fv1609

I was having a clear out of images in my in tray & found that I was sitting on this. It is definitely my pig, so it must be 4-5 days & 40 years ago. Put your magic spectacles on & stare through the smoke at the off side wing & there it is 2996 OI

Had they all been up-armoured?

Probably. The Shorland gets more interest than the Pig, as it looks overtly different from a Land Rover. Sad to say for many people, one Pig looks much like another.

Yes Daveo you are right it does look odd. The front visors are missing & so are the hydraulic pipes & rams, so I expect the ram pumps are missing. he may still have them, but without them it loses authenticity & value. The front cab scuttle armour is missing. It looks as if there has been some fiddling around with the wiring behind the instrument panel. The gearbox tunnel looks to have been fiddled with. The front light guards look improvised. Originally there were the mesh XPM type light boxes on the Mk 1 they continued on Mk2 until damaged then XPM was fixed between the front & the ram, not a big deal. The rear seat belts are missing, not a big deal but to find 8 sets is not easy. I note that it has rear roof hatch opening, but can't see the hatch which I would have thought it would have as it has been raining. But the rain does make the tyres & paintwork look nice. I would like to see a rear view to be certain there was a rear hatch as from the inside it looks as if the fittings for this are missing. There is box thing in the rear by the door, is this a mounting block for passengers? If so then maybe that is why the rear door flap is missing. Given where it is I wonder is it one of those vehicles used for trips around the hot spots of old. Given that this is summer, although I see it was raining there, its maybe odd that it hasn't been in use for 6 months during the height of the season. I would like to have seen a photo of the engine bay. So for that price it could well be a bargain. But are the missing bits to be sold with it & would the engine run? If the engine was in good order, I would have thought the owner would have started it up to at least say it was a runner & of course the old chestnut, are the wheel stations & rear axle ok? Given that 80 pigs in NI were off the road at any one time with wheel station problems & maintenance of such things in private hands is not always up to the in service standards. So are you hunting for a Pig or just taking a healthy interest in them, Daveo?

Degsy my annoyance is compounded by the fact that I thought I was well equipped for breakdowns, especially electrical ones. I was carrying: Multimeter DC Clamp meter Inductance/Capacitance/Resistance meter Megger HT meter measuring up to 30Kv Soldering iron + solder Large number of fuses Yet I hadn't realised I hadn't spare bulbs of the right voltage! Quite why the 24v Hornet was made to have 12v turn lights I don't know. My panic/lack of thinking level was severely effected by seeing the temperature rise & rise on the Wolf. I couldn't stop on the hill, the Wolf has never done that before. It was a very hot day but that rather scared me especially being so far from home. The bulb issue was an annoyance I could have done without. I see what I have in the main bulb box, I have some 28v ones although I think those are 5 watts. Anyway one of those is going to go into my inspection lamp/tester.

Richard, I've just tried that but can't really detect a vibration as the bulb moves a bit as I tap it. But of course you are looking with the eyes of a younger man. But if I hold the bulb to my ear & tap it I can hear a high pitched clanking, like those annoying oriental wind chimes. So that'll be another diagnostic test up my sleeve.

The LtWt Series 3 IPC curiously doesn't specify the length for the bolts. I had to get that from the LtWT 2A IPC. They have to be that long to allow for: Packing piece - distance plate Plate, light towing, pintle - reinforcing plate Packing piece - reinforcing plate

After my exploits there I'm not sure who was the "dozy old sod". I posted it as form of public humiliation for my stupidity, but also as an exercise in diagnostics, I was interested what others would think. But I didn't want people to feel annoyed that they where wasting their time if I only revealed at the end that I had sorted it. Sort quiz + diagostic exercise. You were there at the outset. But I can still feel how I was so convinced that the bulb "worked" & the filament "looked alright". Would you think that the filament is more likely to hold up even after brakage in a 24v bulb than in a 12v bulb? I went to return the bulb prodder/tester to the Wolf where it should live. But on checking I see that has a 12v bulb in it, so that would have popped even if I did have it with me! So a few lessons learned!

I thought of swapping with the other side. But I didn't want to do anything at all to interfere with the off side lights as they were working. For all I know I might have broken the bulb if it was stuck in or dropped it etc Although if I had done that diagnostic test, I would still have been a bulb down. I think the off side flasher is the most important of the two, I just didn't want to end up having no rear flashers. Yes swapping with the tow vehicle would have been a good idea, but this was a Wolf which has horrible plastic light fittings & different bulbs.

If it is in fact for a LightWeight & you really want to go for orignality, you'll need: 4 off Bolt, machine, UNF, steel, hex head, zinc coated, 1/2 in. x 5 1/4 in. long 4 off Nut, plain, hexagon, UNF, steel, zinc coated, 1/2 in.

Rear bumper of what?

