FV603 Saracen
In response to post-world War II global unrest, the British military deployed the sturdy Saracen armoured personnel carrier
Inside the UK’S iconic armoured personnel carrier
In the wake of World War II, civil and political unrest emerged with renewed vigour in hot spots around the world. The British Empire was not immune to the rise of militant communist and nationalist insurgencies, particularly in Malaya, the Middle East and Northern Ireland.
Tactical transport of combat troops in both urban environments and open country was evolving simultaneously as the British military establishment sought an improved method of deployment – one that offered a degree of safety while also providing at least minimal defensive capabilities. The British Fighting Vehicle Research and Development Establishment conceived a series of armoured vehicles to provide support and transportation for ground troops during combat conditions. The result was the Alvis FV600 family of vehicles that also included the FV601 Saladin Armoured Car and successors such as the FV101 Scorpion reconnaissance vehicle, FV102 Striker anti-tank guided missile carrier, FV103 Spartan armoured personnel carrier and the AVLB bridge layer.
Conceptually, light armoured vehicles could be produced rapidly and cost-effectively with armoured protection capable of warding off small-arms fire and even some anti-tank projectiles, while out-muscling the firepower of most guerrilla groups. Research on the light vehicle idea had begun during World War II, and the pace quickened with the onset of the Cold War era.
The Saladin and Saracen shared numerous components, and their development was somewhat concurrent. However, the need for armoured vehicles to combat the guerrilla insurgency in Malaya in the late 1940s gave the Saracen production priority. In 1952 the venerable Alvis Car and Engineering Company began fabrication of the six-wheel-drive Saracen at its Coventry facility. The first vehicles were fielded in December of that year. Although its service life as the primary troop carrier of the British Army stretched only into the mid-1960s, the Saracen has remained a viable platform for counterinsurgency and military operations for decades, particularly as an export product.
“THE SARACEN HAS REMAINED A VIABLE PLATFORM FOR COUNTERINSURGENCY AND MILITARY OPERATIONS FOR DECADES”
“THE HIGH SILHOUETTE WAS A NECESSITY TO SEAT TROOPS UPRIGHT AND ACCOMMODATE A COMPLEX DRIVETRAIN AND FUEL TANKS BENEATH THE FLOOR”
DESIGN
The 12-ton FV603 Saracen armoured personnel carrier was designed to safely traverse the battlefield, combining maximum armour protection with acceptable maneuverability. Designers incorporated 16mm of rolled homogenous armour for survivability and included hinged firing ports on either side of the crew compartment. The high silhouette was a necessity to seat troops upright and accommodate a complex drivetrain and fuel tanks beneath the floor. The six-wheel-drive FV603 design included three independent axles with steel-rimmed rubber road wheels, allowing the vehicle to function with the simultaneous loss of one wheel on each side. A small, enclosed turret was sometimes fitted to the roofline to mount a machine gun or water cannon.
ENGINE
The development of the Rolls-royce B series of engines began prior to World War II, followed by research into a suitable variant that could be employed with military vehicles. An engineering team supervised by W.A. Robotham at Rollsroyce Clan Foundry in Belper, Derbyshire, finished the development of the Meteor engine in 1943 and followed with the military adaptation of an eight-cylinder variant of the 160-horsepower petrol engine that was later installed in the prototype Alvis FV603 Saracen armoured personnel carrier, FV601 Saladin armoured car and others in the Alvis line. The modifications were completed by 1947, and production began at Rolls-royce Crewe.
“THE MILITARY ADAPTATION OF AN EIGHT-CYLINDER VARIANT OF THE 160-HORSEPOWER PETROL ENGINE... WAS LATER INSTALLED IN THE PROTOTYPE ALVIS FV603 SARACEN ARMOURD PERSONNEL CARRIER”
“IT FIRED UP TO 1,000 ROUNDS PER MINUTE WITH AN EFFECTIVE RANGE OF 800 METRES”
ARMAMENT
The FV603 Saracen armoured personnel carrier mounted either the Browning .30-calibre M1919 machine gun or the 7.62mm L37 general-purpose machine gun. The Browning was deployed with Allied troops during World War II and American forces in Korea and Vietnam. Fed by a 250-round ammunition belt, its rate of fire approached 600 rounds per minute, effective up to 1,400 metres (4,500 feet). The L37 variant of the Belgian Fabrique Nationale FN MAG 7.62mm machine gun was modified for armoured vehicles. It fired up to 1,000 rounds per minute with an effective range of 800 metres (2625 feet). A .303-calibre Bren light machine gun firing up to 520 rounds per minute effective to 550 metres (1,800 feet) provided secondary armament. Six smoke grenade launchers were mounted.
INTERIOR
The driver of the FV603 Saracen armoured personnel carrier was positioned in the centre of the hull with the vehicle commander also in a centred crew cabin to the rear. Radio and other communications equipment were situated to the commander’s immediate right. Unlike the FV601 Saladin, the engine of the FV603 Saracen was placed forward and ventilated via a large grill with pronounced slats. Depending on interior configuration, the crew cabin provided space for nine or ten combat-ready soldiers seated on benches. The troops entered and exited the vehicle through a pair of large hinged rectangular doors at the rear.