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Armoured Ambulances


fv1609

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ambulances our not meant to carry weapons a turret could have a weapon fitted so as to be no misunderstanding turrets removed the press or the ira could not pretend they thought it was a regular troop carrier

Ironically it never stopped them being a target......

War and Conflict is just that. Geneva got ignored. Sorry to say.

Falklands and Iraq / Afghan conflicts confirm scenario .

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  • 9 months later...

Some awesome content here, guys. Does anyone have any pictures of the interior of a Saracen ambulance? None of the manuals I have even contain line drawings, even though they cover most of the other variants and I've not been able to find any on the internet.

 

There is some brief footage of a Saracen ambulance in Threads (1984), which has the same registration number displayed as my APC, 82 BA 88. It is quite possible that it is the same vehicle, as I know that the Saracens could be converted fairly easily, but does anyone know of any tell-tale signs of ambulance service?

 

Cheers,

Terry

Edited by Starfire
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I know that the Saracens could be converted fairly easily, but does anyone know of any tell-tale signs of ambulance service?

 

EMER WHEELED VEHICLES V 619 Carrier, Personnel, Wheeled, Saracen, Mk 2. Misc. Instr. No.30. Conversion to ambulance role. Apr.1975

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Does anyone have any pictures of the interior of a Saracen ambulance? None of the manuals I have even contain line drawings, even though they cover most of the other variants and I've not been able to find any on the internet.

 

There was no conversion kit issued as such.

 

It had to be locally manufactured (100 man-hours) & then fitted (40 man-hours)

App3939b.jpg

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What the whole EMER Terry? Its not very exciting just 2 pages, it does refer to some detailed drawings that are required to make up the installation kit but I don't have those.

 

Another clue may be the signs of high gloss white paint, as in identifying blood & wiping it away cleanly. Pigs in NI were painted white gloss in the interior, I would have imagined the same would have applied to Saracen ambulances.

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  • 6 months later...

Hi all,

In researching My Saracen, I got these photos from Bovington. They show My best friend when she had completed conversion from APC Mk2 to ambulance at Alvis. That appears to have been in '73, with her next stop being MVEE Chertsy; could this suggest She was a test bed for the ambulance conversion? Interior appears to be silver. Anybody know what the large box on the back would be for? Now, how about this: The man in one of the pics is purported to be an Alvis employee... WHO could he be?.... I mean to find him, if he's still, well you know. Such a person could know a lot about the development of the Saracen Ambulance mod. Any good Alvis groups that might help find old employees?

 

Anyway, I hope these pics are interesting. hope they are useful to You Starfire!

 

5160-B1.jpg

 

Below, note what appears to be plywood and a bit of mesh on the rear hatch. Whats that about?

5160-B2.jpg

 

5160-C14.jpg

 

5160-C3.jpg

 

When I found her a Mk 1 turret was fitted. (Still is.) Lost the original Mk 2 during testing at Chertsey? My wisdom is confined to a few late nights reading.

5160-E1 (05.08.1974).jpg

 

5160-D4.jpg

 

 

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Sorry- Actually, now as I look at them, I see the pics show the rear of the interior is oversprayed with another colour. The overspray that affected the data plate is still there, a primer grey sort of colour if I recall. Will check tomorrow. It looks like she went to Alvis fairly soon after returning from NI: It looks like some of the 'non silver colour' is worn a bit, so it may have been applied in NI or before? Could this be something on the lines of the repainting Clive mentioned? Field modded to Ambulance in NI, touched up at Alvis, then evaluated at Chertsey? Sorry, too many far fetched ideas, I'll stop.

 

82 BA 29 ©.jpg

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  • 1 year later...

This picture showed up on Facebook the other day, and again shows my Saracen's rego number as an ambulance, so I guess there is more evidence that it spent some time as a blood box.

 

82 BA 88 1975 NI.jpg

 

The picture was supposedly taken outside of Musgrave Park Hospital, Belfast, in about 1975. The vehicle had already been converted to a Mk 5 but this was about 17 years before it was disposed of by the MOD in Hong Kong, so there are quite a few differences - especially conversion back to an APC role.

 

I really need to get on to Bovington and get her history cards.

 

Cheers,

Terry

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