Fake Snatch.

[mike65]

It is actually a genuine ex-mil Land Rover which he has turned into the snatch replica to raise awareness and funds for H4H.

 

Mike

[cellstar]

Saw this on another thread, are these still called snatch Land Rovers ?

 

 

[recymech66]

Saw this on another thread, are these still called snatch Land Rovers ?

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]33494[/ATTACH]

 

 

Yes, but not the Humvee 2nd one back. Although they have different variants now ie, Snatch 2, 2A, 2B, 3 Vixen.

[Lord Burley]

Just a side note. It seems that the flow of military landrovers through to cast offs is slowing considerably.A few months back i saw a load of landrovers being loaded up on to transporters outside my local T.A center. I posted on here at the time,and the general opinion was that they were heading for Withams.

 

Well roll on a few months,and all have returned bearing new wolf wheels,new GRP hardtops and new paint jobs in the new shade of Nato green. Seems they have all been on a rebuilding mission at Hobsons.

[LoggyDriver]

Bet theres not many seen one like this. :cool2:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is that the Dutch version?:-\

[recymech66]

Is that the Dutch version?:-\

 

No mate, there were a number of Snatch's and other vehicles painted orange and sent out to Kosovo as part of the Kosovo Monitoring Force just prior to the Kosovo conflict. Interestingly they were repainted in Northern Ireland and raised a few eyebrows for obvious reasons when transporting them to the docks.

 

Supporting the Snatch was a Bedford Light Recovery vehicle.

 

[JEMIMA]

Hi - first let me introduce myself rather than hiding behind a user name - My name is Andy Kyte - I live in Chichester,West Sussex and I am the PROUD owner of the Snatch replica that seems to have exited many of you...before I tell you more about the landrover - please let me set the record straight about myself.I have been collecting and restring WW2 military vehicles for over 20yrs,im pasionate about them and indeed also set up from scratch the West Sussex Area of the MVT.anyone who cares to look onto either the WSAMVT site or the national MVT site will see examples of variouse vehicles which I have owned including dodges of all types,jeeps and GMC - for many,many years i have taken great pleasure from my hobby but recently decided I wanted to give something back to the hobby and the people who had provided me such fun ,great friends and wonderful stories over the many years.With little money and little time(new baby,change of job but I wont bore you with that!) - I took the decision to support Help4Heroes as well as the Royal British Legion,St.Dunstans and various other charities I and my fellow club members have supported over the years.I thought long and hard about how I could raise awareness and bring in much needed funds for such a worthwhile cause - I decided to build a snatch replica as this seemed the vehicle synomanus with recent tragedies and events in the middle east.I purchased a MILITARY LANDROVER - 1988 110 FFR from a dealer in Leicstershire,I then set about deciding how to takle the task - (if you care to google the snatch you will see many variations of wheels,equipment and markings etc) - I come from Chichester .former home of the RMP and with the tragic story of the masaca in MAJAR AL-KABIR in 2003 -where 6 redcaps were tragically killed,I decided it would be a fitting tribute and so decided she would be based on a Military Police Variant. As I said - there are many different styles - its very easy to post a picture and say"this is how it should be" - I could show you all 20 different pictures - each claiming"this is how it should be" - but lets not get bogged down on whever it had a blue light on top or whever it had the snorkle fitted to the left or right hand side...I only had pictures from google to base my ideas on never having seen one in real life as im sure not many have!

With limited finances I set about the transformation,after planning it was decided to add "composite armour" made of marine ply...Some of the parts such as the window grills(someone on this forum said they were awful and made from shopping trollyes!) - are in fact orriginal snatch window grills,as are the rear armoured windows and the front bull/nudge bar !

