Land Rover 110, Long Range Patrol Vehicle : Special Air Service Regiment

Land Rover 110, Long Range Patrol Vehicle, ARN 50863. Smoke grenade dischargers fitted to front bullbar. Extensive damage to front right hand chassis and engine from improvised expolsive device. Missing front right hand tyre.

This Long Range Patrol Vehicle (LRPV) originally came into service in the early 1990's and was used mainly for training in desert and open country reconnaissance. This training was carried out in the remote areas of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. In 1998 the vehicle was deployed operationally for the first time to support 1 Special Air Service Sqn in the Middle East on Operation Pollard. It was then deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Slipper.

From 2003 the LRPV served in Iraq as part of Operation Falconer before returning to Afghanistan in 2005. In both Iraq and Afghanistan it was used extensively by the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) for insertions and patrolling activities.

This LRPV became colloquially known as ‘One Fitty’ from the $150 additional daily allowance an SAS soldier received whilst serving in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan.
In May 2006 ‘One Fitty’ was the lead vehicle during an Australian Army Special Forces unit patrol in Afghanistan. It struck a Pressure Plate Improvised Explosive Device (PPIED) causing significant damage to the front right hand side of the vehicle. The vehicle’s tyre was blown off the rim and landed approximately five metres away. Damage to the right hand side front wheel arch was also sustained as well as significant damage to the vehicle engine bay. The mine armour plating fitted to the vehicle resulted in the crew surviving largely unscathed with the only injury being a minor leg injury to the driver. ‘One Fitty’ was rendered unserviceable and was extracted from the location by an Australian Chinook helicopter.