 1952.
The Saracen was produced both with and without turrets fitted.
Combat history
- AdenAdenAden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
- Malayan EmergencyMalayan EmergencyThe Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
- Sri Lankan civil warSri Lankan civil warThe Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
- The TroublesThe TroublesThe Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
- Lebanese civil warLebanese Civil WarThe Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
Operators
- 1965 to 1966 with the 4th/19th Prince of Wales Light Horse.
Brunei
- Royal Brunei Armed ForcesRoyal Brunei Armed ForcesThe Royal Brunei Armed Forces was formed on 31 May 1961. Known as the Askar Melayu Brunei, it was honoured with the royal title on 31 May 1965, when the word 'Diraja' was added to the title. It was then known as Askar Melayu Diraja Brunei,...
1973
Hong Kong
- Royal Hong Kong Police Force
- TNI-AD (Indonesian Army)Indonesian ArmyThe Indonesian Army , the land component of the Indonesian Armed Forces, has an estimated strength of 328,517 regular personnel. The force's history began in 1945 when the Tentara Keamanan Rakyat "Civil Security Forces" served as paramilitary and police.Since the nation's independence struggle,...
In duty 55
South AfricaSouth African Army
South African Army
The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910.The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by commando forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners' historical distrust of large standing armies...
- Sri Lanka Army
- General Service 1954 to 1969. Cyprus Armoured Squadron (Command and APC) mid-1980s. Northern Ireland only to 1991
- Space HijackersSpace HijackersThe Space Hijackers is a group originating in the United Kingdom that defines itself as "an international band of anarchitects who battle to save our streets, towns and cities from the evils of urban planners, architects, multinationals and other hoodlums"...
– 2007-present – Mark 1 Saracen used for publicity stunts
- Tulsa Police DepartmentTulsa Police DepartmentThe Tulsa Police Department is the principal law enforcement agency of the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies It is the second largest municipal law enforcement agency in the state.The TPD was officially organized in...
, 1; a Saracen body-shell re-mounted on a commercial truck chassis - Sierra Vista Police Department, 1; SWAT
- San Francisco Police DepartmentSan Francisco Police DepartmentThe San Francisco Police Department, also known as the SFPD and San Francisco Department Of Police, is the police department of the City and County of San Francisco, California...
, 1; SWAT
Lebanon
- 18 in service with the Lebanese Army in 1975 passed on to the Amal MovementAmal MovementAmal Movement is short for the Lebanese Resistance Detachments the acronym for which, in Arabic, is "amal", meaning "hope."Amal was founded in 1975 as the militia wing of the Movement of the Disinherited, a Shi'a political movement founded by Musa...
Variants
Bren
The Bren, usually called the Bren Gun, was a series of light machine guns adopted by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1991...
for the gun-ring at the rear of the vehicle. Later Marks carried the LMG, and L7 GPMG.
- Mk 1 Early version with 3-door turret and turret pistol ports.
- Mk 2 Modified Mark 1 with later two-door turret. The rear turret door folds down and can act as a seat for the commander.
- Mk 3 Reverse-flow cooling for use in hot climates.
- Mk 4 Prototype only.
- Mk 5 Mark 1 or Mark 2 vehicles modified with extra armour specifically for use in Northern Ireland.
- Mk 6 Mark 3 modified with extra armour as for the Mk 5 for use in Northern Ireland.
In popular culture
A Saracen masquerades as a German armoured car in the 1964 film 633 Squadron633 Squadron
633 Squadron is a 1964 British film which depicts the exploits of a fictional Second World War British fighter-bomber squadron. It was based on a novel of the same name by Frederick E. Smith, published in 1956, which itself drew on several real Royal Air Force missions. The film was directed by...
, which was set during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, a decade before the Saracen was first built.
In the Tom Sharpe
Tom Sharpe
Tom Sharpe is an English satirical author, best known for his Wilt series of novels.Sharpe was born in London and moved to South Africa in 1951, where he worked as a social worker and a teacher, before being deported for sedition in 1961...
novel Riotous Assembly
Riotous Assembly
Riotous Assembly is the debut novel of British comic writer Tom Sharpe originally published in 1971. Set in the fictitious South African town of Piemburg it is a savagely amusing lampoon of the forces of law and order in apartheid era South Africa....
, a Saracen armoured car is destroyed by a monstrous elephant gun by Konstabel Els of the South African Police.
In the 1983 debut album Script for a Jester's Tear
Script for a Jester's Tear
Script for a Jester's Tear is the first album by the neo-progressive rock band Marillion, released in 1983. It reached number seven on the UK album chart and stayed on the chart for 31 weeks, the second longest chart residency of a Marillion album....
, by British progressive rock group Marillion
Marillion
Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, England in 1979. Their recorded studio output comprises sixteen albums generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original vocalist & frontman Fish in late 1988, and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve...
, the Saracen was referred to in the final song: "...crawling behind a Saracen's hull from the safety of his living room chair..." The lyrics of Forgotten Sons describe the conflict in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and the discrepancy between what was really happening and the perception of the conflict by the British public.
The Saracen was used in the 1995 film of Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
as carriers for prisoners and personnel carriers for Judges. 101 FC
Land Rover 101 Forward Control
thumb|right|300px|Side View.The 101 Forward Control was a vehicle produced by Land Rover for the British Army.-History:The vehicle was primarily produced to meet the Army's requirement for a gun tractor, and was designed to tow a field gun with a ton of ammunition and other equipment in the rear...
s were also used as taxis.
During the 2009 G-20
2009 G-20 London summit
The 2009 G-20 London Summit is the second meeting of the G-20 heads of state in discussion of financial markets and the world economy, which was held in London on 2 April 2009 at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre. It followed the first G-20 Leaders Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy, which...
demonstrations in London, members of the Space Hijackers
Space Hijackers
The Space Hijackers is a group originating in the United Kingdom that defines itself as "an international band of anarchitects who battle to save our streets, towns and cities from the evils of urban planners, architects, multinationals and other hoodlums"...
protest group drove their Saracen into the City of London and parked it outside the Royal Bank of Scotland
Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is a British banking and insurance holding company in which the UK Government holds an 84% stake. This stake is held and managed through UK Financial Investments Limited, whose voting rights are limited to 75% in order for the bank to retain its listing on the...
in Bishopsgate. The Saracen, which had been painted bright blue with black and white chequered stripe
Sillitoe Tartan
The Sillitoe Tartan is the name given to the distinctive black and white chequered pattern which was originally associated with the police in Scotland, but which later spread to Australia, New Zealand, and the rest of the United Kingdom, as well as to some other places such as Chicago...
s, was equipped with CCTV and marked "RIOT" (but not "police"). The group were reportedly there to protect the RBS building from "bad" demonstrators, although the police declined their assistance. Instead the vehicle was searched and police questioned the protestors, who were dressed in plain blue overalls and helmets. The vehicle's eleven occupants were arrested for impersonating police officers and for traffic offences, and were later charged with impersonating police officers, although the case was dropped before coming to court.