Inventiveness was always the key as the vehicle also has to double up as daily transport for my family ,so you will find the rear armoured twin doors are actually a fake panel that can be removed to ease reversing when my wife drives,you will see on top my"electronic counter devce" "tubes"...of plastic drian-pipe as i prefere to call them give them their proper title- the scrim netting is also the real thing ! - the hatch surroud well as you can see - its not bullet-proof perspex - its marine ply again ! - it works for now until I can source some perspex cheap enough and strong enough to build the surround....oh and the hatch - yep - home made - more of a bloody great sun-roof made out of marine ply again and hours of trial and error in my garden shed - inside - well yes - its obvious to anyone who has never seen the inside of a snatch that something isnt quite right - but to the young kids who beg to sit inside - they are happy - yes I carry an SA80 Replica -its a bb gun(its a fake of course - maybe I need to lable that as well ?) - Inside is a vast array of flashing L.E.D's and radio equipment,the rear has bench seats(family vehicle dont forget) but it is also panalled out and painted to look armoured.... - I am actually proud of my inventivness and actually take great pleasure in showing my handywork - if anyone is ever in a position to ask me I am only to happy to talk them through what I have done! - oh and one last thing - there isnt,nor ever has been any gaffer tape on the windscreen - yes its masked off and painted to look like an armoured windscreen - guilty as charged for trying to make it look as accurate as possible as I knew that they never had one-piece windscreens as per 110 !

So now for the important bit HELP4HEROES - I spend nearly every weekend at shows,events,rallies and fetes collecting money come rain or shine with my fake snatch for H4H.....i appolagise if Simon Thompson named my vehicle incorrectly in the Windscreen,i was as shocked as anyone to see it in there ! - but not as shocked as I was when I was told of the upset it has obviously caused a few people on this forum.

I have collected several thousand pounds for charity in the short time I have had the vehicle on the road - Trucks N Troops was her first outing and yes after being made aware I agree the boards could be mis-read and a little mis-leading - here is the vehicle history board ...SEE WHAT YOU THINK ??? -

 

 

THIS LAND ROVERS MILITARY HISTORY

 

 

The Land Rover 110 hardtop you see before you today was registered as 49 KF 06 and was used from Jan 1988 till Feb 1999.

 

It spent its entire Military Life assigned to 150 Provost Company who are based in Catterick /North Yorkshire. During its time with 150 Pro Coy it travelled to Germany , Norway , Northern Ireland, Cyprus and the former Yugoslavia .

 

Between December 1995 and June 1996 it was deployed as part of

OPERATION RESOLUTE

 

Operation Resolute was a peace enforcement mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which commenced on 20 December 1995. It saw 2,400 troops deployed to Bosnia and Croatia and became operational on 13th November, tasked to provide armed escort to humanitarian aid convoys. 45 Warrior IFVs formed the main protection, backed up by Scimitars and other equipment including the Land Rover SNATCH.

 

 

 

On its release from the army the landrover was re-registered and today carries the private plate of its owner – Andy Kyte

The vehicle is now used for fundraising awareness for forces charities including

HELP for HEROES and the ROYAL BRITISH LEGION

 

the other board i display reads as follows -

 

SNATCH

The SNATCH is a militarised version of the Land Rover Defender 110. It was originally procured for use in Northern Ireland in 1992 by the British Army and has since seen action in all major theatres of conflict around the world.

Designed for use in Northern Ireland, categorised as Protected Patrol Vehicles, and costing approximately £50,000, they were used as a cheap, speedy way of transporting troops during The Troubles. It was given the nickname 'Snatch' because it was the preferred vehicle for “snatch squads” originally designed to grab rioters off the streets in times of unrest.

Officially designated, Truck Utility Medium (TUM) with Vehicle Protection Kit (VPK), the vehicle is more widely known by its informal title, the "Snatch", even in official documentation.

The "Snatch" was the first factory modified Land Rover to be used in Northern Ireland, replacing a series of previous ad hoc conversions to various Land Rover models.

Manufactured as the CAMAC CAV 100 by NP Aerospace, the "Snatch" conversion was developed with the aid of Ricardo of Shoreham, and is fitted with CAMAC composite armour to offer the crew protection against kinetic energy projectiles and, to a very limited degree, against explosive devices.

