The Fuchs is a 6x6
Armoured Personnel Carrier in service with the
British Army, although it is not used in this role with Britain's armed forces. The Fuchs is of
German origin, and was manufactured by
Thyssen Henschel under the designation "Transport
Panzer 1." There are seven different versions of the Panzer 1 in use with the German armed forces, who have around 1, 000 of these vehicles.
The British use the Fuchs because of its NBC reconnaisance variant, 10 of which were purchased during the 1991 Gulf War. These 10 vehicles now form the main element of the UK's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence Regiment. For this the Fuchs have been fitted with the joint UK/US "Provisional Biological Detection System", or PBDS. The Fuchs is also amphibious, with a maximum water speed of 10.5 kph.
The NBC variant of the Panzer 1 (Fuchs) in service with the British Army is also used by the USA with 60 vehicles, Israel with 8, the Netherlands who have 6, and Turkey has 4.
Specs:
Length: 6.83 m
Width: 2.98 m
Height: 2.3 m
Weight: 17, 000 kg
Ground clearance: 0.4 m
Max road speed: 105 kph
Road range: 800 km
Engine: Mercedes-Benz Model OM 402A V-8 Liquid-cooled Diesel
Fuel capacity: 390 litres
Horsepower: 320 bhp
Crew: 2 (Driver and Gunner) + maximum of 10 passengers in APC role
Main armament: 7.62 mm GPMG (General Purpose Machine Gun)
Other armaments: Smoke Dischargers (Royal Ordnance VIRSS *)
NBC Proof: Yes
Night Vision: Yes
* VIRSS = "Visual and Infra Red Screening Smoke"
(Other vehicles used by the British Army: AS90 | Challenger 2 | Saxon | Scimitar | Spartan | Striker | Warrior)
Sources:
www.army.mod.uk
"The British Army: a Pocket Guide"