Editing Land Rover 101 Forward Control

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2014}}
{{short description|Light utility vehicle by Land Rover}}
[[File:Land Rover 101 Forward Control 2.jpeg|thumb|right|A civilian-owned '''101 Forward Control''' or '''Land Rover 101FC''']]
[[File:Land Rover 101 - geograph.org.uk - 321220.jpg|thumb|right|Side view of a Land Rover 101FC]]
[[File:Land Rover 101 Forward Control.jpg|thumb|Land Rover 101FC in radio van body configuration]]

The '''101 Forward Control''' or '''Land Rover 101FC''' was a light utility vehicle produced by [[Land Rover]] for the [[British Army]]. It was not available to the public off the production line,<ref name=truck86>{{cite journal | journal = TRUCK | date = June 1986 | page = 4 | editor-last = Barden | editor-first = Paul | title = Scoop! New Land Rover truck | location = London, UK | publisher = FF Publishing Ltd }}</ref> but was as military surplus.

==History==
The vehicle was primarily produced to meet the Army's requirement for a [[artillery tractor|gun tractor]], and was designed to tow a [[field gun]] (the [[L118 Light Gun]]) with a ton of [[ammunition]] and other equipment in the rear load space, giving it the alternative name of the ''Land Rover One Tonne''. The vehicle was designed to be easily transported by air; the positioning of the 3.5&nbsp;litre [[Rover V8 engine]] beneath and to the rear of the cab eliminates the bonnet at the front, making the vehicle more or less cuboid thus reducing unused space in transport aircraft.<ref name=JMV101>JANE's Military Vehicles and Ground Support Equipment, 1985, p. 300-301</ref> Of concern was the payload and limited stability, particularly when crossing an incline.<ref name=truck86/>

The official name of 101 Forward Control is derived from the vehicle's {{convert|101|in|mm|0|sing=on}} [[wheelbase]], and the position of the driver, above and slightly in front of the front wheels which used a fairly large 9.00 × 16&nbsp;inch tyre. To facilitate entry into the cab, the wheels carry a flange around the centre of the wheel with an embossed tread pattern as a step for the crew, named a wheel-step. This unusual feature was also used for many years on the Mercedes [[Unimog]] S404.

Development of the 101FC started in 1967, with a design team led by Norman Busby (14 October 1931 &ndash; 30 June 2005). Production took place between 1972 and 1978.<ref name=JMV101/> In common practice of the armed forces, many vehicles were not used for some years and it is not unheard of for military vehicle enthusiasts to pick up these vehicles after only a few thousand miles service. All the vehicles produced at the [[Solihull plant|Land Rover factory at Lode Lane, Solihull]] were soft top ("rag top") General Service (GS) gun tractors, although later on many were rebuilt with hard-top [[ambulance]] bodies and as radio communication trucks. A rare variant is the [[electronic warfare]] Vampire body. It is thought that only 21 of these were produced and less than half of these survive today. One was destroyed in the [[2005 Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fire|Buncefield Oil Terminal Fire]].

The 101FC also served with the [[RAF Regiment]]. Two 101s were allocated to each [[Rapier Missile]] set up. The British RAF Rapier system used three Land Rovers in deployment: a 24V winch-fitted 101 Firing Unit Tractor (FUT) to tow the launch trailer, loaded with four Rapier missiles, guidance equipment and radio; a 12V winch-fitted 101 Tracking Radar Tractor (TRT) to tow the Blindfire Radar trailer, also loaded with four Rapier missiles and guidance equipment; and a 109 Land Rover to tow a reload trailer with 9 Rapier missiles and loaded with the unit's other supplies and kit.

The 101FC also served in an ambulance role, with ambulance bodywork built by [[Marshall of Cambridge]].<ref name=JMV101/> The 101FC was manufactured in both left and right hand drive with either 12 or 24&nbsp;volt electrical systems.<ref name=JMV101/>

Some 101FCs were produced with a [[Power take-off|PTO]] powered Nokken [[Capstan (nautical)|capstan]] winch mounted on the chassis at the centre of the vehicle, allowing winching from either the front or rear. Another variation on a small number of pre-production vehicles was the addition of a trailer with an axle driven from the PTO, creating a 6x6 vehicle, this adaptation was abandoned before full production when it was discovered that the trailer had a propensity to push the vehicle onto its side when driven over rough terrain.

On 5 September 1979 an open 101FC of the [[Life Guards (United Kingdom)|Life Guards Regiment]] carried the coffin of [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma]] from his funeral at [[Westminster Abbey]] to [[Waterloo Station]]

===Replacement===
By the late 1990s, the 101s were decommissioned by the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|MoD]] and were replaced with [[Land Rover Defender|Defenders]] and [[Pinzgauer High Mobility All-Terrain Vehicle|Pinzgauer]] vehicles. Many 101s have entered into private ownership and there is a thriving owners club supporting these sourcing spares and providing technical support. The club also keeps a register of known surviving vehicles throughout the world.

A prototype 101 was built based on a recovery vehicle. Only one of these is known to be in existence, at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire.{{citation needed|date=June 2013}}

==Australia==
The [[Australian Army]] acquired fifty 101 vehicles, which were used to tow [[Rapier missile]] carriers.<ref name=JMV101/> These 101s were disposed of and some of these remain in private hands.

== Use in film ==
[[File:Land Rover JudgeDredd FW Control.JPG|thumb|The 101FC as seen in when re-styled for the film ''[[Judge Dredd (film)|Judge Dredd]]'']]

Thirty-one 101s were converted by Land Rover with styled bodyshells for the 1995 [[Sylvester Stallone]] film ''[[Judge Dredd (film)|Judge Dredd]]''. [[Land Rover]] is supposedly the world's only surviving ground vehicle manufacturer in 2139 when the film is set, and the green oval logo can be seen on the side of the vehicles, known as "City CABs".<ref>[http://www.talkingpix.co.uk/Reviews%20-%20Judge%20Dredd.html Talkingpix.com : Judge Dredd]</ref>
Several of these prop vehicles still exist in driveable condition and these can be seen at Land Rover events.

== Custom Versions ==
During the 1990s Malcolm Whitbread of Whitbread Offroad 4x4 obtained four examples of the 101. Three were right-hand drive, one was left-hand drive. The right-hand drive examples were extensively modified for trails or rally use. Modifications included conversion to a coil spring suspension system based on the Range Rover configuration of the time. Disc brakes were also fitted.  
The left-hand drive example (UK registration GDP252V) was reconstructed with a hand-built custom chassis as a completely new vehicle. 15” wheels and power-assisted steering were included in the construction. GDP252V was the only left-hand drive Land Rover 101 Forward Control to be registered as a new vehicle.

==See also==
* [[Jeep Forward Control]]
* [[UAZ-452]]
* [[GAZ-66]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.101club.org 101 Forward control Club and Register]

{{ModernUKNonAFVNav| style= wide}}
{{Land Rover vehicles}}

[[Category:Land Rover vehicles|101 Forward Control]]
[[Category:Military trucks]]
[[Category:Cab over vehicles]]
[[Category:Cab over off-road vehicles]]
[[Category:Armoured fighting vehicles of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Off-road vehicles]]
[[Category:All-wheel-drive vehicles]]
[[Category:Military vehicles introduced in the 1970s]]