 

Six versions have been produced, the first being the original Snatch-1, equipped with a V8 petrol engine. Nearly 1,000 were produced, with 278 being "desertised" and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan where they are used for patrolling, troop and prisoner transports. Despite their armour, and electronic countermeasures specifically designed to deal with the threat, they are still vulnerable to road-side bombs.

 

So why are they so controversial?

. A number of incidents in Afghanistan and Iraq have raised concerns about the safety of the Land Rovers. They have been implemented in the deaths of nearly 40 soldiers to date.

. The thin-skinned vehicles were designed to withstand small arms fire, but have been criticised for offering insufficient protection against the increasing size and complexity of roadside bombs or IED.’s

 

and finally the vehicle info board -

 

 

VEHICLE DATA

 

Make: LANDROVER

Model: 110 DEFENDER 4X4

 

Year: 1988

Country of origin: U.K.

Engine: 2.5-CLYLINDER DIESEL ENGINE

12-VOLT ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Mpg 20

 

History: Used by the Royal Military Police from 1988–1999.

After many years of service with the British Army both in the UK and many countries around the world, it was released from service and found its way into private hands. It was left idle for many years before being purchased and restored by its present owner. The Landrover is now used to raise awareness and fund-raise for forces charities across the South of England.

Owned by: Andy Kyte – 07802 194318

 

These are the boards copied and pasted as they are displayed with my vehicle - I dont at any point say its a snatch - but to be fair i also dont point out its a replica (mind you - how many hotchkiss owners do you know who seem to forget that they never had stars on their bonnets in the french army.....if you want to talk about fakes and misleading the public!)

The final word - please look on this link - for some pictures of the build and a description of the vehicle -

http://forum.emlra.org/viewtopic.php?t=7514

 

I appolagise to anyone who feels they have been misled by my terrible actions,and of course i will be reviewing the £50,000 value i put on the vehicle.......actually it cost me £1000 to buy and approx £2000 to build..... - and ive collected MUCH more than that for charity in the few months shes been on the road - so "Sandy the Landy" cant be all bad !

- thank you for reading - ANDY KYTE - PROUD OWNER OF THE ONLY SNATCH REPLICA IN THE UK !!!!!

Edited August 28, 2010 by JEMIMA
POOR TYPING

[chevpol]

Welcome Andy,

 

nice truck you have there!

 

I know what you mean about Hotchkiss Jeeps!

 

Welcome to this happy, sometimes annoying site, debate is good for the soul

 

All the best

 

Mark

[No Signals]

Hi Andy

and another welcome to the forum. What a welcome eh mate! Keep up the good work for charity. Nice to see someone putting their time and money where their mouth is.

[Toner]

You've put a lot of work into your vehicle and (jumping onto EMLRA and seeing your photos) you do not describe it as being the 'real thing' at any point.

 

Good luck to you and keep raising the cash ;-)

[JEMIMA]

Just a quick word of thanks to all the kind comments and support that has been sent following the posting on this site,it is refreshing and comforting - Thank you one and all - and appolagies again to anyone who took offence at my intensions and vehicle.

 

I have again looked at my message/info boards as posted on this site and as displayed with my vehicle - maybe another good point to debate would be thus signs - I have always encouraged vehicle owners to display any information they have on their vehicle when at events - its so easy for the public to walk along a line of vehicles jeep,,,jeep,,,,landrover,,,,another jeep....and so on - not knowing at all if the vehicle is a willys jeep,a ford jeep or in fact a hotchkiss jeep(after all they all look the same and all have stars on the bonnet!) - wouldnt it be nice to share the vehicles history,your experiance - maybe even your contact details - i have in the past been contacted by people who have history/pictures or spares for paticular vehicles i have been displaying after reading my info boards !

- its amazing how many people stop and read signs and look at pictures of restoration work etc - often these people dont want to or dont feel comfortable in trying to locate the owner or disturbing them from conversation etc..I feel personally that we ought to be giving us much information and encouragement to the public and fellow enthusiasts as possible - but be warned.....MAKE SURE YOUR BOARDS ARE CORRECT AND NOT MISLEADING......or else you too will be publicly chastised !!

