The British Saxon 4×4 Wheeled Armoured Personnel Carrier

The British Saxon 4×4 Wheeled Armoured Personnel Carrier

The British Saxon 4×4 Wheeled Armoured Personnel Carrier was developed by the Former British Firm GKN Sankey (now part of BAE) as a private venture and was ready for production in 1976. It was adopted by the British Army in 1983 for Infantry Battalions.

Layout

Rear of the British Saxon 4×4 Wheeled Armoured Personnel Carrier

Based on a truck chassis, driver sits front right with troop compartment stretching to the rear. The engine is sunk lower in the hull and the commander has a roof cupola, which can be fitted with a 7.62mm GPMG.

Troops (10) sit on benches in the rear and disembark through side doors in both the rear and sides. There is external storage bins for equipment.

Protection

The British Saxon 4×4 Wheeled Armoured Personnel Carrier

The chassis is fitted with a V-Shape bottom to deflect mine blasts and the hull is constructed of steel giving all-round protection against 7.62mm MG projectiles. Other features include mud guards which blow off clean so as to limit the amount of energy caught from a mine detonation that could cause further damage to the vehicle.

Variants

Ambulance
Armoured Personnel Carrier armed with one or two machine guns
Internal Security
81mm mortar
Command vehicle
Recovery vehicle

The British Saxon 4×4 Wheeled Armoured Personnel Carrier

The Saxon Internal Security vehicle for service in counter insurgency operations has a Cummins BT 5.1 engine, instead of the Bedford 6-cylinder installed on the APC version and other enhancements, such as roof-mounted searchlights, improved armour, a barricade removal device and an anti-wire device.

Operators

Bahrain, Brunei, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman and Iraq. Vehicle has now been withdrawn from service with the Hong Kong Police and the British Army who operated the vehicle on UN/KFOR missions during the Balkans Wars, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan and Iraq War.

Spec’s

Weight – 9.94 tonnes empty
Length – 5.17m
Width – 2.49m
Height – 2.63m
Engine – 164hp Bedford 500 diesel
Operational range – 510km
Top Road Speed – 96 km/h