Pinzgauer in British Service ~ Part Two

A Steyr-Daimler-Puch Pinzgauer 4x4 TUM [HD] serving with 3 Commando Brigade on Setermoen firing ranges in Arctic Norway, February 2004 [© Bob Morrison]

The original SDP Pinzgauer version ordered by UK MoD in July 1994 as the Truck Utility Medium [Heavy Duty] / TUM [HD] was 4×4 in configuration, writes Bob Morrison.

All of the 394 TUM [HD] Pinzgauers originally ordered by UK MoD, as far as I have been able to ascertain, were soft top 716M GS or General Service versions. Hard top 716K 4×4, plus both 718M 6×6 and 718K 6×6, UK Pinzgauer batches were ordered later but for the moment I am focussing on the original 1994 order batch which mostly have registration (ERM) plates in the **KL** series.

The Pinzgauer 716M 4×4 TUM [HD] ~ seen here at an Artillery Day at Larkhill in 2002 ~ was procured primarily as a gun tractor for the L118 Light Gun and especially the UK’s rapid response formations of the day [©BM]

Officially designated TRUCK MEDIUM UTILITY HEAVY DUTY GENERAL SERVICE SOFT TOP STEYR-DAIMLER-PUCH by the MoD, the Pinzgauer 716M was mainly intended to be a prime mover for the L118 105mm Light Gun and an ammunition resupply vehicle for the same weapon system. Normally one Pinzgauer, with driver and commander in the front seats and two gun crew in the rear, towed the howitzer and was accompanied by a second vehicle transporting two more gunners and ammunition as well as towing a trailer for the gun crew’s kit.

16 Air Assault Brigade, formed in 1999 by merging 5 Airborne and 24 Airmobile Brigades, used the compact TUM [HD] for a variety of roles ~ this one is being used by Military Police in October 2003 [©BM]

A 16 Air Assault Brigade TUM [HD] with trailer photographed at Imber Village on Salisbury Plain during Exercise EAGLES LIFT in October 2002 [©BM]

Of forward control design (i.e. cab-over-engine) the 1994 specification 716M had a two-man ~ at this time only men served in mainstream British Army combat units ~ cab and dropside rear body with four inward-facing fold-up double seats for up to eight with a full-length fabric canopy. The body sat atop a torsion-resistant central tube chassis spine with portal swing axles incorporating the transfer case and the axle drives. Suspension was independent with coil springs and shock absorbers at all wheel stations.

A 16 Air Assault Brigade TUM [HD] serving with 16 CS Medical Regiment photographed on Braid Fell in 2003 during a parachute insertion exercise [©BM]

Powered by a 115bhp (85k) water-cooled turbocharged and intercooled six-cylinder 2383cc VW diesel engine, as fitted to the Volkswagen LT van of that era, the Pinzgauer had a vacuum operated part-time four-wheel drive system; when the engine was switched off, four wheel-drive was automatically engaged and the twin disc transmission brake was locked. The engine drove a five-speed ZF manual gearbox mated to a Steyr design two-speed transfer box, which gave the vehicle a top speed of around 120km/hr or 70mph. Disc brakes were fitted all round with twin callipers at the front.

Ukrainian Paratroopers using a borrowed British TUM [HD] during the multinational Exercise COSSACK STEPPE 2004 at Copehill Down on Salisbury Plain ~ the ‘tiger stripe’ camo on the vehicle is unusual and might indicate that one of the previous users had been assigned to 3 Commando Brigade [©BM]

Measuring 4,480mm long by 1,800mm wide by 2,045mm high, the original soft top Pinzgauer 716M TUM [HD] was a little longer than a Land Rover Wolf 90 TUL HS but shorter than the Wolf 110 TUM HS though both makes were reasonably similar in width and height. The 2400mm wheelbase of the Pinzgauer was only 40mm longer than that of the Wolf 90 (which was actually almost 93” rather than 90”) but because the forward control design placed the driver and front seat passenger above the front axle the Pinz had a longer cargo bed. The 716M had a wheel track of 1520mm, approach and departure angles were 40° and 45° respectively, and unprepared fording depth was 700mm.

A near pristine ten year old TUM [HD] possibly provided by CVD as displayed by MoD at DVD 2005 ~ note the raised air intake retrofitted for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq [©BM]

You might have noticed that in this second part of the story I have been using the past tense for Pinzgauer specifications. This is because in the period around five to ten years after the bulk of the original fleet entered service in early 1995, further Pinzgauer 4×4 plus 6×6 procurements were made by UK MoD. Mostly these later Pinzgauers were slightly uprated and in recent years it has been predominantly the newer vehicles which have been deployed on operations and exercises. I will try to cover these in Part 3 of the story.