[ruggyjohn]

hi andy, good guys 1 rivet counters 0 keep up the good work.

[Mk3iain]

Hi Andy

 

Well done and thank you for putting the record straight!

I am sure every member of this forum supports and admires your efforts for these fine charities!

Keep it up.

[airportable]

Hi Andy. One of your last comments has raised a very, very valid point. Spending you time with your vehicle and talking to members of the public and intrested folks, and raising money for a very good cause. (we do as well,H4H)

One event this year a class orginiser informed me they are restricting 'jeep' no's in favour of displays where owners spend time with paying punters. Next year we can have even more space!

Keep up the great work, Power to the Landrover.

[Tugger]

Andy, you have a great looking landy doing sterling work.

 

 

These are the boards copied and pasted as they are displayed with my vehicle - I dont at any point say its a snatch - but to be fair i also dont point out its a replica (mind you - how many hotchkiss owners do you know who seem to forget that they never had stars on their bonnets in the french army.....if you want to talk about fakes and misleading the public!)

 

Brilliant:D

 

 

hi andy, good guys 1 rivet counters 0 keep up the good work.

+1 from me

[ferrettkitt]

Its a good bit of work with good aims at the back of it.

 

At least you're vehicle has been in windscreen.... only slightly jealous

[Adam Elsdon]

I have raised a "few thousand quid" for Help for Heroes and it takes alot of your personal time, effort and hard work to do so, if your Landrover is helping raise money for what i consider to be an exceptionally worthy cause (H4H also help out other forces charities, so it goes where it is needed) then crack on with it.

 

I must confess initially i thought fer f***s sake another bloody walt, but i think your explanation more than makes up for that, you are a star, welcome to HMVF !!

[petop]

JEMIMA, you mentioned that you are using "correct" hessian on the SNATCH replica you have.

Forgive me if im wrong but you seem to be using normal Hessian which is not what is on SNATCH.

I say this as im a SNATCH instructor and having just had a SNATCH in Afghanistan as my personal transport for 7 months i feel in the right place to say.

Without going into too much detail, the hessian on the side is for an entirely different reason other than providing camouflage.

Its a nice attempt and well done for the time and effort you have put in. If you would like any user info from me then feel free to ask.

As some of you know i deal with a lot of trial vehicles and recently in the Land Rover area i have driven a "new 110/Wolf" which has been put forward with the Ford diesel engine and slightly different interior based on the present civvy 110 interior. Also a SNATCH with a auto gearbox, which was interesting!

[JEMIMA]

HA HA ! - I give up ! - you are right about the srim nett of course ! - i really need to take more care when writing comments - I SHOULD have said that the crim nett was genuine army - and not old orange bags or potatoe sacks - forgive me but it was written late at night in considerable anger and disspondancy - After so many attacks questioning things such as window mesh and whever or not the air freshner hung on the left or right hand side of the rear view mirror(joke!) -

You will also share my comment i guess, that the snatch came in many various guises with all sorts of different aerial/roof equipment/markings etc....although some seem to focus on one picture they have or have seen and decide that is the only variant possible and all else is wrong!

 

- Thanks for your support - it is much appreciated and welcomed.!

 

 

- I do wonder now if it was all worth it - theres nothing like a swift kick in the crackers to put a man down ! - It sort of leaves a nasty taste in your mouth when this amount of fuss is generated when only good intensions were intended - funnily enough my biggest concern prior to starting this project was public reaction to such a vehicle with its recent bad press etc - i always make a point of saying that it was designed for N.Ireland - not iraq and explain why etc....but i have had NO negative comments or views from anyone at an event or collecting session so far so i think people can relate to the reasons and appreciate more just how brave and dedicated these men and women of our armed forces really are.

thanks again for taking the time to write your comment

- Andy

[recymech66]

JEMIMA, you mentioned that you are using "correct" hessian on the SNATCH replica you have.

