Throughout its history, the
Irish Army
The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The Ar ...
has used a number of armoured fighting vehicles.
Rolls-Royce armoured car
![The Big Fella and The Fighting 2nd (6340864262)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/The_Big_Fella_and_The_Fighting_2nd_%286340864262%29.jpg)
During the
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...
thirteen
Rolls-Royce armoured cars armed with
Vickers .303 machine guns. were handed over to the
Irish National Army
The National Army, sometimes unofficially referred to as the Free State army or the Regulars, was the army of the Irish Free State from January 1922 until October 1924. Its role in this period was defined by its service in the Irish Civil War, ...
by the British government. All were in service with the
Irish Defence Forces
The Defence Forces ( ga, Fórsaí Cosanta, officially styled ) derives its origins from the Irish Volunteers. Whilst the Irish for ''Defence Forces'' is , as Ó Cearúil (1999) points out, the Defence Forces are officially styled . is used in ...
until after 1945, when following the end of
The Emergency they were phased out as the peacetime army shrank. Twelve were scrapped in the mid-1950s with one retained.
The Defence Forces has preserved one Rolls-Royce armoured car named '
Sliabh na mBan
Slievenamon or Slievenaman ( ga, Sliabh na mBan , "mountain of the women") is a mountain with a height of in County Tipperary, Ireland. It rises from a plain that includes the towns of Fethard, County Tipperary, Fethard, Clonmel and Carrick-on- ...
', as it was believed to be the actual Rolls-Royce that accompanied
Michael Collins's convoy when he was killed.
Peerless armoured car
![Armoured Car, Passage West, Cork (6652701421)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Armoured_Car%2C_Passage_West%2C_Cork_%286652701421%29.jpg)
The Irish National Army received seven
Peerless armoured car
During the First World War, sixteen American Peerless trucks were modified by the British to serve as armoured cars. These were relatively primitive designs with open backs, armed with a Pom-pom gun and a machine gun, and were delivered to the Br ...
s during the Irish Civil War and these were used by the Irish Defence Forces up until 1932. The Peerless armoured cars were fitted with two turrets each both armed with a single
Hotchkiss machine gun
The Hotchkiss machine gun was any of a line of products developed and sold by Hotchkiss et Cie, (full name Société Anonyme des Anciens Etablissements Hotchkiss et Cie), established by United States gunsmith Benjamin B. Hotchkiss. Hotchkiss moved ...
. In 1935, 4 Irish Peerless armoured hulls were mounted on modified
Leyland Terrier 6x4 chassis. A year later their twin turrets were replaced by a single
Landsverk L60 tank turret. This new vehicle was known as the Leyland Armoured Car and remained in Irish service until the early 1980s. The fourteen old Irish Peerless turrets and its
Hotchkiss machine guns were fitted to Irish built vehicles in 1940 called the
Ford Mk V Armoured Car
The Ford Mk V Armoured Car was a light armored car, built in Ireland by Thompson & Son of Hanover Works, County Carlow.
Specifications
The Ford Mk V was built with .5 inch mild steel plate, onto a Ford chassis of 122 inches. Fitted with an 85 ho ...
. A single replica has been preserved as part of the Curragh Cavalry Collection
Lancia Armoured Car
The Lancia armoured cars were built by the
Great Southern and Western Railway
The Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) was an Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland from 1844 until 1924. The GS&WR grew by building lines and making a series of takeovers, until in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was the ...
workshops, Dublin, in 1921 for the
Royal Irish Constabulary
The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...
. 111 Lancias were received by the Irish National Army and all were disposed of by 1937. As many as fifty Lancias were fitted with railway wheels and used by the Railway Protection, Repair and Maintenance Corps for railway patrols.
Vickers Mk. D Tank
The Vickers Mk. D was a one-off design built for the Irish Free State and delivered in 1929. It was developed from the
Vickers Medium Mark II tank but had a more powerful, water cooled, rear mounted, 6-cylinder Sunbeam Amazon petrol engine, developing 170 bhp at 2100 rpm and a 6 pdr gun was fitted. As many as four Vickers .303 machine guns could be fitted. When the tank was scrapped in 1940 the 6 pounder gun was removed and used as an anti-tank weapon.
