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were replaced. At the front and rear of the roof each of the Tangis were fitted with a remotely controlled spotlight and a rotating blue warning light, all protected by expanded metal grilles. The
Hotspur's side skirts were retained, as was its fire protection system. In addition, burning petrol was prevented from entering the engine bay by a fabric strip around the bonnet edge and at the hinge between the bonnet and the front bulkhead. Further, the engine radiator was protected from damage with a substantial louvred grille fabricated from 3 mm steel sheet.
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312:. At the height of the Troubles the vehicles were essential for patrolling across Northern Ireland, carrying two police officers in the front and a maximum of five officers wearing riot helmets and carrying shields in the rear. At this time they were painted in a dark grey livery. One person, Alan McCormick, a Protestant civilian, was killed after being hit by one of the vehicles during the Troubles, during a riot situation in
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The first Tangi (registration HXI 3593, fleet number 8203) went into action on 16 January 1986. Crews were very welcoming of the Tangi and much preferred it to the
Hotspur, mainly thanks to its power steering, coil spring suspension, disc brakes and factory air conditioning which the Hotspur lacked,
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The
Hotspur was complemented by a more advanced armoured Land Rover called the Simba. This, rather than being a civilian Land Rover with armour bolted on, was a chassis which was fitted with a purpose built armoured steel body providing 360-degree protection against high velocity rifle fire, bricks,
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By the end of 1983, 151 Hotspurs had also been fitted with a fire extinguishing system operated by the front seat passenger. In the event of the vehicle being hit by a petrol bomb, as was not uncommon during civil disorder, a dashboard button was pressed. This caused the heater blower and engine fan
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Similar IEDs were fitted with small drogues on the rear, so they could be thrown horizontally to strike the side of a Tangi thus circumventing the additional roof armour. The RUC responded to this with a similar measure to the Dawson roof, fitting a plate of ballistic steel several inches from the
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110 civilian chassis. When donor kits ran out, the RUC workshops began to fabricate brand-new ones. The vehicles' headlights were initially protected from damage by transparent polycarbonate shields, but these were quickly found to be less durable than the original metal grilles of the
Hotspur and
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The
Hotspur Hussar is a military armoured personnel carrier designed in 1984 and based upon the Land Rover Hotspur and Tangi. It features a third driven axle to provide a 6x6 configuration and is capable of carrying a crew of two plus ten fully equipped soldiers over rugged terrain. Up to six gun
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The use of a drogue bomb which damaged the roof of one vehicle during rioting at Dawson Street in
Belfast led to the developing of the 'Dawson' roof. The crew of the Land Rover were saved from serious injury as they had packed riot shields using ropes above their heads forming a second skin. The
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The
Hotspur was immediately put into action and worked admirably. Myriad modifications were carried out over the years, including lining the vehicles' lower panels with sheets of polycarbonate to prevent the body panels from being dented during civil disorder. Metal grilles and rubber skirts were
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were added to each side of the rear cargo bed and an armoured steel door was fitted to the rear. Whilst this provided a greater degree of protection from low velocity weapons, there were many areas of the vehicle which were still unprotected. The RUC realised that a fresh design was required to
210:. Large plates of ballistic steel were bolted to the sides of the vehicle, which wrapped around the rear pillar and met with an armoured double door. Both of these doors and the side plates were fitted with sliding pistol ports, allowing the officers inside to return fire in the event of an
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However, due to the Simba's advanced and purpose built nature it was very slow to produce and the
Hotspur Land Rovers were beginning to wear out, so a solution was needed to quickly get more armoured police vehicles on the streets. The answer was the Land Rover Tangi.
214:. The rear doors, sides and roof constituted an armoured box providing all round protection to the crew in the rear of the vehicle. For the protection of the driver and the front seat passenger, the windscreen and side windows were replaced with thick sheets of
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used in its construction. The chassis of a civilian Land Rover 109 station wagon was used. Underneath the standard aluminium roof a second roof, fabricated from armoured steel, was installed. This provided overhead protection from gunfire, petrol bombs and
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cage was fitted over the rear cargo bed and lined with hardboard to prevent sharp objects being thrust through the cage. Similar expanded metal grilles protected the windows and headlights on the vehicle to prevent them being broken by thrown projectiles.
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fitted around the lower perimeter of the vehicle to prevent projectiles being thrown under the body at officers who were sheltering behind, and also to prevent beer kegs being rolled under the vehicle in an attempt to immobilise it.
