Alvis Saladin
Alvis Saladin | |
---|---|
petrol 170 hp (127 kW) | |
Power/weight | 15.5 hp/tonne |
Suspension | 6x6 wheel |
Operational range | 400 km (250 mi) |
Maximum speed | 72 km/h (45 mph) |
The FV601 Saladin is a six-wheeled
The Saladin also spawned an armoured personnel carrier counterpart, the Alvis Saracen.[2]
Despite the vehicle's age and dated design, it is still in use in a number of countries in secondary roles.
History
Development
Following the end of the
A special variant known as the FV601D was developed for law enforcement agencies and internal security purposes; this model lacked a co-axial machine gun and had different lights and smoke dischargers.[4] The FV601D was only adopted by the German Federal Bundesgrenzschutz, which designated it Geschützter Sonderwagen III.[5] A Saladin was also offered with the same 30 mm RARDEN autocannon as found on the FV510 Warrior and FV721 Fox, but this model did not find favour with the British military or any export customers.[4]
The
The Saladin shared many common components with the Saracen armoured personnel carrier, Stalwart high mobility load carrier and Salamander fire tender.
Service
British Army
The Saladin was used by B Sqn
Australia
The
Oman
The Saladin was widely used by the
Sri Lanka
The
Kuwait
During the
Indonesia
The Indonesian Army (TNI AD) uses the Saladin for "KOSTRAD Cavalry Battalion", "KOSTRAD Recon Company" and Armoured Car Company. In 2014, the Indonesian Army confirmed that it was continuing to deploy the Saladin in active operations.[12] Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla charged state-owned arms manufacturer Pindad with developing a modernization package for the Saladin in early 2016, indicating the armoured car would continue to remain in service for some time.[13] By the end of the year 16 Indonesian Army Saladins had been modernized by Pindad.[14]
Sudan
The
West Germany
Nearly 100 Saladins were exported to the Federal Republic of Germany as part of a British assistance programme for the fledgling Bundesgrenzschutz in the mid to late 1950s.[6] In German service they were designated Geschützter Sonderwagen III and utilised for border patrols.[5] All but 25, along with the entire German inventory of spare parts,[16] were later resold to Honduras as part of a $7 million deal negotiated through Honduran defence contractor Gerard Latchinian.[17] Honduran Saladins could be seen in the streets of Tegucigalpa in the 2009 coup against President Manuel Zelaya.[16]
Operators
- Bahrain: 8[6]
- Ghana: 15[6]
- Honduras: 72 ex-German examples; purchased in 1984;[17] 40 operational.[14]
- Indonesia: 69;[6] modernized in 2016.[14]
- Jordan: 130[6]
- Kenya: 10[6]
- Kuwait: 60[6]
- Lebanon: 40; possibly donated by Jordan.[6]
- Mauritania: 40;[6] 10 operational.[14]
- Nigeria: 16[6]
- Oman: 10[6]
- Qatar: 30[18]
- Sudan: 9[6][19]
- Tunisia: 20[6]
- Uganda: 36[20]
- United Arab Emirates: 70;[6] 20 operational.[14]
- Yemen: 15[6]
Former operators
- Australia[21][6]
- Biafra[22]
- Germany: 97; used by the Bundesgrenzschutz.[6]
- Iraq: Captured Kuwaiti Vehicles, all scrapped or destroyed.[23]
- Libya: 40[6]
- Portugal: 39[6][24][25]
- Sierra Leone: 4[6]
- Sri Lanka: 18;[6] 1 used in parades
- United Kingdom: all retired and replaced by the FV101 Scorpion[2]
Surviving vehicles
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2016) |
There is a Saladin on display as a gate guard at Episkopi Garrison, British Sovereign Base, Cyprus. It is dedicated to the memory of L/Cpl Nicholas Stokes, who died in a training accident in October 1992.[26]
A decommissioned Lebanese Army Saladin is currently part of the "Hope for Peace" monument in Yarze, Lebanon.
There is an FV 601 Saladin in Yad la-Shiryon museum, Latrun.
There is an Alvis Saladin at Sri Lanka Armoured Corps Training Centre, Anuradhapura – a gate guard.
Several Saladins are parked at a tank garage at The Indonesian Army 4th Cavalry Battalion.
