Armored bus on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
An armoured bus or armored bus is a type of
Merkavim company profile
/ref>
An armoured bus or armored bus is a type of bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
which provides increased protection for passengers, usually against small arms
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions).
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...
and improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...
s. The bus can be a stock commercial bus with retro-fitted vehicle armour
Military vehicles are commonly armoured (or armored; see spelling differences) to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, shells, rockets, and missiles, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include armoured fightin ...
as well as bulletproof glass
Bulletproof glass, ballistic glass, transparent armor, or bullet-resistant glass is a strong and optically transparent material that is particularly resistant to penetration by projectiles. Like any other material, it is not completely impenetr ...
, or a specially built military armoured vehicle. Lighter armoured buses are also used for prisoner transport.
History
During World War I, civilian buses were pressed into service, especially by Great Britain and France, fulfilling several roles: to transport troops, supplies, and livestock, and as ambulances and mobile surgeries. Britain used several hundred Daimler andLGOC B-type
The LGOC B-type is a model of double-decker bus that was introduced in London in 1910. It was both built and operated by the London General Omnibus Company (LGOC).
Design and pre-war service
B-type buses were built in Walthamstow and replaced ...
buses as troop transports, but they were not armoured. It was found that the windows were frequently broken by troops' equipment, and the glass was eventually removed. Wooden planks were fixed over the apertures, offering protection from the weather but not from hostile fire.
Armoured buses weigh considerably more than ordinary buses. As a result, they use more fuel, are prone to mechanical breakdowns, have very high maintenance costs and wear out faster.
Use of armoured buses
Israel's Egged bus company says that all its bus lines in theWest Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
use bulletproof buses. Armored buses were considered the safest form of civilian transport on routes to and from the Israeli settlements
Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
, although questions have been raised about how effective such buses are. It was estimated the number of fatalities would be lower in the event of attacks on armored vehicles, but this has not always been the case. Some Israeli school buses are armored due to the threat of terrorist attacks.
Manufacturers
Merkavim
Merkavim Transportation Technologies Ltd., shortened to Merkavim (), is the largest bus manufacturing company in Israel. They produce many different types of buses, including tourism coaches, urban buses, long-distance buses and minibuses. In addit ...
Ltd., an Israeli bus manufacturer jointly owned by the Volvo
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
Bus Corporation and Mayer Cars & Trucks Ltd Mayer may refer to:
*Mayer (name)
Places
* C. Mayer (crater), named after Christian Mayer
* Mayer, Syria
* Mayer, Arizona, United States
* Mayer, Minnesota, United States
* Mayersville, Mississippi, United States
* Mayerthorpe, Alberta, Canad ...
., has been producing armored buses since 1946. Its manufacturing facility in the Caesarea
Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesare ...
industrial park produces a wide range of buses for the local and international markets./ref>
See also
* Non-military armoured vehicles *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 ...
*Police vehicle
Transportation for police forces is provided by a number of ground vehicles, aircraft and watercraft.
Ground
Motorized Four-wheels
A police car is the description for a vehicle used by police, to assist with their duties in patrolling and ...
* List of buses
Year refers to the first year introduced. A range of years is the period the bus was manufactured.
#
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
...
*Ground Force One
''Ground Force One'' is the unofficial code-name for the black armored buses used to transport the president of the United States and other dignitaries.
The United States Secret Service formerly used rented buses as part of the presidential mo ...
References
{{Buses Buses by type Armoured vehicles Paramilitary vehicles