British wheeled armored personnel carrier Saracen FV603
Britain, It is home to the tanks, for many years he produced armored vehicles, which can not be called outstanding. Glavenstvuya the sea and creating a beautiful warships, Great Britain in the interwar period and during the Second World War used a very specific tanks and armored personnel carriers, while the situation has not changed and after the end of the war.
One of the samples of post-war British engineers creativity became an armored personnel carrier with a formidable name of "Saracen" and a memorable appearance, able to bring a smile.
Wheeled armored personnel carrier Saracen, received index FV603, and a variety of combat vehicles, built on its base, made in Albion with 1952 by 1970 year. It should be noted, that even this machine was a definite breakthrough, if consider, that during the war the British army used an armored Vickers Carden-Loyd Mk.VI Troop Transport, model based on the widespread worldwide wedgies "Carden-Lloyd». Comparisons with the German half-track armored personnel carriers "Ganomag" this technique could not stand.
Broneavtomobilь FV601 «PLC»
Almost immediately after the Second World War the British army issued an order for the industry to develop a whole family of various wheeled armored vehicles, built on a single database. Executor of the order was the British company Alvis. This automobile company was founded in Coventry in more 1919 year.
In addition to passenger cars civil, The company produces and military products, including aircraft engines. Independent activity of the company Alvis Cars has been discontinued 1967 year. But before that, the company managed to introduce a whole range of armored vehicles, over which the engineers worked Alvis, beginning with 1947 of the year.
As a result, in the UK at the turn of the late 40's - early 50-ies of the last century created a new family of wheeled armored vehicles for different purposes, which included armored FV601 «Saladin", its main function was to conduct reconnaissance and security tasks columns on the march. In fact, it was a small wheeled tank with cannon armament. Using its chassis, primarily aggregates powerplant, suspension and powertrain, It was designed and put into production wheeled armored personnel carrier "Saracen", with the layout of the machine has been revised.
It is worth noting, that the need for an armored vehicle of the British Army was not empty words. The military needed a car because of the participation in the guerrilla war in Malaya. This colonial conflict, started in 1948 year, fully completed only in 1960. It is for this reason, work on a new armored personnel carriers for the British military has been a priority.
The first prototypes of a new combat vehicle was ready in the beginning 1952 of the year, and in December of the same year in the UK it has begun mass production of a new armored vehicle. Serial production was completed only in 1970 year, During this time more than a thousand of such cars were produced according to various sources (a number of sources - 1838 pcs), data on the number of armored personnel carriers produced very divergent.
The machine came into service of the British Army, and also actively exported, not only in the CIS countries, but also in other states: Sudan, Libya, Jordan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Nigeria etc. In this special version of the armored FV.603 was developed for the Kuwaiti armed forces, which differed from other models open top.
Armored personnel carriers "Saracens" were used by the British Army until 1992 of the year, but in the early 1980s, these machines perform only auxiliary problems, He went away on the second plan. For example, remaining in line personnel carriers were used in the 1980s in Northern Ireland, where the British military used them to patrol the territory and the maintenance of internal security in the region, which they were active members of IRA factions (Irish Republican Army), as well as its overseas possessions, such as in Hong Kong.
In contrast to the armored reconnaissance "Saladin" designers of Alvis armored car companies have changed the layout. The engine was moved in front of the stern portion and is positioned above the front axle BTR, on top of it covered armored hood. Among other things, the engine in the front part was supposed to protect the crew and landing, which was located in the stern of an armored personnel carrier. Front of the radiator grille was installed armored. Thus the frontal and side housing plates were placed under a rational angles, that increases the security of the machine.
Booking forehead body reached 16 mm, in this book were armored bulletproof. The thickness ranged from bronelistov 8 to 19 mm. combat vehicle body itself was made airtight, she could easily fording depth of up to one meter, and after special training "Saracens" could overcome water obstacles to a depth of 1,8 m.
The new British armored personnel carriers received the following layout: Motor-transmissionnoe compartment, separation of the crew with the placement of the tower over him in the middle part and the separation of troops in armored personnel carriers stern. At the disposal of the paratroopers were hatches in the roof of the housing, as well as double door at the rear, through them it was possible to carry out boarding and disembarking from the car.
In front of the armored personnel carriers for the engine was taken the place of the driver (in the middle), the rear left of the driver's seat was armored vehicle commander, and the right of the seat radioman. The crew fighting machine consisted of three people, yet 8 people were paratroopers, which are located behind the backs of the crew in separate seats along the sides of the body (facing each other) by 4 from each side.
armored chassis had 6x6, suspension of all wheels were made independent. Steering and drive hydraulic servos got to the braking system,.
A curious feature of the combat vehicle was, that two pairs of wheels are controlled. The average pair of wheels had a limited angle of rotation - exactly half of the angle of rotation of the front pair of wheels. With this solution, an armored personnel carrier of nearly five meters (it is worth noting, compact enough) I could make a U-turn over a length 14 m. Armored personnel carrier could easily continue to move in case of damage of one wheel on each side (up to its complete lack of).
The heart of the armored cars was 8-cylinder petrol engine known British company Rolls-Royce, APCs set two types of engines or B80 Mk 3A Mk 6A, both of them develops a maximum power 160 HP. This engine had enough, to disperse the armored vehicle with a combat weight of just over 10 tons to 72 km / h on the motorway, when driving on rough terrain speed dropped to 32 kmh. Cruising armored Saracen FV603 on the highway was to 400 km (fuel capacity - 225 liters).
The front housing armored "Sarrazin" was set rotating machine gun tower octagonal, Tower rotated manually. The 7.62-mm machine gun "Bren" was set, angles the declination gun in a vertical plane formed by -12 to +45 degrees. Behind the tower was located hatch, which can be fixed to one another turret 7.62mm gun, which can be used as anti-aircraft.
And designers have provided loopholes for firing from personal firearms. The sides of the housing there are three rectangular embrasures, which were covered by special bronezaslonkami. For another embrasure there in each of the doors rear doors.
Armored personnel carrier has been generally successful and meet the demands of the British military. At its base it was designed by a number of military vehicles of various purpose, including command post version FV.604, which had an open top. In this embodiment, the height of the fighting compartment was increased, which improved the conditions of work of officers, while on the roof of the command and staff car set no weapons. He had no weapons and armored ambulance version, which is in the British Army received index FV.611.
Already in the 1990s as part of the work on the modernization of the combat vehicle with a view to export supplies (potential customer called Indonesia) in the UK we have created BTR "Saracen" with diesel engine Perkins Phaser 180MTi, The maximum power 180 HP.
The performance characteristics of Saracen FV603:
— Wheel formula - 6x6.
— dimensions: length - 4,8 m, width - 2,54 m, height - 2,46 m.
— Combat weight - 10,2 t.
— Reservation - bulletproof 8-19 mm.
— Powerplant - 8-cylinder petrol engine Rolls-Royce B80 Mk 3A or power Mk 6A 160 HP.
— Maximum speed - 72 kmh (on the highway), 32 kmh (cross-country).
— Cruising on the highway - to 400 km.
— Armament - 7.62-mm machine gun "Bren" in the tower, another 7.62 mm machine gun can be installed as a zenith.
— crew - 3 man + 8 Marines.
/Sergey Yuferev, topwar.ru/
