johnwardle Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 I was told about this by Geoff Fletcher (author of Land Rover books etc.) and I thought that it would be of great interest to HMVF members. This link www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/land_rover_para_recce_erm_list takes you to a FULL list of MoD vehicles and associated equipment e.g. trailers etc that were in use when Merlin was being used from 1985 to 2013, There are 7 large files containing the VRM, Description including original colour, date into service and in some cases where it was last used. The vehicles etc are listed in numerical/alphabetical order e.g. 01 AA 01 would run down to 01 RN 99 then 02 AA 01, this may sound complicated but you soon get the hang of it. These files cover all MoD vehicles including RAF and Royal Navy. I hope that this will be of interest as you can get a quick look at a brief history of your vehicle without a freedom of information request There are a lot of Ferrets listed in file No. 1 and even some Humber Pigs, there are some surprising vehicles on there as well, who knew that the British Army had a fleet of 36 Austin Metro vans, including 1 supplied in IRR NATO green? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 Interesting, thanks for posting. Can’t see 01FDxx to 09FDxx anywhere though? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwardle Posted October 20, 2017 Author Share Posted October 20, 2017 Chris, I've had a good look through the files and found some large gaps. Geoff Fletcher must have a different link as he told me that the list goes up to SA ?? AB , and these files end wi PM 80 AB. I'll contact Geoff and ask if he can send me the complete list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted angus Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 John please help an olde chap who isn't very pc savvy- I clicked your link and found my wat to the MoD requests but can't find the Merlin list- I tried entering Land Rover para etc in the search but no avail thanks TED Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 24 minutes ago, ted angus said: John please help an olde chap who isn't very pc savvy- I clicked your link and found my wat to the MoD requests but can't find the Merlin list- I tried entering Land Rover para etc in the search but no avail thanks TED Something has truncated the link: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/land_rover_para_recce_erm_list Andy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 I have tried this several times and only get a blank Excel file come up, although it does have a tab at the bottom titled 'Vehicle history'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 I'd love to see a more complete list if there is one. The list is obviously missing a few things but I'm particularly interested in Centurion tank 01ZR10. James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted angus Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 Thanks ANDY. Richard I had the same problem, there is a note on there saying there is a problem re the complete document- scroll down and you will come to see all attachments click this and they have split it into 7 seperate documents, again there is a problem- at the moment I have managed to download pt 4, 6 & 7 but I am sure with repeated tries I will get them all TED Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 5 minutes ago, ted angus said: Thanks ANDY. Richard I had the same problem, there is a note on there saying there is a problem re the complete document- scroll down and you will come to see all attachments click this and they have split it into 7 seperate documents, again there is a problem- at the moment I have managed to download pt 4, 6 & 7 but I am sure with repeated tries I will get them all TED Hi Ted, Thanks very much, I was beginning to think the problem was at my end. will try again later on. cheers Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 (edited) At least half of those seven new files seem to be broken too, certainly parts 1 and 3. Excel 2010 makes an attempt to repair them but fails. (Update - I've since emailed the FoI team to ask them to check the files) Andy Edited October 29, 2017 by andym Update Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 I've now obtained seven Excel files from the MOD FoI team, which all work correctly and I have permission to repost on here. I'm just liaising with Joris on the best place to put them. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 Hi Andy I was having the problems you related to where Excel was trying to repair. After trying several times I gave up. Annoying as I am keen to see the records. Hope they can be displayed on here. regards. Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted angus Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 Look forward as this will be an outstanding piece of reference data thanks TED Thanks ANDY. Richard I had the same problem, there is a note on there saying there is a problem re the complete document- scroll down and you will come to see all attachments click this and they have split it into 7 seperate documents, again there is a problem- at the moment I have managed to download pt 4, 6 & 7 but I am sure with repeated tries I will get them all TED Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 Thanks to some excellent hand-holding from Joris I've now managed to upload the working set of files. You'll find them in the Downloads section of the site, the direct link should be: http://hmvf.co.uk/files/category/2-merlin-archive/ There's a big green button saying "Download this file" but it actually lets you download all seven Excel files. Andy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 Thanks Andy. Do they have the 01FDxx to 08FDxx missing from the original release spreadsheets? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 9 minutes ago, sirhc said: Thanks Andy. Do they have the 01FDxx to 08FDxx missing from the original release spreadsheets? Chris Yes indeed, in the first file. 01FD00 is apparently "Tank Combat 120mm Gun Chieftain Mk 10". All my vehicles are there on inspection. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 10 minutes ago, andym said: Yes indeed, in the first file. 01FD00 is apparently "Tank Combat 120mm Gun Chieftain Mk 10". All my vehicles are there on inspection. Andy Perfect, thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChasSomT. Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 According to these lists, there were 347 CVR(W) Fox registrations. My, limited, research can only find the British Army admitting to ever having 200 In service. I see that a small (?) number were sold abroad - was it Policy to give these vehicles a British ARN, does anyone know? Does anyone know how many Foxes survive? I reckon 20+ I Don't do Facetube, but I understand there is a Fox group on there - I may have to ask a relative to have a look. Regards, 'Chas.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john fox Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 2 hours ago, ChasSomT. said: According to these lists, there were 347 CVR(W) Fox registrations. My, limited, research can only find the British Army admitting to ever having 200 In service. I see that a small (?) number were sold abroad - was it Policy to give these vehicles a British ARN, does anyone know? Does anyone know how many Foxes survive? I reckon 20+ I Don't do Facetube, but I understand there is a Fox group on there - I may have to ask a relative to have a look. The Facebook group is more to do with ex crew reminiscences, there are very few current owners who post on it. Good for in service pics though and some excellent tales. if you include those in museums/gate guards there must be many more than 20 survivors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 3 hours ago, 00EC25 said: The Facebook group is more to do with ex crew reminiscences, there are very few current owners who post on it. Good for in service pics though and some excellent tales. if you include those in museums/gate guards there must be many more than 20 survivors There are more than 20 but less than 50 from memory. I did start a list a long time ago. Of course there are lots of vehicles hidden away in sheds that are not well known so there could be more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john fox Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 4 hours ago, sirhc said: There are more than 20 but less than 50 from memory. I did start a list a long time ago. Of course there are lots of vehicles hidden away in sheds that are not well known so there could be more. agreed, spent this afternoon trawling the net and have identified 32 so far, plus the 2 hulks shown on FB, but I suspect there must be more than the 5 I've got so far in the USA and is there really only 1 in Aus/NZ . Don't suppose you still have your list to compare notes to? I need to fill in a few VRN on those I know exist but not their numbers (eg museum ones) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 54 minutes ago, 00EC25 said: agreed, spent this afternoon trawling the net and have identified 32 so far, plus the 2 hulks shown on FB, but I suspect there must be more than the 5 I've got so far in the USA and is there really only 1 in Aus/NZ . Don't suppose you still have your list to compare notes to? I need to fill in a few VRN on those I know exist but not their numbers (eg museum ones) I'll have a look tomorrow and maybe start a new thread to see if we can identify them all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 1 hour ago, 00EC25 said: and is there really only 1 in Aus/NZ . Don't suppose you still have your list to compare notes to? John, There are two in Australia, that I know of. One I saw there around 1996 came out of one of the Ludgershall sales with a Scorpion turret on it. The other went over there much later to Tasmania (it was from Surrey), this I believe is now in Western Australia. I do not have note of the numbers. regards, Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChasSomT. Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 What a response, thanks everyone. I was in The Royal Yeomanry from before Fox was introduced. I went on a D + M Instructors course on Fox at Bovvy, hence my interest. Wasn't there a difference in the turrets between Fox and Scimitar, requiring a 'spacer' when Sabre was made? How then, where they able to mount a Scorpion turret on a Fox? Intriguing. Please do post a list of the VRNs of the survivors. I see there is one in a Polish museum, but couldn't see a number on it. I believe Ricardo was it? were involved in trialling a diesel conversion for possible use by the Mexicans? Does anyone know anything about this? Are there any books about CVR(W), or with a chapter or two on them, does anyone know? All these questions, sorry, just one more - any ideas re: the discrepancy in the numbers - VRNs for 347, the British Army only admitting to having 200 ? Thank you everyone who responded. Regards, 'Chas.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 8 hours ago, ChasSomT. said: Wasn't there a difference in the turrets between Fox and Scimitar, requiring a 'spacer' when Sabre was made? How then, where they able to mount a Scorpion turret on a Fox? Intriguing. I believe Ricardo was it? were involved in trialling a diesel conversion for possible use by the Mexicans? Does anyone know anything about this? Are there any books about CVR(W), or with a chapter or two on them, does anyone know? Hi Chas, I worked on the CVR(W) Fox vehicles from when they came into service in the 1970's until they were withdrawn, as well as some privately owned ones since. At the Command Workshops we had the Royal Yeomanry ones coming through in large numbers and later on a number of other regular units with them. A delight to drive but not to work on. They were not good for spares, having to wait a long time, and I can see that there was never going to be the amount of parts stock as was with Ferrets and Saracens, etc. Engines and gearboxes were regular problems, and don't ask about changing the complete steering assembly!! The Scorpion turret, from memory I think this is the story. Some Foxes were selected for conversion and sales for Mexico, as I recall, some of Royal Yeo vehicles. I believe a different turret was going to be used. I think the deal fell through as there were some turret-less Foxes sold at Ludgershall, with Scorpion turrets sat on top of them, the original Fox turret going on to the Scorpion to create Sabre, using an adaptor ring. There is a book on the CVR(T) written by the former curator of the Tank Museum, Col. George Forty. It has a chapter on Fox in it. The Scorpion Family by George Forty published by Ian Allan ISBN 0 7110 1175 3 regards, Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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