Seven Saxons were ordered by the Royal Hong Kong Police from GKN Sankey in 1987 and delivered in 1988 where they replaced 15 Saracens. They were assigned to the Police Tactical Unit[2] and remained there until withdrawn in 2009. In the Balkans, Saxons were outfitted with turrets taken from FV432s to serve as an improvised anti-sniper turret.[3]
75 Saxons were sold to Ukraine reportedly under a contract made in 2013, i.e. predating the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War.[4] The Ukrainian military announced the deal on 5 December 2014.[5] The former chief commander of British land forces, Richard Dannatt, said that supplying the vehicles to Ukraine was "immoral" as they were "useless" in high intensity warfare.[6] Before September 2015 another 200 were bought from one of Europe's largest army surplus companies.
In Ukrainian service, the type has seen combat against Russian forces during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. As of September 2022, available video and photographic evidence indicates Ukraine has lost at least 11 Saxons during the invasion, with 9 being captured by Russian forces and 2 being destroyed.[7]
Designedit
The Saxon was intended to act as a cheap but efficient "battle-taxi" for units that would have to make long journeys from the UK to reinforce the British Army of the Rhine. It was made as a relatively low-cost armoured personnel carrier based on a revised Bedford M series 4x4 truck chassis and other commercially available components.[8]
As a lightly armoured wheeled vehicle, it is much faster - especially on roads - and easier to maintain than a tracked vehicle. It shares many parts with commercial trucks, reducing the operating cost. It is armoured against small-arms fire and shell splinters but is not intended to stand up to any anti-vehicle weaponry. The vehicle has a single machine gun for local air defence.
The Saxon's hull is welded steel with a V-shaped under-chassis plate to deflect mine detonations. Seating is provided in the rear for up to ten troops, although eight is a more comfortable load if all their equipment is included.[8] There is an equipment stowage area on the hull roof.[8]
Some Saxon IS, or Saxon Patrol, vehicles were acquired for service in Northern Ireland, serving as ambulances or troop carriers, which had extendible wings that could be used as protective shields during a riot. Compared to the standard model, these have various minor modifications intended for internal security operations, such as searchlights and wire cutters.
Jordan: 12 second-hand vehicles delivered to the Jordanian Army, modernized by KADDB to change steering wheel position from right to left with newer engines and gearbox with a working model shown in SOFEX 2010.[10]
Russia: At least 10 were captured during the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.[15] Some were displayed at the International Military-Technical Forum «ARMY-2022».[16]
^Dassanayake, Dion (25 March 2015). "VIDEO: Embarrassing moment tank sent to Ukraine by UK struggles to climb TINY hill".
^"Attack on Europe: Documenting Ukrainian Equipment Losses During the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine".
^ abcdefg"Saxon". Military Today. from the original on 18 January 2007.
^ abcde"AT105 Saxon 4x4 armoured vehicle personnel carrier technical data sheet specifications description U | United Kingdom British Army wheeled vehicle UK | British Army United Kingdom military equipment UK".
^ abAdministrator. "Saxon KADDB armoured vehicle personnel carrier technical data sheet specifications information UK - Jordan Jordanian army wheeled armoured vehicles UK - Jordan Jordanian army military equipment vehicles". www.armyrecognition.com.
^ ab"Trade Registers". Armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
^"British Saxon armored cars to be delivered to Ukrainian army after conversion and testing". UNIAN (13 February 2015). Retrieved 18 January 2017.
^ abMarcin Gawęda. ""Useless" Saxon Vehicles Surprisingly Useful In Ukraine. Kiev Benefits From The "Cost-Effect" Ratio". Defence 24. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
^ ab"New Armoured Personnel Carrier on the way". Hong Kong Police Force. from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
Bibliographyedit
Armed Forces of the United Kingdom, Charles Heyman. Leo Cooper, 2003.