Landsverk L60 Light Tank
The first Irish
Landsverk L60 light tank was delivered in 1935 and joined Ireland's only other tank the Vickers Mk. D in the 2nd Armoured Squadron. The second Landsverk L60 arrived in 1936. They were both armed with a
Madsen 20 mm cannon
The 20 mm AA Machine Cannon M/38 was a 20 mm rapid fire autocannon produced by the Danish company Dansk Industri Syndikat (DISA). The gun, which could be adapted to several tactical uses, was a primary weapon of the military of Denmark. ...
and a
Madsen .303 Machine Guns. In January 1933 the army examined options for a new armoured fighting vehicle capable of countering a tank attack, during the assumed scenario of a resumed war with Britain. The board looked at three new light tanks, considering two models built by Vickers, before deciding in favour of the L-60 built by
AB Landsverk
Landsverk (AB Landsverk) was a Swedish heavy industry company, manufacturing military equipment such as tanks, tank destroyers, SPAAGs, armored cars, tracked and wheeled off-road vehicles among others and civilian equipment such as railroad cars ...
. The L-60 was significantly more expensive than the two Vickers models but the army insisted that only the L-60 met the army's requirements; so much so that it was "practically identical with the tank" envisioned by the board. The army hoped to begin domestic manufacturing of the chosen tank believing that "national economic and defence policy demands that tanks should be manufactured in Ireland". To this end the army wanted components and assembly instructions for two further vehicles alongside the first delivered example to develop practical experience of manufacturing tanks ahead of full-scale production.
The Department of Finance believed the army's cost estimates had no sound basis and was of the opinion that there was "no future for any Irish firm in the manufacture or even in the assembly of tanks" in Ireland. Minister for Finance
Seán MacEntee
Seán Francis MacEntee ( ga, Seán Mac an tSaoi; 23 August 1889 – 9 January 1984) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Tánaiste from 1959 to 1965, Minister for Social Welfare from 1957 to 1961, Minister for Health from 1957 to ...
rejected the parts import idea and only authorised funds for a second L-60 tank. However, Minister for Defence
Frank Aiken
Francis Thomas Aiken (13 February 1898 – 18 May 1983) was an Irish revolutionary and politician. He was chief of staff of the Anti-Treaty IRA at the end of the Irish Civil War. Aiken later served as Tánaiste from 1965 to 1969 and Minister fo ...
persisted in trying to persuade MacEntee throughout February and March 1934 of the viability of the plan assuring him that it would be affordable and "pave the way for the possible development of a mechanical industry in this line". McEntee's acting assistant secretary Walter Doolin pointed out that not a single Irish engineering firm had expressed any interest in assembling the tanks and by April the army conceded, with only one further complete tank being purchased from AB Landsverk. This purchase was delayed when the second tank was destroyed in an accidental fire during tests in Sweden and a number of years passed before the free replacement arrived in Ireland.
[Farrell, T. (1997). “The Model Army”: Military Imitation and The Enfeeblement of the Army in Post-Revolutionary Ireland, 1922-42. Irish Studies in International Affairs, 8, 111–127.]
The Landsverks were still in use up until the late 1960s. One L60 is preserved in running order by the Army and the other is in the National Museum of Ireland,
Collins Barracks, Dublin
Collins Barracks ( ga, Dún Uí Choileáin) is a former military barracks in the Arbour Hill area of Dublin, Ireland. The buildings now house the National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts and History.
Previously housing both British Armed ...
.
Leyland Armoured Car
![Armoured Car, Leyland (4535849051)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Armoured_Car%2C_Leyland_%284535849051%29.jpg)
The
Leyland Armoured Car
Leyland Armoured Car refers to four armoured cars, built between 1934 and 1940, which were used by the Irish Army. The first Leyland Armoured Car was built in 1934, and three more were built by 1940. The Leylands served with the Irish Army until ...
was based on a 6x4 Leyland Terrier lorry chassis. The first chassis was purchased from Ashenhurst of Dublin in 1934 and an armoured hull from an obsolete Peerless armoured car was modified and fitted. The new vehicle was tested and it was recommended that the twin Peerless turrets be replaced with a single turret. In 1935 3 more Leyland Terrier chassis were bought and the Landsverk L60 tank turret was selected in 1936 to replace the twin Peerless turrets, however it was not until 1940 that all four Leyland armoured cars were finished. The armament of the Leylands was a
Madsen 20mm cannon and a
Madsen .303 machine gun. The Leylands entered service with the 1st Armoured Squadron alongside the Landsverk L180 and Irish-built Dodge armoured cars. In the 1958 the Leylands front hull was modified and were re-engined with Ford V-8s and
.30 Browning machine guns replaced the Madsens plus another Browning was fitted in the hull next to the driver.
