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Humber "Pig" 1-Ton

Armored Personnel Carrier/ Internal Security Vehicle

Mark 1 Pig APC

Specifications

Country of Origin/Used by:	Great Britain
First Produced/Service Dates:	1956-1980's
Manufactured by:	Chassis: Rootes Group, Limited; Armored Body: Joseph Sankey & Sons Ltd. (GKN Sankey) & Royal Ordnance Factories.
Crew:	2+6
Armament:	None (Some Exceptions including vehicles fitted with Turrets)
Engine:	6 Cylinder Gasoline
Miscellaneous Info:	The Humber Armored Truck series was based on the chassis of the Humber FV 1600 4x4 1-Ton C.T. Cargo Truck. The vehicles were given the nickname of "The Pig" due to its rough ride and handling. The Pig was initially produced to supplement the British Army's Saracen Armored Personnel Carriers (APC) in order to perform some of the less demanding roles of the latter. Although it performed those roles adequately, during the mid-1960's, the British Army moved away from wheeled APC's in favor of the tracked FV 432 APC series. The Pigs were quietly retired by being put into storage or sold on the civilian market.  However, the Pigs' retirement didn't last for long due to the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland escalating in the late 1960's. Due to a variety of reasons, the Humber Pigs were taken out of mothballs/re-purchased and put back into service.  They eventually had a LONG, successful second life during the aforementioned conflict. Many different variants and specialty versions were produced/modified throughout the series production.  The main variants were the FV 1609 Armoured Cargo Truck, FV 1610 Armoured Cargo Truck Fitted for Wireless (FFW), FV 1611 Mark 1* Armoured Personnel Carrier, FV 1611 Mark 2 APC/Internal Security Vehicle*, FV 1612 Armoured Truck FFW/Fitted for Radio (FFR), FV 1613 Armoured Ambulance.  Some interesting sub-variants of the Mark 2 Internal Security Vehicle were the "Flying Pig", "Kremlin Pig", "Foaming Pig", FV1620 Hornet Anti-Tank Vehicle and "Squirt". *After the appearance of the improved Mark 2 vehicle, the earlier production vehicles were retroactively referred to as Mark 1. The Mark 2 Pigs were produced in late-1972 due to the Provisional Irish Republican Army acquiring more lethal armaments; specifically armored piercing ammunition. Besides all new vehicles being built to the Mark 2 configuration, most all Mark 1's were retrofitted with the improvements within a few months. Mark 2 improvements include up-armoring, the addition of an obstacle remover, the fitting of new direct-vision blocks, new rear door configuration and strengthened rear-axle.
Data Sheet Available:	None Available

