I finally decided to build my Accurate Armour Saxon. My question is: Was it used in Northern Ireland and if so, when?
I was thinking of building a diorama with it and it would be early 80´s.

Oh, btw. Does anyone have any interior pics laying around? Seems to be hard to find good reference on the web for it.

Cheers
Pelle

Hi Pelle,

The only vehicles I remember being used in NI in the early '80s' were the Saracen and Humber "Pig"... Oh, and of course the Land Rover (which has served everywhere).

The saxon replaced saracen and the pig in NI some time ago.

They have front bull bars similar to the pig and hinged side mesh panels to provide cover for troops.

Try looking through the photo gallery on the army website, there may be some pics in there

Regards

Joe

Thanks for the replys, fellas.
I searched every webpage I could think of but all the Saxons where either from Jugoslavia or exercises in the UK.
Guess I will have to keep looking...

Pelle

http://www.panzerbaer.de/types/uk_fv_at_105_saxon-b.htm

There you go...Saxons in Northern Ireland...just gotta know where to look. Good luck with your project.

The version shown in the images taken in Northern Ireland entered service in 1993...specific modifications for operations in N.I....the push bars and other external modifications and a new engine.

Thanks Jason! Those pics really helped me out a lot. I guess I will give up my intentions on making it early 80´s and go for the early 90´s then...


Pelle

Hi, they were used extensively for riot control duties during riots in Londonderry and Belfast. Also they were present in large numbers at Drumcree. There was a piece of famous film news footage of a rioter stepping out from behind a barricade, throwing a petrol bomb, retreating back behind the barrier which was then hit by a Saxon. Nasty. As Joe said they had bull bars, but also large armoured screens which folded flat against the sides of the vehicles when not in use, but opened out to link up with other vehicles to cover troops sheltering between the vehicles. They are currently employed in Afghanisatn as part of the ISAF deployments.

Those Saxons on panzerbaer are not in NI anybody any idea where the photo was taken

What makes you say that?

Ive never seen the public order saxons anywhere in mainland Britain.

Greeting All

The biggest clue is that they're on the wrong side of the road for NI.

The houses look German but I don't remember the sign outside the building in the first picture. Any ideas anybody???

The caption below the first picture says "Saxon patrols in Northern Ireland" but they're difinitely not in N.I.

As has been pointed out before, they're driving on the wrong side of the road! Generally a major give away... (And a MAJOR faux pas (French for cock up) where ever you're driving armoured vehicles... for some reason it really scares and severly p*sses off anybody driving round the corner towards you ).

I'd say they were definitely in Germany. The white sign next to the commander in pic 1 has an "umlaut" (two dots) above the "U" and a German bus stop sign just behind the wagon... (Yellow H on a green circle).

I don't recognise the road as being outside any of the current British barracks in Germany... (North of Munster that is..)

Go on, I'm curious now... Does anybody recognise it?