One of the Leyland's was scrapped in the 1960s. In 1972 the 1st Armoured Squadron re-equip with Panhard AML armoured cars and the three surviving Leylands joined the reserve
FCA FCA may refer to:
Arts
* Federation of Canadian Artists
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Business and economics
* False Claims Act, a United States federal law
* Federal Cus ...
5th Motor Squadron until they also re-equip with Panhard AMLs in the early 1980s.
Landsverk L180 Armoured Car
Ireland ordered its first 2
Landsverk L180s in 1937 and were delivered the following year. 6 more were then ordered and they were delivered in 1939. A further 5 were ordered but could not be delivered because of the outbreak of the world war. These 5 were used instead by the Swedish army under the designation Pbil m/41. Irish Landsverk L180s were armed with a Madsen 20mm Cannon and 2 Madsen .303 Machine Guns. The Madsen machine guns were replaced with .30 Browning machine guns in the 1950s and the 20mm cannon was replaced in the 1970s with
Hispano-Suiza 20mm cannons take from former
Irish Air Corps
"Watchful and Loyal"
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De Havilland Vampire jets. In the 1950s the Landsverks engines were replaced with 5,195cc Ford V8 type 317 petrol developing 155 hp at 3,200rpm. All Irish Landsverks belonged to the 1st Armoured Squadron and used alongside the Irish built Leyland and Dodge Armoured Cars until they re-equip with
Panhard AML
The Panhard AML (''Auto Mitrailleuse Légère'', or "Light Machine Gun Car") is an Armored car (military), armoured car with reconnaissance capability. Designed on a lightly armoured Four-wheel drive, 4×4 chassis, it weighs an estimated 5.5 tonne ...
armoured cars in 1972. The Landsverks were then transferred to the reserve FCA units, five going to the
11th Motor Squadron, until they were retired in the 1980s.
GSR Morris Mk IV Armoured Car
In 1940 a Defence Forces committee decided to build 8 improvised armoured cars on lorry chassis for the protection of aerodromes. The Army purchased eight second-hand
Morris Commercial
Morris Commercial Cars Limited was a British manufacturer of commercial vehicles formed by William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, William Morris, founder of Morris Motors, Morris Motors Limited, to continue the business of E G Wrigley and Com ...
lorries and one was delivered to
Great Southern Railways (GSR) workshops for them to build and fit an armoured body. The GSR Morris Mk IV armoured car had no turret instead the machine gun crew had to fire through loopholes. After the building of the first Morris armoured car it was decided to change the role of the planned new vehicles from aerodrome defence to the same role as a regular armoured car. For this role a better chassis and engine was needed than that of Morris Commercial lorries so the seven remaining improvised armoured cars were built on Ford chassis and were known as the GSR Ford Mk IV, they were transferred to the army's Supply and Transport Corps. The Morris Mk IV was disposed of in 1946.
GSR Ford Mk IV Armoured Car
The seven GSR Ford Mk IV armoured cars were also built by Great Southern Railways (GSR) and were similar to the Morris Mk IV but a turret with
Hotchkiss machine gun
The Hotchkiss machine gun was any of a line of products developed and sold by Hotchkiss et Cie, (full name Société Anonyme des Anciens Etablissements Hotchkiss et Cie), established by United States gunsmith Benjamin B. Hotchkiss. Hotchkiss moved ...
also built by GSR was fitted. All the Ford Mk IVs were built and delivered in 1940. The army sold all 7 Ford Mk IVs in 1954.
Ford Mk V Armoured Car
In 1940, Thompson & Son of Carlow built 14
Ford Mk V armoured cars. The Ford Mk V was cheaper and had better performance than the GSR Ford Mk IV armoured cars. The old
Peerless armoured car
During the First World War, sixteen American Peerless trucks were modified by the British to serve as armoured cars. These were relatively primitive designs with open backs, armed with a Pom-pom gun and a machine gun, and were delivered to the Br ...
turrets and their
Hotchkiss machine guns were fitted. All Ford Mk Vs were sold in 1954.