There are three surviving Saladins in The Tank Museum, Dorset, England. One, in all over green, is displayed in the tank story exhibition. The second, in all over tan, is in operational condition and used in events. The third, in a tan and green camouflage pattern, is part of the museum's reserve collection and is stored in the vehicle conservation centre.
There is a Saladin in the Muckleburgh Collection, Norfolk, England. It can be seen running at various time during the year.
There is a Saladin on display at the Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry Museum at Hever Castle in Kent.
There is a Saladin at the Dunmore Park base of the B Squadron "North Irish Horse" SNIY Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry, an Army Reserve regiment.
There is a Saladin at the Aldershot Army Museum[27]
There is also a non-functioning Alvis Saladin displayed outside the Lebanese Army's military outpost in the mountain region of Baabda located between Hammana and Chbaniyeh.
An American college sports enthusiasts club in Knoxville, Tennessee, the "Big Orange Army" operates a Saladin painted orange as an advertising device.
There is another privately owned and fully operational restored 1959 Saladin AFV in Knoxville Tennessee. It has a live L5A1 76 mm main gun and a coaxial 1919A4 BMG with a Browning M2 Machine Gun top mounted on authentic US Mark 93 mounting hardware and gun shield plate.
There is a privately owned Saladin in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford area of Texas.
There is a Saladin as gate guardian at King Phraya Damrong Rajanupam Camp of the Royal Thai Border Police in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand.
There is a privately owned Saladin in the Vancouver, British Columbia area of Canada.
There is a Saladin at the Inniskillings Museum in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.
Numerous Saladin survive in Australia, one example is on display at the
There is a privately owned Saladin in North San Diego County, California, USA, that was imported from the UK in 2019 and is currently under restoration.
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-57356-557-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-00-472452-2.
- ^ a b Middle East Economic Digest (1968). Collard, Elizabeth, Volume 12 pp. 131—173.
- ^ ISBN 0-354-01022-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-315-88485-1.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x "Trade Registers". Armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ISBN 9780850522723.
- ^ "50 years service for M113 - Australian Army". Archived from the original on 2 May 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ "Armored vehicles converted by Sri Lankan rebels/Bangladesh". min.news. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
- ISBN 9781317293859.
- ^ Dress Regulation
- ^ "Ribuan Prajurit TNI Berhasil Kuasai Asembagus | WEBSITE TENTARA NASIONAL INDONESIA". Archived from the original on 18 March 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- ^ "Dari Saladin ke Badak – Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat". 30 March 2016. Archived from the original on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- ^ ISBN 978-1857438352.
- ^ "Sudan - Global trade, local impact: Arms Transfers to all Sides in the Civil War in Sudan" (PDF). Human Rights Watch Report. 10 (4): 24. August 1998.
- ^ a b "La Caballería Blindada del Ejército de Honduras". 13 September 2016. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- ^ a b Honduras Government Coup Plot. Latin American Monitor: Central America. 2 (1984) 1984–85 Volumes 1-4
- ISBN 978-1-4344-6210-7.
... Between 1968 and 1971 Qatar received significant quantities of light armor from Great Britain. Included were nine Saracen six-wheeled, ten- to eleven-ton armored personnel carriers, ten Ferret five-ton scout cars, thirty Saladin eleven-ton armored cars ...
- ISBN 978-0-313-35332-1.
- ^ "Uganda: How the West brought Idi Amin to power | Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal". Links.org.au. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- ^ [1] Archived 19 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 978-1-4728-1609-2.
- ^ Former Equipment of Iraqi Army. Retrieved 17 July 2018 – via Archive.org.
- ^ "Revisita Cavalaria" (PDF). Biblioteca.exercito.pt. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- ^ "VIATURAS MILITARES HISTÓRICAS NO REGIMENTO DE CAVALARIA 6 - Operacional". Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- ^ "Saladin Dedication Plaque Episkopi Garrison Cyprus". HMVF - Historic Military Vehicles Forum. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- ^ [2] Archived 26 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Royal Australian Armoured Corps Tank Museum - Puckapunyal Australia". 17 October 2002. Archived from the original on 17 October 2002. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
External links
- Saladin at Warwheels.net