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doors. Finally, a fabricated (not expanded) metal grille could be pulled up over the windscreen to prevent the windscreen being broken by thrown objects during civil disorder, and the side windows covered with a sheet of transparent
323:, the vehicles are largely used for crowd control, though some are still used for patrol purposes in areas where Dissident Paramilitaries still operate. The vehicles are now painted in standard white, yellow and blue
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hull to detonate the bomb before it struck the main armoured body. In this final form, with the Dawson roof and hardened side armour, the Tangi is seen on the streets of
Northern Ireland today.
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However, it was not long before the police came under attack with firearms; against which the cages and hardboard of the early Land Rovers provided no protection. Plates of
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in
Northern Ireland, the RUC had long used armoured vehicles to provide protection to its officers. The first to be based on the Land Rover appeared in 1957, based on a
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Tangis are known to the local population as 'Meat Wagons'. This name comes from the police being called 'pigs' and from other armoured vehicles used by the
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to switch off, and a fire extinguisher was automatically discharged through a series of pipes into the engine bay and over the windscreen and bonnet.
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ports may be provided, three on each side of the vehicle through which the occupants can fire at an enemy. The Hotspur Hussar was exported to
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before it struck the main armoured roof. Vehicles fitted with the Dawson roof were easily identified due to its large, angular appearance.
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roofs now effectively were designed with a second steel roof mounted over the first and works similar to spaced armour, detonating the
331:. The original rotating blue beacons have been replaced with full-width light bars and small blue strobes fitted to the front grille.
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109" wheelbase pick-up body. This incorporated only a basic level of protection, designed to defend against bricks and bottles in a
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More than half of the former RUC (now PSNI) fleet of 450 armoured Land Rovers were decommissioned under the terms of the
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bought six. Currently the Tangis are being phased out in Northern Ireland for new replacement models of the
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165:(PSNI). The vehicle was designed and built in house by the Royal Ulster Constabulary's own engineers.
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PANGOLIN Public Order Land Rover (Mk 1 & 2) and the Penman Public Order Land Rover.
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and that it was impervious to most of the weapons encountered during civil disorder.
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The result was the Hotspur Land Rover, named after the brand of armour plate made in
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510:"Twaddell Avenue, north Belfast: Device fired 'from Brompton Park area'"
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Six-wheeled model of the Hotspur armoured personnel carrier, 1987.
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Armour kits from retired Hotspurs were fitted onto brand-new
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161:(RUC) and are currently used by its replacement, the
363:to be refurbished and distributed among UK forces.
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History of armoured Land Rovers in Northern Ireland
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
558:"UK Emergency Vehicles > Police > Police 14"
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457:Armoured and Heavy Vehicles of the RUC 1922–2001
385:The vehicle has become popular with collectors.
389:and artwork of the vehicles are available.
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
359:. A number, mainly Tangis, came back to
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47:adding citations to reliable sources
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619:Armoured cars of the United Kingdom
604:Wheeled armoured personnel carriers
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639:Police Service of Northern Ireland
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163:Police Service of Northern Ireland
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304:in Northern Ireland, such as the
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34:needs additional citations for
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492:"CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths"
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418:– similar vehicle used by the
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367:are known to operate Tangis,
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249:improvised explosive devices
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634:History of Northern Ireland
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614:Internal security vehicles
644:Royal Ulster Constabulary
371:have three and after the
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159:Royal Ulster Constabulary
127:Land Rover Tangi passing
629:Cars of Northern Ireland
609:All-wheel-drive vehicles
198:protect their officers.
157:. They were used by the
153:and used in policing in
16:Type of armoured vehicle
512:. BBC. 17 November 2014
470:"Riot Control Vehicles"
459:, Ian Allan Publishing.
576:"Penman Armoured SUVs"
472:. ospreypublishing.com
369:South Yorkshire Police
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183:public order situation
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376:West Yorkshire Police
357:Good Friday Agreement
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43:improve this article
649:Land Rover vehicles
428:– Land Rover-based
422:during The Troubles
325:Battenburg markings
273:Land Rover Defender
564:on 1 October 2006.
393:The Hotspur Hussar
365:North Wales Police
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267:A Land Rover Tangi
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58:"Land Rover Tangi"
496:cain.ulster.ac.uk
416:Snatch Land Rover
347:on Queen's Road,
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580:. Retrieved
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36:verification
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542:12 December
516:18 November
476:16 November
314:Ballysillan
598:Categories
436:References
319:Since the
306:Humber Pig
148:Land Rover
99:March 2013
69:newspapers
582:27 August
404:Sri Lanka
316:in 1986.
259:The Tangi
426:Shorland
410:See also
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179:Series I
349:Belfast
173:Due to
151:chassis
83:scholar
335:Status
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185:. An
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420:Army
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380:OVIK
208:IEDs
138:The
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133:RUC
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