Ford Mk VI Armoured Car
![Armored car - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Armored_car_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1103842.jpg)
In 1941, Thompson & Son of Carlow built 28 more Ford armoured cars. 21 of the armoured cars were built on new chassis, and the other seven built on Ford lorries which had been withdrawn from service. These 28 armoured cars were similar to the Ford Mk V but had a Thompsons-built turret and the new vehicle was named the Ford Mk VI armoured car. The turret was armed with a
Vickers .303 machine gun.
The first major overseas deployment of Irish troops was to the
Congo in 1960, as part of the
UN force
ONUC
The United Nations Operation in the Congo (french: Opération des Nations Unies au Congo, abbreviated to ONUC) was a United Nations peacekeeping force deployed in the Republic of the Congo in 1960 in response to the Congo Crisis. ONUC was the ...
. In 1961, an Armoured Car Group with eight Ford Mk VI armoured cars was flown to the Congo. Three more Ford Mk VIs were sent out later that year to the Congo, two of which had their turrets removed and a pintle-mounted
Bren light machine gun
The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also use ...
fitted in its place. The Brens on the two Ford Mk VIs were replaced in the Congo with
Browning .30 machine gun. In 1962, the UN provided the Irish with twelve new
Ferret armoured car
The Ferret armoured car, also commonly called the Ferret scout car, is a British armoured fighting vehicle designed and built for reconnaissance purposes. The Ferret was produced between 1952 and 1971 by the UK company Daimler. It was widely ...
s to replace the Ford Mk VIs. In 1964, six of the Ford Mk VIs were handed over to the Congolese Army.
The 17 Ford Mk VIs in Ireland were retired in the early 1970s.
Bren carrier
26
Universal Carriers Mk I were purchased in 1940. 100 Universal Carriers Mk II were delivered in 1943 and another 100 Mk IIs in 1945. The vehicles were referred to as 'Bren Carriers' by Irish troops. The first 26 Bren Carriers were grouped together to form the Carrier Squadron of the
Cavalry Corps. The Carrier Squadron was disbanded in 1943 and its carriers distributed amongst the army's infantry battalions. All 200 of the Bren Carriers Mk IIs were used by the infantry battalions mainly for transporting its
3-inch and
Brandt 81mm mortars, ammo and crew. Later 2 Mk IIs were fitted with flamethrowers for use by the
Corps of Engineers. A number were used in the late 1940s to tow
6 pdr anti-tank guns and 4 were used by the Cavalry School. The Bren Carriers were retired from service in the early 1960s. With 113,000 Universal Carriers being built worldwide it was the most numerous armoured fighting vehicle in history and with 226 in Irish service it is the most numerous armoured vehicle ever used by the Irish Army.
Dodge Mark VII and Mark VIII armoured cars
The first Dodge Armoured Car was built in 1942, four more were completed by 1943 and remained in service until 1962. These armoured cars were built on a Dodge TF-37 shortened truck chassis. All five trucks were withdrawn from the army's Supply and Transport Corps. Two of the armoured cars were each armed with a
Madsen 20mm Cannon that were formerly used on
Irish Marine Service Motor Torpedo Boats and a
Madsen .303 Machine Gun. The other three armoured cars were armed with a
Vickers .5 Machine Gun and
Vickers .303 Machine Gun each. The Madsen armed Dodges were the called the Mark VII Armoured Car and the Vickers armed Dodges the Mark VIII Armoured Car. The Dodges were used alongside the
Landsverk L180 and Irish built
Leyland armoured cars in the 1st Armoured Squadron until they were all disposed of in 1962.
Beaverette Armoured Car
The army acquired several
Beaverette Armoured Cars at the time of ''
The Emergency'' (World War II). In the 1950s the army converted several Beaverettes into open scout cars – with one such conversion preserved at the
Curragh Camp
The Curragh Camp ( ga, Campa an Churraigh) is an army base and military college in The Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. It is the main training centre for the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces and is home to 2,000 military personnel ...
in County Kildare.
