One Tonne - The 101

One Tonne - 101 Forward Control

Details: Category: One Tonne - 101 Forward Control; Last Updated on Tuesday, 18 October 2011 11:57; Written by Site Admin; Hits: 17243

Land Rover 101 FC - the one tonne

In the late sixties the military were looking for a larger payload vehicle that could also tow their new 4000lb light gun. It needed to be capable of being carried by helicopter and hence could weigh no more than 3500lb in stripped down form. It also needed to fit inside the RAF's new (in 1965) Andover C.1 cargo aircraft and so a mockup of the door aperture was provided to make sure that it fit. After an abortive attempt with the 'big lightweight' prototype, it became apparent that a forward control model would give the best format for providing the load space required. At that time the IIb forward control was available, but this did not meet the load/tow requirements and so Land Rover set about designing a new, relatively light vehicle. By this time the Range Rover was just about to begin production and so it was decided after testing to use the powerful 3.5 litre V8 alloy engine from that model along with the gear / transfer boxes and centre differential. After further modification and testing this was mounted on the all-new 101 inch leaf sprung chassis. As with the original Range Rovers, the 101 boasts full-time four wheel drive with a vacuum operated centre differential lock. Unlike the Range Rovers however, large diameter 9.00 X 16 tyres (close to 36") are mounted on 6 stud rims driven by heavy-duty Salisbury axles. After much development and with each part designed with weight saving in mind, the completed vehicle weighed in at 4040lbs, and the required 3500lbs in its stripped down form. This meant the vehicle could be carried by the Wessex helicopters then in service, and also fit in the Andover. The 101 FC could carry a one-tonne load as well as towing a 105mm gun across country.

101 FC GS spec

Land Rover 101 FC GS (General Service).

The 101 Forward Control Land Rover was built for the MoD from 1975 to 1978 with a number of pre-production models dating from 1972-1974. Roughly 2700 vehicles were manufactured in right and left hand drive, 12 volt and 24 volt models, all of which were produced as either general service (G.S.) or cab/chassis models. The chassis was unique to the 101, unlike the earlier IIa/IIb and series forward control Land Rovers that had shared the standard Land Rover long wheelbase chassis and added extra metal bits for fc configuration. The majority of 101 vehicles in service were GS models, which were "rag-tops". Three main types of hard body 101 conversions were also produced specially for the MoD, mainly built upon the supplied cab/chassis vehicles.
These were :

1) Ambulance Body in Tropical, RAF Crash Rescue and NBC variants (Approx. 300-450 made, body by Marshall's of Cambridge).

Land Rover 101 FC Ambulance
2) Radio Communications Body in FACE and Intercept variants (Approx. 125 made).

101 Radio Body
3) "Vampire" Radio Body (Approx. 20 made, body by Marshall's of Cambridge).

Land Rover 101 FC Vampire

The Vampire acronym means: Vehicle Army Mobile Position Interferometry Radio Equipment.
The vehicle's purpose was to identify the origin of radio signals.

Teams of 3 Vampires would erect their antennas in different remote locations and then use a method of radio triangulation to locate signal sources. The Vampires could also operate individually by setting up additional antennas some distance away that were carried in a specialised Sankey Trailer. The antenna mast was stored diagonally across the roof of the vehicle. It was unlocked and then swung into a vertical position, before telescoping to the required operational height. Leveling jacks are installed on the rear corners of the vehicle to increase its stability while the antenna was raised. Vampires have no rear door and instead have a large spool of cable that reeled out as the antenna went up. Some 101's came with a unique transmission driven Nokken winch, whose 65 metre cable can be routed fore or aft of the vehicle through a chassis mounted pulley system.

Less well known conversions were the R.E.M.E.'s Tuckaway FRT (Forward Repair Team) vehicle, fitted with the Dixon Bate Tuckaway vehicle recovery crane and the Challenger F.R.T. with the challenger hydraulic arm and a grille mounted vice. These vehicles were adapted from G.S. models.

Also of note are the the Rapier missile system conversions, the Rapier T.R.T. (Tracking Radar Tractor) , Rapier F.U.T (Fire Unit Tractor). and R.A.T.E (Rapier Automatic Test Equipment). Most of these vehicles were originally cab chassis versions converted to the role by Marshalls. These look outwardly like standard G.S. models, but the build of the rear of the vehicle is quite different

3-litre 6-cylinder engined prototype 101 fc number 6 and powered trailer.

101 airlift

The Roving Dentist 101

Now residing in Ontario, Canada, This vehicle is the creation of Dr. Sean Stewart, who plans to use the vehicle to bring dental care to Northern Native communities that don’t have access. The accompanying trailer houses all of the dental equipment including compressors, patient chair, drills, suction, sterilizer, x-ray unit, and necessary supplies. All of the equipment is portable and can be used either in the trailer, or set up in the field. The rear 'camper' body on this 1976 101 GS is fully demountable.

With 11.00x16 Michelin XL tyres, and winches on all sides, this beauty is unlikely to become stuck for long. It is also very sensibly kitted out with a 5’ high lift extreme jack, shovel, pick axe & max-ax multi-tool. In case of an accident, it also has a stainless steel roll external roll cage, 3 point racing harness and seats, and an internal roll bar.

101 GS conversion - Off-road dental facility.

Luxembourg 101s

The Luxembourg 101s are amongst the rarest Forward Control Land Rovers in the world. Even the standard GS vehicles were modified to Luxembourg requirements, of which the the most obvious modification is probably the bull bar arrangement on the front.

Luxembourg Army GS

The extremely rare Luxembourg 101 FC Ambulance Conversion was supplied to the Luxembourg Army. Very different to MoD Ambulance conversions, This vehicle is one of only two ever built.

Luxembourg Army 101FC Ambulance

The Judge Dredd City Cab

This very special film prop was one of several built for the film adaptation of comic book hero Judge Dredd. The 'City Cab' was built on the Land Rover 101 fc chassis and running gear. Design work was done by Gordon Sked and David Woodhouse and the vehicles were built by Dunsfold DLR for Land Rover. After the movie was finished all of the vehicles were sold off. Most were built up in the yellow ‘City Cab’ colours, although there were also a number of City Utility vehicles in Silver, and Mobile Kitchens in Red. After the movie was finished all of the vehicles were sold off.

Judge Dredd City Cab.