Forgive me if im wrong but you seem to be using normal Hessian which is not what is on SNATCH.

I say this as im a SNATCH instructor and having just had a SNATCH in Afghanistan as my personal transport for 7 months i feel in the right place to say.

Without going into too much detail, the hessian on the side is for an entirely different reason other than providing camouflage.

Its a nice attempt and well done for the time and effort you have put in. If you would like any user info from me then feel free to ask.

As some of you know i deal with a lot of trial vehicles and recently in the Land Rover area i have driven a "new 110/Wolf" which has been put forward with the Ford diesel engine and slightly different interior based on the present civvy 110 interior. Also a SNATCH with a auto gearbox, which was interesting!

 

I've also used the new Snatch with auto gearbox, different to say the least.

[LoggyDriver]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

 

Firstly, I am the guy who made the original post. Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing and I'm glad you have come over to respond to my post.

 

I would like to start by saying that I'm NOT having a go at your efforts to raise money for forces charities, which seems to be a recurring theme with this post. So again that's NOT what this was about.... I have served in the Army so I congratulate you on your efforts. I also am not having a go about the vehicle you have made to look like a Snatch. Like I said in my first post, each to his own. It's also got nothing to do with "rivit" counters as someone mentioned.

 

When I was at Trucks and Troops I made a bee line for your vehicle. Having served in Northern Ireland and been a driver on Snatch (as well as Glover Webb APV and Saxon) when the "Troubles" were still the Troubles. I didn't know that any were released and so went to have a look at yours to satisfy my curiosity. When I got up close it confirmed to me that it was a Replica (maybe FAKE was too strong a word, but as it means "Not Genuine" I thought was appropriate). Again I say this isn't a problem, and I was in fact quite impressed with your efforts. I did hang around to speak with you as you wasn't present, but after 15 minutes or so decided to go back to where i was camped. I'm sorry that I said you had "gaffer" tape on the window when you said it was paint (I didn't want to get too close to the vehicle as you wasn't present).

 

NO, what the post was about was the wording on your information board about your vehicle, all the other arguments are irrelivant. This implied that your vehicle was a Genuine Snatch that had served in Northern Ireland. I remember turning to a mate of mine who was there and discussed the fact that it wasn't a genuine vehicle. As I have driven these in Northern Ireland and know what they are, the information on your board got by back up. My reaction would have been totally different if it was clearly stated that it was a replica, and would have been one of "that's a really good effort this guy has made". The version of the information board I read has certainly not been posted on here. As I never took any pictures of the board it's my word against yours, but I know what I read. Your vehicle is popping up in publications (such as windscreen) and booked in at shows described as a Snatch Land Rover. To people who don't know the difference, they will just take this as gospel and think it's the genuine vehicle.

 

So to recap, it's not about the vehicle being a replica. It's not about your efforts to raise money. It was about what you had written on your board, end of. It would be nice if you used the word "replica" in future to avoid any confusion.

 

I would have spoke to you at the show about this matter had you been there when I was at your vehicle. When I saw your vehicle in Windscreen described as a Snatch and booked in at Wings and Wheels described as a Snatch, that's when I decided to make the post on here saying that it was a fake.

 

The beauty of living in a Democracy is free speech and the right to an opinion. I have served in HM Forces to help protect this freedom. I'm glad you have responded and I have put forward how I feel about this matter. There is no malice on my part. It is of course down to you what you choose to call, describe and book in your vehicle. That is all I am going to say about it.

 

Cheers

 

Andy

[JEMIMA]

Hi Andy

Thank you for taking the time to reply - if nothing else the generated posts have certainly made for an interesting read - and YES - I will try to ensure that there is no confusion !

Im at Dunsfold on Sunday...with my landrover - it would be great to meet up and shake hands and put this to bed once and for all - Appolagies if some of my return comments seemed a little angry or blunt - i was upset at the time but have put that behind me now.

Thanks for your kind and positive comments regarding my efforts to replicate a Snatch - and appolagies again if you felt my info boards were misleading - i will in fact have the boards with me tomorrow so maybe we can see where it could be better worded?