Churchill Tank
The Irish Army took delivery of three
Churchill Mk VI tanks in 1948 and a fourth in 1949. They were rented from the British War Office until 1954, when they were purchased outright. This purchase was despite the fact that the supply and transport corps workshops, who maintained them, had reported that spares had all but run out. Experiments were carried out involving replacing the existing Bedford engine with a
Rolls-Royce Merlin
The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled V-12 piston aero engine of 27-litres (1,650 cu in) capacity. Rolls-Royce designed the engine and first ran it in 1933 as a private venture. Initially known as the PV-12, it was later ...
engine salvaged from an Irish Air Corps
Seafire
''SeaFire'', first published in 1994, was the fourteenth novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond (including Gardner's novelization of ''Licence to Kill''). Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was f ...
aircraft. The experiment was a success but not repeated although the reasons why are not recorded. By 1967 only one Churchill remained serviceable, and by 1969 all were retired. The Churchill Mk VI was armed with an
Ordnance QF 75 mm gun and 2
Besa 7.92mm machine guns.
Comet Tank
Four ex British Army
Comet tank
The Comet tank or Tank, Cruiser, Comet I (A34) was a British cruiser tank that first saw use near the end of the Second World War, during the Western Allied invasion of Germany. The Comet was developed from the earlier Cromwell tank and mounte ...
s were delivered to the Irish Army in 1959 and a further four in 1960. The Comet was armed with a
77 mm HV gun and 2 Besa 7.92mm machine guns. Severe budget cutbacks were to severely harm the service lives of the Comets, as not enough spares were purchased. The Comet appealed to the Irish Army as it was cheap to buy and run, had low ground pressure, and good anti-tank capability. In retrospect, it was an excellent buy, and would have stood the army in good stead had vital spares been supplied initially. However, faulty
fuze
In military munitions, a fuze (sometimes fuse) is the part of the device that initiates function. In some applications, such as torpedoes, a fuze may be identified by function as the exploder. The relative complexity of even the earliest fuze d ...
s meant the withdrawal of the HE ammunition, limiting the tank's role to an anti-tank vehicle.
With stocks of 77 mm ammunition, particularly High Explosive (which were found to be faulty and were withdrawn entirely), dwindling in 1969, the army began an experiment to prolong the life of the vehicle.
A fire-damaged vehicle with no turret, the 'Headless Coachman', had been used as a range target tug. This was then given an open mounting consisting of a length of steel girder welded to the turret ring with a
90 mm Bofors Pv-1110 recoilless rifle. Metal plates were also welded to the rear of the turret ring to prevent
backblast from entering the fighting compartment.
As well as traversing on the existing turret ring, the recoilless rifle could also be aimed using the original gun mounting allowing finer adjustment.
The prototype was successfully tested at the Glen of Imaal on 27 January 1969. The positive results from these tests led to further development of the prototype being greenlit, including ammo racks and a sloped steel shield protecting the exposed crew. The army also considered mounting a second 90mm recoilless rifle to allow for rapid follow-up fire. Transforming another Comet tank into a self-propelled mortar carrier with two 81mm mortars or one 120mm was also discussed. Lack of funds saw a cancellation of the project.
The last 77 mm Comet shoot occurred in 1973, and the tanks were withdrawn soon afterwards. One is preserved in the Curragh Camp in running condition, and two more are on static display, also in the Curragh, and one in Athlone barracks.
In 1975, an Irish Army officer writing in ''
An Cosantóir
''An Cosantóir'' (; meaning "The Defender") is the official magazine of the Irish Defence Forces. It was originally established in December 1940 by Colonel Michael Joe Costello as a means of disseminating training material among the Local Secu ...
'' suggested that, similar to the Israeli
Super Sherman
The Sherman M-50 and the Sherman M-51, both often referred to abroad as the Super Sherman, were modified versions of the American M4 Sherman tank that served with the Israel Defense Forces from the mid-1950s to early 1980s. The M-51 was also refe ...
, the Comet tanks (then in storage) could have a new engine installed and be upgunned with the
British 105mm gun. The proposals were not implemented.
M113 Armoured Personnel Carrier
Six
M113 armoured personnel carriers were loaned to Irish troops in the Congo operating as part of the UN force
ONUC
The United Nations Operation in the Congo (french: Opération des Nations Unies au Congo, abbreviated to ONUC) was a United Nations peacekeeping force deployed in the Republic of the Congo in 1960 in response to the Congo Crisis. ONUC was the ...
. The M113s were
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
vehicles donated to the UN for the Congo peacekeeping force mission. Following the withdrawal of
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
soldiers due to the
Sino-Indian War
The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tib ...