April 12, 2024
saxon, vehicle, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, saxon, vehicle, news, newspapers, books, scholar, js. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Saxon vehicle news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Saxon is an armoured personnel carrier formerly used by the British Army and supplied in small numbers to various overseas organisations It was developed by GKN Sankey from earlier projects AT 100 IS and AT104 and was due to be replaced by the Future Rapid Effect System SaxonA Saxon Armoured Personnel vehicle from the Cheshire Regiment British Army 2003TypeArmoured personnel carrierPlace of originUnited KingdomService historyIn service1976 presentUsed byOperatorsWarsCold WarThe TroublesGulf WarBosnian WarKosovo WarWar in Afghanistan 2001 2021 Iraq WarRusso Ukrainian WarProduction historyDesignerGKN SankeyDesigned1975 1976ManufacturerGKN SankeyAlvisAlvis VickersBAE SystemsSpecificationsMass10 6 tonnesLength5 17 m 17 ft 0 in Width2 49 m 8 ft 2 in Height2 63 m 8 ft 8 in Crew2Mainarmament7 62 mm MGSecondaryarmamentnoneEngineBedford 500 6 cyl diesel164 hp 122 kW Payload capacity10 passengersSuspensionWheel 4x4Operationalrange510 km 320 mi Maximum speed96 km h 60 mph References 1 Contents 1 History 2 Design 3 Variants 4 Operators 4 1 Current operators 4 2 Former Operators 5 References 6 BibliographyHistory editThe first operational Saxons were deployed in Germany in 1983 to equip mechanised infantry battalions The Saxon has now been withdrawn from service in HM Armed Forces but 147 are kept in storage citation needed The Saxon has been deployed to places such as Bahrain Brunei Bosnia Malaysia Northern Ireland Oman Iraq and Afghanistan Seven Saxons were ordered by the Royal Hong Kong Police from GKN Sankey in 1987 and delivered in 1988 where they replaced 15 Saracens They were assigned to the Police Tactical Unit 2 and remained there until withdrawn in 2009 In the Balkans Saxons were outfitted with turrets taken from FV432s to serve as an improvised anti sniper turret 3 75 Saxons were sold to Ukraine reportedly under a contract made in 2013 i e predating the start of the Russo Ukrainian War 4 The Ukrainian military announced the deal on 5 December 2014 5 The former chief commander of British land forces Richard Dannatt said that supplying the vehicles to Ukraine was immoral as they were useless in high intensity warfare 6 Before September 2015 another 200 were bought from one of Europe s largest army surplus companies In Ukrainian service the type has seen combat against Russian forces during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine As of September 2022 available video and photographic evidence indicates Ukraine has lost at least 11 Saxons during the invasion with 9 being captured by Russian forces and 2 being destroyed 7 Design editThe Saxon was intended to act as a cheap but efficient battle taxi for units that would have to make long journeys from the UK to reinforce the British Army of the Rhine It was made as a relatively low cost armoured personnel carrier based on a revised Bedford M series 4x4 truck chassis and other commercially available components 8 As a lightly armoured wheeled vehicle it is much faster especially on roads and easier to maintain than a tracked vehicle It shares many parts with commercial trucks reducing the operating cost It is armoured against small arms fire and shell splinters but is not intended to stand up to any anti vehicle weaponry The vehicle has a single machine gun for local air defence The Saxon s hull is welded steel with a V shaped under chassis plate to deflect mine detonations Seating is provided in the rear for up to ten troops although eight is a more comfortable load if all their equipment is included 8 There is an equipment stowage area on the hull roof 8 Some Saxon IS or Saxon Patrol vehicles were acquired for service in Northern Ireland serving as ambulances or troop carriers which had extendible wings that could be used as protective shields during a riot Compared to the standard model these have various minor modifications intended for internal security operations such as searchlights and wire cutters Variants edit nbsp A British Army Saxon ARV on display at the REME Museum painted in UN colours The Saxon can be fitted out as APC 9 Command Vehicle 9 