The Humber Pig is a lightly

armoured Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or f ...

truck used by 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 Gurkha ...

from the 1950s until the early 1990s. The Pig saw service with the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Roya ...

(RUC) chiefly as an armoured personnel carrier from late 1958 until early 1970. The Pig became particularly well known from its presence on the streets of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

during the worst of

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

History

Officially designated Truck, Armoured, 1 Ton, 4x4, the Humber Pig is based on the FV1600 series of

four wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer cas ...

1-ton payload trucks manufactured for the British Army by Rootes from 1952 to 1955. The Pig FV1611 is the armoured variant of FV1601 CT Truck and the FV1612 the armoured version of the FV1602 CT FFW Truck. As FV1609 an armoured version was originally designed to fulfil many roles with

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the ...

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

, RS,

REME The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's f ...

and infantry. The full armoured body was fitted to fulfil the need for an

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 ...

until the

Alvis Saracen The FV603 Saracen is a six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier designed and produced by Alvis since 1952. It has been used by a variety of operators around the world, and is still in use in secondary roles in some countries. The Saracen became a ...

could be delivered in numbers. The armoured bodies were produced by J.Sankey as well as the Royal Ordnance Factories. Of 3,700 Humber trucks some 1,700 Pigs were produced.

Deployment

Twenty prototype Pigs FV1609A (no armoured rear roof) entered troop trials in 1956. When these trials ended ten were issued to the RUC in October 1958. In 1960 the RUC Pigs were upgraded with a rear roof to emulate the FV1611 that was then in production. The truck chassis proved ideal for urban

internal security Internal security is the act of keeping peace within the borders of a sovereign state or other self-governing territories, generally by upholding the national law and defending against internal security threats. Responsibility for internal secu ...

duties, and ended up serving longer than the larger, heavier Saracens that were intended to replace them. As

in Northern Ireland escalated during the 1970s, some 487 Army Pigs were further modified with additional internal and external armour during the period of September 1972 to July 1973. These were referred to as Mark II vehicles. The last of the Mark II Pigs were removed from service in the early 1990s.

Variants

Official designations

*FV1601, FV1602 — un-armored Cargo GS and FFW (fitted for wireless) Humber CT trucks. *FV1609 — c1956 Prototype APC vehicle with removable rear roof, canvas roof, and removable windscreens. *Mk 1 FV1611 and FV1612 plus FV1609 vehicles converted to Mk 1 Pig spec with fully integrated rear roof and armour. Side storage boxes in Northern Ireland to prevent terrorists from placing explosives.Osprey New Vanguard: Riot Control Vehicles - 1945 – present by Chris McNab, page 16. *FV1620 —

Humber Hornet The FV1620 Humber Hornet (FV1620, truck 1-ton, air portable, armoured launcher, Hornet launcher) was a specialised air-deployable armoured fighting vehicle designed to carry the Malkara, an anti-tank guided missile developed by Australia and the ...

, a dedicated converted FV1611 to

Malkara Malkara ( el, Μάλγαρα, Malgara) is a town and district of Tekirdağ Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. It is located at 55 km west of Tekirdağ and 190 km from Istanbul. It covers an area of 1,225 km², which ma ...

missile-launching platform. *Mk 2 FV1611 and FV1612 —Additional armour for protection against small-arms fire and

rocket propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired missile weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads ar ...

s, "barricade removers" (heavy-duty bull bars) which enabled them to force their way through barricades erected in the streets.

Unofficial designations

Some vehicles were equipped with the machine gun turret from the Shorland ISPV. All below were developed for use in Northern Ireland:Osprey New Vanguard: Riot Control Vehicles - 1945 – present by Chris McNab, page 18. *Flying Pig — FV1611 with extending riot screens either side and roof. *Holy Pig — fitted with rooftop hatch surrounded by perspex screen (reference to the

Popemobile The popemobile is a specially designed motor vehicle used by the pope of the Catholic Church during public appearances. It is usually considered the successor to the antiquated and was designed to allow the pope to be more visible when greeting l ...

) *Kremlin Pig — fitted with wire screening for protection against rocket propelled grenades (

RPG-7 The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Th ...

) *Squirt Pig — fitted with a water cannon beside driver for riot control. *Foaming Pig — fitted with a foam generator to diffuse bomb blasts. *Felix Pig — modified for

bomb disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the milit ...

duties. *Turret Pig — Has the machine gun from the Shortland armored vehicle installed for operation in the Armagh area.

Gallery

File:Humber pig parola 2.jpg, Pig rear view File:Humber pig interior.jpg, The interior of a Humber Pig seen from the rear File:FV1620 Humber Hornet (FV1620, Truck 1 ton, air portable, launcher, Hornet in the Musée des Blindés, France, pic-5.JPG, Humber Hornet

References

External links

Humber Pig pictures
{{ModernUKAFVsNav , style= wide Cold War armoured fighting vehicles of the United Kingdom Military vehicles introduced in the 1950s