, Irish from the Armoured Car Group took over responsibility for their position in Jadotville assuming control of six M113s and several Swedish APCs.
The M113 APC was a significant improvement over the Ford armoured cars and Swedish APCs used by the Irish forces up to then; easy to handle, tracked, amphibious and armed with a pintle-mount M2 Browning .5 machine gun. The vehicles were withdrawn early from the Armoured Car Group in the Congo and returned to US Army inventory.
Tgb m/42 KP Armoured Personnel Carrier
A small number of Swedish
Tgb m/42 KP APCs were loaned from UN stocks during operations in the Congo and returned in early 1963.
One is preserved in a driving condition in the Curragh Camp having being obtained in the early 2000s.
Ferret Armoured Car
Twelve
Ferret armoured car
The Ferret armoured car, also commonly called the Ferret scout car, is a British armoured fighting vehicle designed and built for reconnaissance purposes. The Ferret was produced between 1952 and 1971 by the UK company Daimler. It was widely ...
s were loaned to Irish troops in the Congo in 1962, equipping the newly-assembly 2nd Armoured Car Squadron for independent reconnaissance missions. The twelve Ferrets were shipped by sea from England and reached the unit by November 1962. The Ferrets were transferred to the replacement 3rd Armoured Car Squadron who in June faced a revolt of the Congo Civilian Police, and in September was placed on red alert during a general strike. After a year of training and patrolling the Ferrets were returned to UN stores.
Panhard AML Armoured Car
![Irish AML-20](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Irish_AML-20.JPG)
In 1964 the first 2
Panhard AML 60-7 CS armoured cars were delivered to Ireland. These 2 Panhards were then shipped to the Irish battalion that was part of the UN force
UNFICYP
The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) is a United Nations peacekeeping force that was established under United Nations Security Council Resolution 186 in 1964 to prevent a recurrence of fighting following intercommunal violen ...
in
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
. Six more Panhard AML 60-7 CS armoured cars were shipped directly from France to the Irish troops in Cyprus. Later in the same year another eight Panhard AML 60-7 CS armoured cars were delivered. The army ordered in 1970 20 AML 90 and 16 Panhard AML 60-7 HB armoured cars, all of which were delivered by 1975.
The AML 60-7 CS variant was armed with a DTAT Cloche Special (CS) 60mm mortar and twin
AA-52 7.62mm machine guns. The AML 60-7 HB was armed with a Hotchkiss-Brandt (HB) 60mm mortar and twin
FN MAG 7.62mm machine guns. The AML 90 was fitted with a H-90 turret armed with a D 921 F1 90mm gun and co-axial FN MAG 7.62mm machine gun. In the late 1970s the mortars fitted to all 16 AML 60-7 CS armoured cars could not be fired due to a fault, and as a result its twin 7.62mm machine guns became its main armament. In 1986 a single vehicle had installed a
Creusot-Loire
Creusot-Loire was a French engineering conglomerate, formed from factories in Le Creusot and Châteauneuf, Loire. The Creusot-Loire subsidiary of ArcelorMittal also includes an Innovation, Research and Development centre for the group.
History
The ...
T25 turret armed with a
M242 Bushmaster
The M242 Bushmaster chain gun is a 25 mm (25×137mm) single-barrel chain-driven autocannon. It is used extensively by the U.S. military, such as in the Bradley fighting vehicle, as well as by other NATO members and some other nations in ground ...
25 mm (25×137mm) autocannon
An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bull ...
and was tested in the
Glen of Imaal
The Glen of Imaal ( or ; ga, Gleann Uí Mháil) is a remote glen in the western Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. It is ringed by the Lugnaquilla massif and its foothills, including Table Mountain and Keadeen. Much of the glen is used by the Irish ...
.
A further vehicle was modified with the same turret as the
FV107 Scimitar
The FV107 Scimitar is an armoured tracked military reconnaissance vehicle (sometimes classed as a light tank) used by the British Army. It was manufactured by Alvis in Coventry. It is very similar to the FV101 Scorpion, but mounts a high-veloci ...
mounting a
30 mm
30 mm caliber is a specific size of popular autocannon ammunition. Such ammunition includes NATO standard 30×113mmB and 30×173mm (STANAG 4624), Soviet 30×155mmB, 30×165mm, and 30×210mmB, Yugoslav 30×192mm, Anglo-Swiss 30×170mm, and ...
