Land Rover Tangi
Encyclopedia
Land Rover
Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...
chassis
Chassis
A chassis consists of an internal framework that supports a man-made object. It is analogous to an animal's skeleton. An example of a chassis is the underpart of a motor vehicle, consisting of the frame with the wheels and machinery.- Vehicles :In the case of vehicles, the term chassis means the...
used in policing 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...
in Northern Ireland. They have been used by the Royal Ulster Constabulary
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
and, since its renaming, by the Police Service of Northern Ireland
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary in Northern Ireland....
. The vehicle was designed and built in house by the Royal Ulster Constabulary's own engineers.
History of armoured Land Rovers in Northern Ireland
Due to the unique threat of terrorism faced by police officers in Northern Ireland during the TroublesThe 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...
, the RUC had long used armoured vehicles to provide protection to its officers. The first to be based on the Land Rover appeared in 1957, based on a Series 1 109" wheelbase pick-up body. This incorporated only a basic level of protection, designed to defend against bricks and bottles in a public order situation
Riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
. An expanded metal cage was fitted over the rear cargo bed and lined with hardboard to prevent sharp objects being thrust through the cage. Similar expanded metal grilles protected the windows and headlights on the vehicle to prevent them being broken by thrown projectiles.
However, it was not long before the police came under attack with firearms; against which the cages and hardboard of the early Land Rovers provided no protection. Plates of ballistic steel
Armour
Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...
were added to each side of the rear cargo bed and an armoured steel door was fitted to the rear. Whilst this provided a greater degree of protection from low velocity weapons, there were many areas of the vehicle which were still unprotected. The RUC realised that a fresh design was required to protect their officers.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
used in its construction. The chassis of a civilian Land Rover 109 station wagon was used. Underneath the standard aluminium roof a second roof, fabricated from armoured steel, was installed. This provided overhead protection from gunfire, petrol bombs and IEDs
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
. Large plates of ballistic steel were bolted to the sides of the vehicle, which wrapped around the rear pillar and met with an armoured double door. Both of these doors and the side plates were fitted with sliding pistol ports, allowing the officers inside to return fire in the event of an ambush
Ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops...
. The rear doors, sides and roof constituted an armoured box providing all round protection to the crew in the rear of the vehicle. For the protection of the driver and the front seat passenger, the windscreen and side windows were replaced with thick sheets of bulletproof glass
Bulletproof glass
Bulletproof glass is a type of strong but optically transparent material that is particularly resistant to being penetrated when struck by bullets, but is not completely impenetrable. It is usually made from a combination of two or more types of glass, one hard and one soft...
, along with armour-plated
Vehicle armour
Military vehicles are commonly armoured to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, missiles, or shells, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include tanks, aircraft, and ships....
doors. Finally, an expanded metal grille could be pulled up over the windscreen to prevent the windscreen being broken by thrown objects during civil disorder, and the side windows covered with a sheet of transparent polycarbonate
Polycarbonate
PolycarbonatePhysical PropertiesDensity 1.20–1.22 g/cm3Abbe number 34.0Refractive index 1.584–1.586FlammabilityV0-V2Limiting oxygen index25–27%Water absorption – Equilibrium0.16–0.35%Water absorption – over 24 hours0.1%...
for the same purpose.
The Hotspur was immediately put into action and worked admirably. Myriad modifications were carried out over the years, including lining the vehicles' lower panels with sheets of polycarbonate to prevent the body panels from being dented during civil disorder. Metal grilles and rubber skirts were fitted around the lower perimeter of the vehicle to prevent projectiles being thrown under the body at officers who were sheltering behind, and also to prevent beer kegs being rolled under the vehicle in an attempt to immobilise it.
By the end of 1983, 151 Hotspurs had also been fitted with a fire extinguishing system operated by the front seat passenger. In the event of the vehicle being hit by a petrol bomb, as was not uncommon during civil disorder, a dashboard button was pressed. This caused the heater blower and engine fan to switch off, and a fire extinguisher was automatically discharged through a series of pipes into the engine bay and over the windscreen and bonnet.
The Hotspur was complemented by a more advanced armoured Land Rover called the Simba. This, rather than being a civilian Land Rover with armour bolted on, was a chassis which was fitted with a purpose built armoured steel body providing 360 degree protection against high velocity rifle fire, bricks, bottles, petrol bombs and small improvised explosive device
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
s.
However, due to the Simba's advanced and purpose built nature it was very slow to produce and the Hotspur Land Rovers were beginning to wear out, so a solution was needed to quickly get more armoured police vehicles on the streets. The answer was the Land Rover Tangi.
