Shorland

AKEY RECOGNITION FEATURES

• Land Rover chassis with armoured engine compartment front, crew compartment centre, commander and driver each have forward-opening side door with drop-down vision port in upper part and windscreen to front, which can be covered by two armoured shutters hinged at top

• One-man six-sided turret on hull roof, turret rear in line with rear of crew compartment which then drops down to back of vehicle which is almost in line with engine compartment

• Two large road wheels each side that extend from hull side, extended wheel arches above

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SPECIFICATIONS

Crew: Configuration:

•1 x 1 Armament: 1 x 7.62mm MG Ammunition: 1600 x 7.62mm Length: 4.49m Width: 1.8m Height: 1.8m (roof) Ground clearance: 0.324m Wheelbase: 2.79m Weight, combat: 3,600kg Power-to-weight ratio: 37.8bhp/tonne Engine: Rover 4-stroke V-8 petrol developing 134bhp at SOOOrpm (or diesel engine) Maximum road speed: 120km/hr Maximum road range: 630km Fuel capacity: 136 lit Fording: 0.5m Vertical obstacle: 0.23m Trench: Not applicable Gradient: 60% Side slope: Armour: 8mm Armour type: Steel NBC system: None Night vision equipment: None (Above relates to current production 552 vehicle)

DEVELOPMENT

Shorland was originally developed in 1965 to meet the requirements of Royal Ulster Constabulary for Northern Ireland. First production vehicles were completed in 1965 since when well over 1,000 have been built, mostly for export. The original vehicles have now been taken over by the British Army. Shorland is a modified long wheelbase Land Rover chassis with a fully armoured body for protection from small arms fire and shell splinters.

First production vehicles were Mk Is, followed by the Mk 2, 3, 4 and 5, the main difference being the Land Rover chassis used. Mk 5 has improved coil suspension and wider wheel track. Current production models are known as the Series 5 with the Armoured Patrol Car being designated the S52.

The 7.62mm MG mounted in turret has manual traverse and elevation and four electrically operated smoke grenade dischargers can be mounted each side, firing forwards. Optional equipment includes various radios, air-conditioning system and loud hailer. Different vision arrangements are also available as is a version powered by a 107bhp diesel engine. Latest production vehicles have a redesigned rear angled 45 degrees and a slightly different hull front.

aLeft: Shorland S52

Right: Shorland S52

The Shorland was originally manufactured by Shorts in Northern Ireland but all future production will be undertaken by Tenix Defence Systems in Australia

VARIANTS

552 is the basic Shorland armoured patrol car. 553 is mobile air defence vehicle. Mounted on the turret roof is a lightweight mounting with three Javelin SAMs in the ready-to-launch position. 554 is an anti-hijack vehicle with a special turret fitted with a mounting for a sniper's rifle. 555 is the ARC and covered in the ARC section.

STATUS

In production. In service with 40 countries including Argentina, Bahrain, Botswana, Brunei, Burundi, Cyprus, Guyana, Kenya, Lesotho, Libya, Malayia, Mali, Portugal, Syria, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and UK (Northern Ireland only).

MANUFACTURER

Tenix Defence Systems, Australia.

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