RARDEN
The L21A1 RARDEN ("Royal Armament, Research and Development Establishment" and "Enfield") is a British 30 mm autocannon used as a combat vehicle weapon. The Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment (RARDE) and the Royal Small Arms Fa ...
autocannon.
In 1989 the 16 AML 60-7 CS armoured cars' twin 7.62mm machine guns were replaced with a single
M2 Browning .5 machine gun each. In 1999 the 16 AML 60-7 CS armoured cars turrets were rearmed with a
G12 20mm cannon and a co-axial FN MAG 7.62mm machine gun. It was known as the AML 20
The AML 60s were used on peacekeeping missions in Cyprus, the AML 90s in Lebanon and both the AML 20s and AML 90s in Liberia. The remaining AML fleet was retired from service in 2013, and sold to a French buyer in 2015.
Landsverk Unimog Scout Car
The Landsverk Unimog Scout Car was based on the
Unimog
The Unimog (, ) is a range of multi-purpose tractors, trucks and lorries that has been produced by Boehringer from 1948 until 1951, and by Daimler Truck (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler AG) since 1951. In the United States and ...
S404 truck and built were in the late 1950s. The Irish Army purchased 15 of the vehicles at a bargain price in 1971 which were originally intended for the police force in the Belgian Congo. They were intended as a stop-gap vehicle for use until the first
Panhard M3
The Panhard M3 VTT ( French: ''Véhicule de Transport de Troupes'') is an amphibious armoured personnel carrier. Developed as a private venture for the export market, the M3 was built with the same mechanical and chassis components as the Panhard ...
APCs entered service in 1972. The Cavalry Workshops modified the Unimog scout cars by fitting a shield that could mount a FN MAG 7.62mm machine gun to it on the roof opening. The type had excellent off-road capability but poor on-road handling due to a high centre of gravity and several accidents occurred as a result. Equipped with a four-man dismountable squad arrangement was carried, but space was cramped, and in any case a four-man detachment was far too small for any sort of realistic military purpose. Other criticisms were that the FN MAG gunner's position was too exposed. By mid-1978 all had been transferred to the Reserve FCA Motor Squadrons. As the FCA did not use the FN MAG it armed its Unimog scout cars with Browning .30 or Bren .303 machine guns. All Unimog scout cars were withdrawn by 1984.
Panhard Armoured Personnel Carrier
![UNIFIL Easter Parade 2016 M3VTT4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/UNIFIL_Easter_Parade_2016_M3VTT4.jpg)
Production of the
Panhard M3 VTT armoured personnel carrier started in 1971 and the Irish Army ordered 60. The first 17 were of the Panhard M3 APCs were delivered in 1972. The Panhard M3 APC used 95% of the components of the Panhard AML armoured cars. A Creusot-Loire TL.21.80 turret was fitted to all 60 Irish Panhard APCs armed with twin FN MAG 7.62mm machine guns. 14 Panhard APCs were sent to
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
in 1978 with the Irish battalion serving with
UNIFIL
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ( ar, قوة الأمم المتحدة المؤقتة في لبنان, he, כוח האו"ם הזמני בלבנון), or UNIFIL ( ar, يونيفيل, he, יוניפי״ל), is a UN peacekeeping m ...
. At home the Panhard APCs were distributed among the army's 9 infantry battalions and 4 cavalry squadrons. The UN supplied the Irish troops in Lebanon in 1989 with 10
SISU XA-180 6x6 APCs to replace its Panhard APCs and the 14 Panhards were sent back to Ireland and later scrapped.
Timoney Armoured Personnel Carrier
Timoney, a
County Meath
County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...
based company, designed and built three one-off prototype 4x4 wheeled APCs designated Marks I, II, III for tests by the Irish army between 1972 and 1974. In 1977 the army ordered five APCs based on the Mk III design known as the
Timoney Mk IV APC. These were delivered in 1978, fitted with a Timoney built turret armed with twin FN MAG 7.62mm machine guns. The vehicles suffered from a number of mechanical problems and all were out of service by the late 1980s. In 1981 the army ordered five improved
Timoney Mk VI APCs which were delivered in 1983, fitted with a Creusot-Loire TLi 127 turret armed with a M2 Browning .5 machine gun and a FN MAG 7.62mm machine guns each. The Timoney Mk VI APCs were used by the army until 1999.
