The Lohr Fardier is a French light general purpose 4x4 vehicle, capable of being transported by air, developed by

Lohr Industrie Lohr Industrie is a French manufacturer. With a track record in the manufacture of high-tech car transporter systems (primarily for road haulage), this manufacturer has developed the Translohr tram cars and Modalohr road/rail transfer system, an ...

for use by airborne troops.

History

This light 4x4 vehicle was developed by SOFRAMAG (later Lohr Industrie) for the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

airborne troops, which used 300 of these. Two versions were produced: FL 500 and FL 501, the latter with a 36 hp engine. France has replaced its FL 500/501 with the Auverland A3F fast attack vehicle; while it can't be assured whether the vehicles supplied to Spain and Tunisia are still in service.

Description

It has a chassis built of welded tubes, with the cargo area at the back (formed by aluminium panels), the engine in the middle (transversally positioned) and the driver at the front left (protected by a demountable U-shaped safety bar). Each axle has a transmission unit, with coil-spring suspension. Each rear wheel has an independent parking brake, while brakes in all 4 wheels are with discs. The vehicle has a dual lighting system for full lighting or for reduced "convoy" lighting. The FL 501 can tow up to 800 kg, a typical cargo is a 120 mm mortar. Other loads include communication equipment, general cargo, or up to 2 stretchers. It can be air transported either by

cargo plane A cargo aircraft (also known as freight aircraft, freighter, airlifter or cargo jet) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is designed or converted for the carriage of cargo rather than passengers. Such aircraft usually do not incorporate passenger am ...

or by

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

: * A

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...

C-160 Transall The Transall C-160 is a military transport aircraft, produced as a joint venture between France and Germany. "Transall" is an abbreviation of the manufacturing consortium Transporter Allianz, comprising the companies of MBB, Aerospatiale, and ...

can carry up to 6 for air-dropping, or up to 12 as general cargo * A Puma helicopter can carry a FL 500/501 and a 120 mm mortar.

Specifications

The engine is a Citroen 602cc flat twin. This is the same unit that powered the militarised Citroen Mehari, which was a development of the

Dyane Dyane is a census town in Nashik district in the state of Maharashtra, India. Demographics As of the 2001 India census, Dyane had a population of 24,837. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Dyane has an average literacy r ...

engine. All the running gear is from the Citroen A series "family" except for the steering column which is from the H van. The vacuum carburettor limits the speed to about 35 km/h. There is a differential slip limiter worked by belts and levers.

Users

Current

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Former

* * *

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

* Jane's Military Vehicles and Logistics 2009

External links

Summary History and Description, Jane's website

Brief description and walk-around images - Brightwheels Classic Cars website
(''accessed 2018-01-15'') Military light utility vehicles Military equipment of Argentina Military vehicles of France Airborne fighting vehicles