Right time to spill the beans! I have the bulb in front of me now & it looks alright! But most of you are right to be suspicious of the bulb. I need to set the scene. I am in the Wolf having dragged the 1-Ton Cipher trailer up a long & steep hill, now the temp gauge has moved over to red on a very hot day. I am more than an hour behind schedule with over 100 miles yet to do & this damn flasher has packed up again. I pull in & wiggle the bulb in the socket & it starts again. I am in no mood for cr@pping around. I hunt for the bulb circuit tester, each of the vehicles has one. But no it's nowhere to be found, so that means one of the vehicles has two! I find a military Lucas bulb holder with long leads that doubles as an inspection lamp & circuit tester. No good its bulb has burnt out. Somewhere I have a box of spare bulbs. I should have a mixture of 12v & 24v. For although both tow vehicles were 24v the Hornet had 12v turn lights. Having totally rummaged through everything in the trailer I find the box of bulbs. But of course I find I have large numbers of 12v bulbs but no 24v ones! As Degsy & GE would expect me to, I really wanted to just try another bulb to rule out a problem with the present bulb although it appears intact & ‘does work’. Substituting with the 12v bulbs was short lived a few flashes & they had popped. One could identify the 24v bulb from the 12v ones by the more sturdy filament. It the struck me to put on my strongest glasses on hold the bulb up to the Sun & rotate to see if perhaps the wire had burnt out & there it was, but only just discernable. The filament was broken, but it was sturdy enough not to have collapsed. The vibration of fiddling with it in its socket each time caused the broken ends to touch. The heat caused the ends to expand & touch, so the rate of flash prevented it from cooling & breaking the circuit. I found a spare 24v dual filament stop/tail bulb. I was able to insert it in such a way that the ‘stop’ filament was connected & I got home much relieved. Now of course it is easy realise I should have changed the bulb to something else straightaway. But the filament did look intact & it ‘worked’. In the heat of a breakdown, behind schedule, a hundred miles from home it is easy not to think straight. Not only am I annoyed with myself for wasting time & being stupid, but I have had another thought. The earth wire on this light socket was quite new, then I remembered a couple of years ago I was about to move off to the GDSF & this turn light had packed up. It was cured by a new earth lead. I always check the lights on a trailer at the start of any journey. I just wonder if it was this same bulb or did this bulb end up in the spares box because the filament looked ok? PS Just re-checked before posting this & Degsy was there with the answer.

That's a thought, but nope just single.

That was all quite rigid & clean.

Well the filament looks pretty intact as you can see, I did flick the bulb several times & even felt like stamping on it, the nearest I got to that was accidentally dropping it on the roadside. It survived this harsh treatment & continued to work in the holder when it chose to. All the other lights on the trailer were working.

Before you read this I have resolved the problem, so I am not stuck (any more!) but if you want a diagnostic challenge & want to learn what the real fault turned out to be, so that you never get caught out, then read on! Recently I was just about to leave a show ground, having reconnected the trailer I tested the lights. It was annoying to see that one turn light on the trailer was intermittent, although they were working fine on the towing vehicle. When I wiggled the bulb it started flashing & continued to do so until it was turned off. But it would not start flashing again until I wiggled it in the socket or wiggled the holder. The bulb itself was obviously working. It looked to be intact, the glass still sealed to the base, the main metal collar clean, the soldered end contact clean & prominent. Passers-by offered two strands of advice. Either it was an earth problem from the bulb holder or it was a poor contact between the metal collar of the bulb and the socket. I had just witnessed a field repair on another vehicle were a sliver of plastic was wedged in to press the bulb more effectively against the holder & this cured his problem to get him home. I was uncertain which category my fault fell into. All the terminals on the holder were clean & the spring for the central contact firm & clean. The earth cable was quite new & looked to make a good contact to the chassis as it was underneath the earth terminal that was supplying the sidelight that was working. I disconnected the turn light earth wire & pulled the bulb holder out of its mounting I was able to use a screwdriver to earth it & the turn light started working. So it was clearly an earth problem, so I cut the turn light earth lead from its terminal. I stripped the insulation of the known-to-be-working earth lead of the sidelight & wrapped the strands of the turn light earth lead into it. A slight wiggle of the bulb & it started working again. Ready to move off, no turn light. So I cleaned the metalwork of the bulb & the holder with an emery cloth. I blew out the dust & bingo it worked. To reassure myself I ran it for a minute & it even continued to work after turning it off & on again. So I set off home. I only went a little way, turned onto the main road & noticed that the turn light repeater light on the dash showed the trailer had failed again. Eventually I found a lay-by & all the nonsense started again. I got my meter out & measured the correct 24 volts on the contacts. I went through all the procedures that I did at the show ground. I put another bulb in that worked but quickly blew as I didn’t realise it was a 12 volt one. I hadn’t got another 24 volt bulb but at least I knew the one I had was working. Anyway I did eventually solve the problem, very annoyed that I wasted so much time but at least I will be prepared if it happens again & will be ready to offer show ground advice whether it is initially wanted or not!

