VEHICLES Methods of insertion are always a problem for special forces teams, and the SAS is no different. David Stirling insisted that his unit should be able to arrive at its target by sea, air or land, and this has been the guiding principle if the SAS´s training ever since. One of the ways to arrive at the target is by vehicle, and by the time of the Gulf War the SAS had 50 years of experience with specially adapted vehicles. The trucks and Jeeps of WWII had given way to Land Rovers in the 1950´s, and ever since the SAS has stuck to these tried and tested vehicles. Why are the Land Rovers so good? First, they are powerful and agile at low speed in mud and sand, while their road speed is quite good for what is essentially an off-raod vehicle. Second, all variants have good power/weight ratios, together with a good underbelly clearance. They also have an even weight distrubution, which means they retain good control over soft surfaces. Finally and perhaps most importantly, they can be serviced in the field and they can take alot of punishment. They are not perfect by any means, and in many ways SAS Land Rovers are a compromise between payload and speed. Nevertheless, they are probably the most reliable light vehicles in the world, and for that reason they are worth their weight in gold onoperations. The majority of SAS vehicles of this marque in the Gulf were Land Rover 110s. These vehicles have a 110in (2,79m) chassis with a coil-spring suspension to give a degree of comfort for the passangers. The vehicles themselves were liberally festooned with Jerrycans of fuel, M19 grenade launchers, Browning heavy machine guns, Milan anti-tank weapons, Stingers and GPMG´s, plus all the passengers´ personal kit, ammunition, water and food. Mention here should also be made of an SAS experiment that failed in the Gulf-War with regard to light vehicles. The Regiment used, and continues to use, Land Rovers to excellent effect. A rather less successful venture concerned the erimentation with dune-buggies in the Gulf, which really came to nothing and put an end to the SAS use of such vehicles. A trend led by the Americans, such vehicles at first glance seem ideal for special forces missions. For example, they are light enough to be carried slung beneath the fuselage of a helicopter, they are quick once deployed, and because of their size difficlut to spot. In addition, because they are open-framed, they have reduced thermal and radar signature. On paper these attributes seemed to recommend their immediate use by elite teams. They have several serious drawbacks, however, most notably because their size makes it impossible to carry large quantities of food, ammunition, fuel and water - the things a successful long range mission depends. Such vehicles are thus dependent upon continual re-supply, either by aircraft or some otherform of supply vehicle. At the end of the day the bad outweighed the good as far the SAS were concerned. Land Rover 110