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This vehicle is no longer owned by the Museum
The next size up from the Austin Champ in the range of ‘combat' trucks was the Humber 1 ton series. These were designed to carry one infantry section or equivalent, or one ton of stores. Various special versions appeared, one being an open armoured truck with a canvas canopy. The production version was completely armoured and was considered suitable for use as a front line ambulance, fitters vehicle or command post in some armoured units.
When it was decided that all infantry battalions in the British Army of the Rhine should be in Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), the armoured Humber was provided as an interim vehicle, whilst the FV432 tracked APC was under development. To meet this need many additional armoured bodies were produced and existing trucks converted. When FV432 APCs were issued in larger numbers many discarded armoured Humbers were sold off by the Army.
In the 1970s, the deterioration of internal security in Northern Ireland led to widespread use of Saracen wheeled APCs, but these were noisy, expensive to maintain, and too few were allocated to Northern Ireland. It was decided therefore, to issue Humber armoured trucks to units in Northern Ireland. There the long bonneted vehicle quickly gained the name Pig which had previously been the unofficial title of an armoured Bedford used in Malaya.
As more troops were engaged in Ulster, it became necessary to acquire more Humbers and the MOD actually repurchased some which had been sold off. When the terrorists began to use more sophisticated weapons there was a need to improve the protection of the Humber Pigs, and in a major up-armouring programme, ‘Operation Bracelet', REME workshops added extra armour and modified each vehicle to stand the extra weight.
Many special variants of the Pig were designed for use in Northern Ireland, the main external modification being a heavy grille at the front to remove barricades. In the early 1990s the Humber Pigs were replaced by Saxon wheeled APCs.
Length |
4.97 m (16 ft 4 in) |
Width |
2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) |
Height |
2.12 m (6 ft 11 in) |
Wheelbase |
2.74 m (9 ft) |
Weight |
7½ tons - Final version |
Engine |
Rolls Royce B60 Six cylinder 4.2 litre petrol |
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Page produced by Peter Eldred - Last updated 8 November 2008