A history of the Special Air Service's lightweight, heavily armed
vehicles and their combat use, ranging from the famous 1942 airfield
raids of North Africa, the SAS Brigade's jeep-borne operations in Europe
after D-Day, and 22 SAS's postwar adoption of much-modified Land Rovers
for desert operations.
The SAS, the world's most famous special operations unit, made its name
in the desert of North Africa, shooting up Axis airfields from specially
modified Willys jeeps. Following the start of the El Alamein offensive
in October 1942, the SAS used jeeps effectively in reconnoitring and
ambushing the retreating Afrika Korps. After the conclusion of the North
African campaign, the Willys underwent several small but significant
changes, including the introduction of the .303 Browning machine gun.
Between June and October 1944, the SAS brigade operated deep inside
Occupied France, harassing Germans reinforcements heading to Normandy,
calling up air strikes on installations, and carrying out reconnaissance
missions - all made possible with jeeps dropped by the RAF. Jeeps were
also used in the push into Germany in the spring of 1945. Transported
across the Rhine in "Buffalo" amphibious landing craft, they formed part
of the vanguard of the Allied advance, and their agility, speed, and
firepower proved crucial in crushing fanatical pockets of Nazi
resistance.
In 1952, 22 SAS regiment adopted the Series 1 Land Rover -- introduced
in 1948 -- as the successor to the Willys jeep. A decade later, the
Regiment updated to the Series IIA 90 Land Rover which had also seen
service in the Oman and Aden where its distinctive color led to the
"Pink Panther" nickname. In the 1970s, the SAS begin using Range Rovers
for covert operations while the Land Rover 110 HCPU became their new
Desert Patrol Vehicle (DPV) in the 1991 Gulf War. This book describes
the successful deployment of these combat vehicles in SAS operations
from the Second World War to the present day and gives a rare insight
into one of the most prestigious and secret forces of modern times.