Photos

Reference	Source/Provider
FV 1609 Humber Pig Prototype Photos	Clive Elliott - Editor of The Shorland Site
FV 1609 Humber Pig Prototype Photos (2005)	David Green - Oxfordshire, UK
FV 1609 Humber Pig Prototype Photo	Ian Young - Great Britain
FV 1611 Humber Pig Mark 1 APC Photos	Major (Retired) Don Allen - Orleans, Ontario Canada
FV 1611 Humber Pig Mark 1 APC Photo	British Ministry of Defence via the Dave Haugh Collection
FV 1611 Humber Pig Mark 1 APC Photos	The Massimo Foti Collection
FV 1611 Humber Pig Mark 1 APC Photos	The Dave Haugh Collection
FV 1611 Humber Pig Mark 1 APC Photos (Taken at the Imperial War Museum, Land Warfare Hall - Duxford)	Patrick Keenan - Editor
FV 1611 Humber Pig Mark 1 APC Photos	Ian Young
FV 1611 Humber Pig Mark 1 APC which has been nicely restored to depict an FV 1613 Ambulance (War & Peace Show - Beltring, UK)	David Green
FV 1611 Humber Pig Mark 2 Vehicle Photos	Don Allen
FV 1611 Humber Pig Mark 2 Vehicle Photo	British Ministry of Defence via the Dave Haugh Collection
FV 1611 Humber Pig Mark 2 APC Photos	The Massimo Foti Collection
FV 1611 Humber Pig Mark 2 Vehicle Photo	Peter Brown via the Dave Haugh Collection
FV 1611 Humber Pig Mark 2 Vehicle Photo (Belfast 1974)	The Dave Haugh Collection
FV 1611 Humber Pig Mark 2 APC Photos	The Dave Haugh Collection
FV 1611 Humber Pig Mark 2 APC Photos	Keith Paget - Northampton, UK
FV 1611 Humber Pig Mark 2 Vehicle Photo	Armando Ross via Dave Haugh
FV 1611 Humber Pig Mark 2 Vehicle Photos	Ian Young
Humber "Felix" Pig Mark 2 Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Vehicle Photos (Taken at the Royal Logistic Corps Museum - Kings Worthy, UK)	Major (Retired) Don Allen - Orleans, Ontario Canada
Humber "Felix" Pig Mark 2 Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Vehicle Photos	Ian Young
Humber EOD "Foaming" Pig Mark 2 Photo (EOD Vehicle equipped with Angus Foam Laying Device.  To make explosive devices less destructive, high expansion foam was applied to them via this vehicle).	Ian Young
Humber "Turret" Pig Mark 2 Vehicle Photo [Vehicle fitted with Shorland Armoured Patrol Car Turret (mounting .30 cal or 7.62mm GPMG machine gun)]	Ian Young
FV 1611 Humber Mark 1 & 2 "Flying Pig" Vehicle Photos  (This vehicle type was equipped with fold-out wings to allow one vehicle to block standard width streets as well as to providedismounted security troops with protection and good visability)	Ian Young
Humber "Kremlin Pig" Mk 2 Vehicle Photo (Belfast, N. Ireland - 1984)  This vehicle type was fitted with specialized cage armour to held defend against anti-tank rocket-propelled grenades (specifically the RPG-7) supplied by the Soviet Union.	"Murdo" - Scotland
FV 1611 Mark 2 Humber Pig "Squirt" Vehicle Photos (This vehicle type was equipped with a water cannon that projected water mixed with irritant dye at violent protesters)	Clive Elliott
FV 1611 Mark 2 Humber Pig "Squirt" Vehicle Photos (Kemble, UK 2005)	David Green
FV 1611 Mark 2 Humber Pig "Squirt" Vehicle Photos	Ian Young
FV 1612 Humber Pig Mark 1 FFW Truck	Clive Elliot
FV 1612 Humber Pig Mark 1 FFW Photos [Equipped with Station Radio 'R' Type 'H' Direction Finding (DF) System]	Clive Elliott
FV 1612 Humber Pig Mark 1 FFW Photo [Equipped with Station Radio 'R' Type 'H' Direction Finding (DF) System]  Photographed with Cecil Rawlings at the Park Royal Vehicles Plant - London: Circa Early 1960s).  We think that the vehicle was at PRV for internal fitting of radio desk/furniture and possibly tentage related to its DF purpose.	Steve Rawlings - Lydney, UK
FV 1612 Humber Pig FFW/FFR Truck Photos	Erik Johansen - South Shields, Tyne & Wear UK
FV 1613 Humber Pig Ambulance Photos	Ian Young
Photos of Various Versions of the Humber Pig APC Photos from Military Vehicle Show - Kemble, UK (2005)	Dennis Trowbridge - Bristol, UK

References Available

Online

Reference	Source/Provider
"A Reference Page: A Humber Pig Interior"  By Jochen Vollert	Armored Car - The Wheeled Fighting Vehicle Journal (Issue #19)
Humber Pig APC & Hornet Anti-Tank Vehicle Information & Photos	Key Military
Humber Pig APC Information & Photos	Irish Armored Vehicles
Humber Pig APC Information & Photos (German Text)	Panzerbaer Website
Humber Pig APC Information & Photos	Park Royal Vehicles Website
Humber Pig APC Information & Photos	Tank Encyclopedia
"Pig In A Poke" Article (Covering the Humber Pig Suspension and Its Problems)	Clive Elliott - Editor of The Shorland Site
"That's Not Right" Article (Covering Early Humber Pigs)	Clive Elliott

Printed

Reference	Author
"British Army Vehicles In Ulster" (January 1996 Issue of Military In Scale Magazine)	Bob Morrison
Encyclopedia of Armoured Cars	Duncan Crow & Robert J. Icks
Humber 1600 Series, The (Truck 1 Ton 4x4 C.T.)	Jochen Vollert
"Humber FV 1600 Series: A Unique British Family of Combat Range Trucks"	Wheels & Tracks: The International Review of Military Vehicles - Issue #6
"Humber Pig" (March 2012 Issue of Military Machines International Magazine)	Ian Young
Jane's AFV Recognition Handbook (2nd Edition)	Christopher F. Foss
"Mother of Invention" (April 2009 Issue of Military Machines International Magazine)	James Lyle
"On Patrol: Part 2" (April 2008 Issue of Military Machines International Magazine)	Geoff Fletcher
"Pigs Aplenty" (March 2019 Issue of Classic Military Vehicle Magazine)	David Fletcher
Wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicles In Service	B.T. White

Hobby Modeling

Kits and Accessories

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