Scorpion Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle
![Scorpion Shoot Glen of Immal (2) (5144349428)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Scorpion_Shoot_Glen_of_Immal_%282%29_%285144349428%29.jpg)
Originally designed for the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
, the
Scorpion Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle began production in the early 1970s, and was in use with the Irish Army from 1980 until 2017.
The army bought 4 Scorpions each year from 1980 to 1982 plus 2 more in 1985 bringing the total in Irish service to 14. The Scorpion had three crew members and a maximum speed of 70 kilometres per hour. In Irish service, it was primarily armed with a 76mm rifled gun and a 7.62mm coaxial mounted machine gun.
SISU Armoured Personnel Carrier
The UN supplied the Irish troops serving with UNIFIL in Lebanon in 1989 with 10
SISU XA-180 6x6 APCs to replace its 14 Panhard APCs. The Irish Army purchased 2 SISU APCs in 1990 as training vehicles for soldiers preparing for service with UNIFIL. The 2 Irish SISU APCs were sent to Somalia in 1993 for use by Irish troops serving with
UNOSOM II
United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II) was the second phase of the United Nations intervention in Somalia and took place from March 1993 until March 1995, following the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991.
UNOSOM II carried on ...
and returned to Ireland in 1994. Both Irish SISUs and the 10 UN SISUs in Irish use were fitted with the same Creusot-Loire TL.21.80 turret with twin FN MAG 7.62mm machine guns as the Panhard APC.
MOWAG Armoured Personnel Carrier
![MOWAG (4120182972)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/MOWAG_%284120182972%29.jpg)
The
Mowag Piranha IIIH 8x8 armoured personnel carrier (APC) has been used by the Irish Army since 2001. There are 80 Mowags in service with the army, in 6 different variant types. Forty-five are
armoured personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world.
Acc ...
s, eight are command vehicles, two are armoured ambulances, one is a recovery vehicle, eighteen are Cavalry Recce Vehicles (CRV) and six are Medium Recce Vehicles (MRV).
The APC variant of the Mowag has a crew of two and can carry a nine-man infantry section. It has a maximum speed of 100 kilometres per hour, and is fitted with a one-man turret armed with one .50 (12.7mm) Browning HMG, one 7.62mm FN MAG machine gun and eight 66mm smoke grenade launchers.
The eighteen Mowag CRVs are fitted with a
Kongsberg Remote Weapon Station (RWS) and can be armed with either a 12.7mm/.5 Browning HMG or a
Heckler & Koch 40mm automatic grenade launcher. The six MRVs are fitted with a 2-man turret armed with an
Oto Melara
OTO Melara was a subsidiary of the Italian company Finmeccanica, today Leonardo, active in the defence sector, with factories in Brescia and La Spezia. The Mod 56 pack howitzer, in service throughout the world, and the 76mm naval gun, ado ...
30mm cannon and 7.62mm coaxial machine gun.
The Irish Mowags have been used on peacekeeping missions in Eritrea, Liberia, Kosovo, Lebanon, Chad and Syria. As of 2016, a 6-year €55m maintenance and upgrade contract was agreed with the original Mowag manufacturer.
RG-32 Light Tactical Vehicle (RG Outrider)
![Irish Army RG-32M Light Tactical Armoured Vehicle LTAV (4520429843)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Irish_Army_RG-32M_Light_Tactical_Armoured_Vehicle_LTAV_%284520429843%29.jpg)
The Irish Army has 27
RG Outrider
The RG Outrider, also known by its original designation RG-32M Light Tactical Vehicle (LTV), is a 4x4 multi-purpose mine-protected armoured personnel carrier (APC) manufactured by BAE Systems of South Africa. It was first introduced in early 2009 ...
Light Tactical Vehicles from BAE Systems with the first 2 delivered in April 2010. One of the first two delivered is armed with a FN MAG 7.62mm machine gun fitted to the roof opening and the other is fitted with a Kongsberg Remote Weapon Station (RWS) armed with a Heckler & Koch 40mm automatic grenade launcher.
References
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External links
Departure of Irish troops for CongoBritish Pathé News
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
Building the Lancia armoured cars at InchicoreBritish Pathé News
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
1970s photo that includes armoured vehicles in service (or recently retired) at that time
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armoured Fighting Vehicles of the Irish Army
Irish Army
Military equipment of the Republic of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
Vehicles of Ireland