Not that I can see, I have a grainy B&W image of a row of Champs in Jordan. I have a slightly better view of trailers from the rear. Nearside rear I would judge to be a turquoise Pegasus/Belleraphon on maroon square. On the off side rear '42' on a badge diagonally divided in two. The upper left colour is quite dark, the lower right quite light. Just above the tac signs to the middle of two of the trailers have badges 'B' & 'C' so I think there must be a 'A' & 'D' in there behind the obstructions. That's a bonus just seen a Humber 1-Ton!

16th Parachute Brigade with BATs & Champs. 14th July 1958 saw a coup in Iraq. There was a fear of major instability in the region & King Hussein felt particularly threatened & appealed to the UK for support. 17th July advance party of Paras was flown from Cyprus & the deployment completed by 20th July. All the usual internet sources give a divergence of units & equipment. There is even a photo of what is described as a "Jeep" but it has a "BE" registration! They were definitely Champs & I often speak to a MV enthusiast who was there. Relying on the written word rather than the web. Famous Regiments - The Red Devils by Lt-Gen Sir Brian Horrocks: "It consisted of the entire Parachute Brigade except for the 1st Battalion, which had remained in Cyprus in case of another emergency.." BATs & Champs are all very well, but it was the final straw for the Defence Staff who felt serious fire power was needed. In fact a weapon capable of destroying any known tank. Such a weapon would be operated by an air-portable guided weapons squadron to be operational by 1962.

No problem, most of us have done it at some time:)

It has cropped up before in this thread: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?t=12437&highlight=sitv

Well I heard no mention of NI at all. I had BBC Breakfast on for an hour, had the radio on for much of the day & watched all of News at Ten, but nothing. Wiped from history it seems, I'm not suggesting there was a D-Notice, but were the media asked not to make a thing of it? We were told about the 40th anniversary of that Woodstock festival & 100 years of the Girl Guides, but that's all. One more anniversary at midnight though, the implementation of the Marine Broadcasting (Offences) Act 1967 that closed down (most) of the pirate radio ships.

Jordan

The period 1960-64 saw much activity in terms of ATGW trials in Libya. Namely Vigilant as a man-portable weapon & Malkara launched from Hornet. From the autumn of 1961 these activities were under the auspices of Cyclops Squadron 2 RTR. Vehicles used predominantly were Rovers & a whole range of Humber 1-Ton variants, namely FV1601, FV1602, FV1620, FV1621, FV1622, FV1623 & FV1624. Unlike the Australian experience of the FV1601, the accounts are that the Humber 1-Ton handled well in the desert. In 1965 both Malkara & Vigilant went into service with the British Army. These trials must have impressed as Libya bought Vigilant in that year. Thereafter HMG blocked Vigilant sales to the Middle East. This was a sort of back-handed compliment to its effectiveness, as the UK was trying to sell tanks to countries in the region. I should add that the EME & Trials Officer for these prolonged & intricate trials was Capt Peter Russell. The picture below shows Peter on the right while still recovering from a broken arm as the result of parachuting trials for jungle warfare training in the Far East. To the left Capt Antony Walker, to become General Sir Antony Walker KCB, who delivered the eulogy at Peter's funeral earlier in the week. The FFR Rover with 40A charging system is identifiable as it has the forward spaced ("toast rack") grill to allow cooling for the finned selenium rectifier. It displays the tac sign of '32' denoting Cyclops 2 RTR on the badge of the RAC. To the right is the badge of the 3rd Division, which formed part of the Strategic Reserve. On the doors of the Rover was a transfer with a silver RTR emblem, on a square black background that signified 2 RTR.

Although it would have had vehicle depot markings stencilled on it. These markings MUST be removed/painted over on issue to a unit. I have a little chuckle to myself when I see a prize winning vehicle displaying a wide range of kit & there lovingly reproduced are the depot markings. I've given up up enquiring if the owner knows the significance of the markings, as I am told they are the markings that they found under layers of paint. So they are 100% original & who am I to spoil their moment of glory? I don't think I've ever seen a vehicle restored to depict its life in a storage depot, which after all most of our vehicles spent much of their lives.

Yes Andy, I found it extraordinary in this 40th year no living history group at W&P felt moved to make any sort of display to mark this anniversary. Although last year there was a group depicting Op Banner. I remember seeing several parties of school children being shown the various living history displays depicting a wide range of conflicts. But as one group of children started to head for this display they were shooed away by the teacher who shouted "Don't go over there children". Sanitised history I suppose? But even when things were happening, incidents didn't always get the priority one might have expected. I can remember the evening news reporting when 18 soldiers were killed at Warrenpoint. One might have thought that would have been the headline news or as they say in the news "the main story". Nope it wasn't, the headline news was some stupid football match.