Incident Control vehicle 9 ARV 9 Saxon Patrol 9 LHD converted Saxons by KADDB in Jordan 10 Operators editThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed January 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message nbsp A map of Saxon operators Current Former nbsp AT 105 Saxon vehicles in the Ukrainian Armed ForcesCurrent operators edit nbsp Bahrain 8 nbsp Congo 28 delivered in 2015 11 nbsp Cote d Ivoire 4 second hand vehicles delivered in 2016 for use with MINUSMA 11 nbsp Djibouti 4 12 nbsp Iraq Iraqi Armed Forces now mostly used by police nbsp Jordan 12 second hand vehicles delivered to the Jordanian Army modernized by KADDB to change steering wheel position from right to left with newer engines and gearbox with a working model shown in SOFEX 2010 10 nbsp Malaysia 8 nbsp Mauritania 4 second hand vehicles were delivered in 2016 via France for United Nations operation in the Central African Republic 13 nbsp Mozambique 25 delivered in 2013 14 nbsp Nigeria 8 nbsp Oman 8 nbsp Russia At least 10 were captured during the 2022 invasion of Ukraine 15 Some were displayed at the International Military Technical Forum ARMY 2022 16 nbsp Serbia 1 Saxon seized from UN peacekeepers in the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina still in service citation needed nbsp Somalia 50 donated second hand by Djibouti in April 2013 17 nbsp Ukraine Ukraine s Ministry of Defense has purchased 75 second hand vehicles which have been delivered in two shipments in 2015 18 19 Former Operators edit nbsp Hong Kong Hong Kong Police Force Police Tactical Unit 20 All retired in 2009 and replaced by Unimog U5000s 20 nbsp United Kingdom British Army All were taken out of service with some donated to other nations 19 References edit Saxon AT 105 AT105 Description identification pictures picture photo image british wheeled armoured armored vehicle vehicule blinde a roues britannique anglais www armyrecognition com Archived from the original on 19 April 2008 Retrieved 6 June 2022 Hong Kong s Saracen armoured police cars on patrol in small town England 23 January 2016 Archived from the original on 26 January 2016 The Not So Secret Life of the Saxon Think Defence 14 February 2015 Ukraine receives British troop carriers the guardian 14 February 2015 Retrieved 14 February 2015 Minoboroni zakupilo 75 bronemashin Saxon Dassanayake Dion 25 March 2015 VIDEO Embarrassing moment tank sent to Ukraine by UK struggles to climb TINY hill Attack on Europe Documenting Ukrainian Equipment Losses During the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine a b c d e f g Saxon Military Today Archived from the original on 18 January 2007 a b c d e AT105 Saxon 4x4 armoured vehicle personnel carrier technical data sheet specifications description U United Kingdom British Army wheeled vehicle UK British Army United Kingdom military equipment UK a b Administrator Saxon KADDB armoured vehicle personnel carrier technical data sheet specifications information UK Jordan Jordanian army wheeled armoured vehicles UK Jordan Jordanian army military equipment vehicles www armyrecognition com a b Trade Registers Armstrade sipri org Retrieved 8 May 2018 International Institute for Strategic Studies 2021 The Military Balance p 462 ISBN 9781032012278 Trade Registers Armstrade sipri org Retrieved 9 February 2019 United Nations Official Document www un org Attack on Europe Documenting Ukrainian Equipment Losses During the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine International Army Games National Review 17 August 2022 Retrieved 18 November 2022 http www securitycouncilreport org atf cf 7B65BFCF9B 6D27 4E9C 8CD3 CF6E4FF96FF9 7D s 2013 413 pdf bare URL PDF British Saxon armored cars to be delivered to Ukrainian army after conversion and testing UNIAN 13 February 2015 Retrieved 18 January 2017 a b Marcin Gaweda Useless Saxon Vehicles Surprisingly Useful In Ukraine Kiev Benefits From The Cost Effect Ratio Defence 24 Retrieved 18 January 2017 a b New Armoured Personnel Carrier on the way Hong Kong Police Force Archived from the original on 1 October 2011 Retrieved 13 January 2013 Bibliography editArmed Forces of the United Kingdom Charles Heyman Leo Cooper 2003 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Saxon vehicle amp oldid 1209686480, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