The Tangi
Armour kits from tired Hotspurs were fitted onto brand-new Land Rover Defender 110 civilian chassis. When donor kits ran out, the RUC workshops began to fabricate brand-new ones. The vehicles' headlights were initially protected from damage by transparent polycarbonate shields, but these were quickly found to be less durable than the original metal grilles of the Hotspur and were replaced. At the front and rear of the roof each of the Tangis were fitted with a remotely controlled spotlight and a rotating blue warning light, all protected by expanded metal grilles. The Hotspur's side skirts were retained, as was its fire protection system. In addition, burning petrol was prevented from entering the engine bay by a fabric strip around the bonnet edge and at the hinge between the bonnet and the front bulkhead. Further, the engine radiator was protected from damage with a substantial louvred grill fabricated from 3 mm steel sheet.The first Tangi (registration HXI 3593, fleet number 8203) went into action on 16 January 1986. Crews were very welcoming of the Tangi and much preferred it to the Hotspur, mainly thanks to its power steering and air conditioning which the Hotspur lacked, and that it was impervious to most of the weapons encountered during civil disorder.
The use of coffee jars filled with explosives, which were dropped onto the roof of Tangis driving under overpasses, led to the adoption of the Dawson roof. This was effectively a second steel roof mounted over the first and works similar to spaced armour, detonating the IED
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
before it struck the main armoured roof. Vehicles fitted with the Dawson roof were easily identified due to its large, angular appearance.
Similar IEDs were fitted with small drogues on the rear, so they could be thrown horizontally to strike the side of a Tangi thus circumventing the additional roof armour. The RUC responded to this with a similar measure to the Dawson roof, fitting a plate of ballistic steel several inches from the hull to detonate the bomb before it struck the main armoured body. In this final form, with the Dawson roof and hardened side armour, the Tangi is seen on the streets of Northern Ireland today.
Operational use
Tangis are known to the local population as 'meat wagons' (as the police are often referred to as 'pigs') or a 'Newry ice-cream van'. The vehicles are synonymous with Northern Ireland's TroublesThe 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 the height of the Troubles the vehicles were essential for patrolling across Northern Ireland, carrying two police officers in the front and a maximum of five officers wearing riot helmets and carrying shields in the rear. At this time they were painted in a dark grey livery. A number of people were killed after being hit by the vehicles during the Troubles, usually in riot situations.
Since the Good Friday Agreement
Belfast Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement , sometimes called the Stormont Agreement, was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process...
and the resulting peace, the vehicles are largely used for crowd control, particularly during contested Orange Order
Orange Institution
The Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland...
parades.
The vehicles are now painted in standard white, yellow and blue Battenburg markings
Battenburg markings
Battenburg refers to a pattern of high-visibility markings used to maximise conspicuity, primarily used on vehicles of the emergency services, but also in other applications such as uniforms...
, as seen on the majority of police vehicles throughout the United Kingdom, rather than the original battleship grey. The original rotating blue beacons have been replaced with full width halogen light bars and small blue strobes fitted to the front grill.
Status
More than half of the former RUC (now PSNI) fleet of 450 armoured Land Rovers were decommissioned under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. A number, mainly Tangis, came back to the mainland UK to be refurbished and distributed among UK forces. North Wales PoliceNorth Wales Police
North Wales Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing North Wales. The headquarters are in Colwyn Bay, with divisional headquarters in St Asaph, Caernarfon and Wrexham....
are known to operate Tangis, and after the Bradford riots West Yorkshire Police
West Yorkshire Police
West Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing West Yorkshire in England. It is the fourth largest force in England and Wales by number of officers, with 5671 officers....
bought six.
The vehicle has become popular with collectors. Die-cast models
Die-cast toy
The term die-cast toy here refers to any toy or collectible model produced by using the die casting method. The toys are made of metal, with plastic, rubber or glass details. Wholly plastic toys are made by a similar process of injection moulding, but the two are rarely confused...
and artwork of the vehicles are available.
The Hotspur Hussar
The Hotspur Hussar is a military armoured personnel carrier designed in 1984 and based upon the Land Rover Hotspur and Tangi. It features a third driven axle to provide a 6x6 configuration and is capable of carrying a crew of two plus ten fully equipped soldiers over rugged terrain. Up to six gun ports may be provided, three on each side of the vehicle through which the occupants can fire at an enemy. The Hotspur Hussar was exported to Egypt and Sri Lanka.See also
- Snatch Land RoverSnatch Land RoverThe Snatch Land Rover is a protected patrol vehicle, based around the Land Rover Defender 110 chassis, intended for general patrolling in low-threat areas and is the successor to the Truck Utility Medium with Vehicle Protection Kit...
– similar vehicle used by the ArmyBritish ArmyThe 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...
during The Troubles - Shorland – Land Rover-based armoured carArmored car (valuables)A common meaning of armored car is as an armored van or truck, used in transporting valuables, such as large quantities of money . The armored car is a multifunctional vehicle designed to protect and ensure the well being of the transported individuals and/or contents...