Land Rover 101 Forward Control
Land Rover 101 FC - the one tonne
In the late sixties the military were looking for a larger payload vehicle that could also tow a 4000lb light gun. It was also needed to be capable of being carried by helicopter and hence could weigh no more than 3500lb in stripped down form. 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 vehicle. The Range Rover was just about to begin production and so it was decided to use the powerful 3.5 litre V8 engine from that model along with the gearboxes and centre differential. This was all mounted on a new 101 inch leaf sprung chassis. As with early Range Rovers, four wheel drive is engaged with a vacuum centre differential lock. Large diameter 900 X 16 tyres (close to 36") are mounted on 6 stud rims driven by heavy-duty Salisbury axles. The vehicle weighed in at 4040lbs, and the required 3500lbs in stripped down form. This meant the vehicle could be carried by Wessex helicopters then in service. It could carry a one-tonne load as well as towing a 105mm gun across country.
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, 12volt and 24volt 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.
The majority of vehicles were General Service (GS) models, which were "rag-tops".
Three standard types of hard body 101's were also produced.
These were : 1) Ambulance Body (Approx. 300-450 made, body by Marshall's of Cambridge).
2) Radio Communications Body (Approx. 125 made).
3) "Vampire" Radio Body (Approx. 20 made, body by Marshall's of Cambridge).
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 specialized 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. Levelling 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.
Prototype 101 fc number 6.
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.
To find out more about this fine special application conversion, visit www.rovingdentist.com.
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 their own requirements, the most obvoius of which 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. Different to MoD Ambulance conversions, This vehicle is one of only two ever built.
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 based on the Land Rover 101 fc chassis and running gear. Design work was done by Gordon Sked and David Woodhouse, the vehicles were built by Dunsfold DLR for Land Rover. After the movie was finished all of the vehicles were sold off.
Judge Dredd City Cab.
More on the Judge Dredd City Cabs
If you can help us out with more information or pictures about 101 FCs, please do so. You can contact us at admin@lr-mad.co.uk.
Land Rover 101 FC pictures
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