Description:
    "Mint paperback reprint of a 1960 publication. 138pp. Illust. User Handbook for FV1609,FV1611 and FV1612. The Humber Pig was a heavily-armoured truck used by the British Army from the 1950s until the 1990s. The Pig was also used by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) for a short period during the late 1960s and early1970s. Includes winch version and armoured version. The original vehicles were built by adding an armoured body to a four wheel drive 1-ton Humber truck, and were originally designed as a stop-gap until fleets of purpose-built armoured vehicles were delivered. They were sold off or put aside to be scrapped. However, as the situation worsened in Northern Ireland the vehicles proved ideal for internal security duties and were brought back into use. They have served longer than their battlefield successors, the Alvis Saracen. Legend has it that the vehicle acquired its nickname because its bonnet resembled a pig's snout and because its driving characteristics were somewhat unrefined. As the Troubles in Northern Ireland escalated during the 1960s and 1970s the Pigs were modified to create the Mark II vehicles. These modifications made the Pig one of the most aggressive looking military vehicles ever manufactured, and they remain an enduring symbol of the Troubles."