Anyway - no hard feelings - hopefully see you tomorrow?

 

cheers- Andy

[daz76]

Been reading this thread with interest and am glad it has been amicably resolved. Food for thought I think. Keep up the great fundraising. :thumbsup:

[LoggyDriver]

Hi Andy

Thank you for taking the time to reply - if nothing else the generated posts have certainly made for an interesting read - and YES - I will try to ensure that there is no confusion !

Im at Dunsfold on Sunday...with my landrover - it would be great to meet up and shake hands and put this to bed once and for all - Appolagies if some of my return comments seemed a little angry or blunt - i was upset at the time but have put that behind me now.

Thanks for your kind and positive comments regarding my efforts to replicate a Snatch - and appolagies again if you felt my info boards were misleading - i will in fact have the boards with me tomorrow so maybe we can see where it could be better worded?

Anyway - no hard feelings - hopefully see you tomorrow?

 

cheers- Andy

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Andy.

 

Thank you for your response. Like I said, I certainly don't harbour any malice towards you and am not offended by your reply. I would have probably been the same had I been on the receiving end and perhaps should have worded the post differently.

 

I would like to congratulate you on your efforts. Your vehicle does look very good and you have made a good job of it. It was not my intention to upset you. I think the Snatch has an undeserved reputation (Afghanistan) which it doesn't deserve. The vehicle was designed for Northern Ireland and it's the Governments fault using it for a task it wasn't designed for. The Snatch has a special place in my heart (as does the APV and Saxon) as it has saved myself and my mates bacon on numerous occasions and never let us down when we needed it most. For that reason I feel it is important that there is no confusion to members of the public who don't know the difference and that's why I made the post.

 

As far as I'm concerned this matter is closed. I will certainly like to meet you and shake your hand. Unfortunately I'm not attending the show as I never booked in and have got to work Monday. I'm sure you will be present at a future show that I will be at, and I will come over and introduce myself. Keep up the great work raising money for charity. I wish you all the best.

 

Cheers

 

Andy

[JEMIMA]

As a final word to all and in defence of Andy (LoggyDriver ) who orriginally posted the comment - I have dug out the orriginal board that I used to disply with the vehicle at Trucks n Troops - and YES it does say MODEL - LANDROVER SNATCH - this board was only used the once as I then built up a bigger board with lots more info regarding the snatches history and the Help4Heroes charity - I am as Andy quite rightly stated guilty of displaying it as such and appolagise for this error - however rest assured that the new boards simply state the model as LANDROVER 110 DEFENDER(as per the cut and paste on the forum) - The orriginal board like the landrover was put together in a bit of a rush as the show loomed - it has now been resolved and altered accordingly.

Also I will endevour to make sure it is booked into shows and events as a replica in future - although I dont ever recall a hotchkiss being booked in as a replica ww2 vehicle ! - I wrongly assumed that booking a vehicle in as a standard landrover 110 a little confussing when it was obviously more than that - but lessons learnt and appolagies again to any and all whom i may have innadvertantly upset In doing so...

 

NOW TO EVERYONE CONCERNED WHO HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THIS - THERE IS NO MORE DRAMA - ANDY AND I ARE FINE AND WE ARE MOVING ON ,ANDYS COMMENTS WERE VERY FAIR IN HIS REPLY TO MINE AND I FULLY UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE HIS CONCERNS AND ACTIONS . - AFTER ALL,WE ARE ALL IN THIS BECAUSE WE LOVE MILITARY VEHICLES,LETS NOT LOOSE SITE OF THAT

- LETS NOT FORGET THAT AND THOSE WHO GAVE EVERYTHING SO WE COULD ENJOY AND PARTICIPATE IN THIS WONDERFUL HOBBY AND THE FREEDOM THAT THEY HAVE GIVEN OUR COUNTRY OVER THE YEARS BY THERE SELFLESS SACRIFICES. - END.

- ANDY(JEMIMA )