What are Brit "Vectors"?

[Erwin]

Was reading a book about a Brit unit in Afghanistan by Andy McNab of SAS fame, and they keep referring to their armored vehicles as "Vectors."

Anyone know what sort of vehicles they are?

[flamingknives]

6X6 armoured Pinzgauers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinzgauer_High_Mobility_All-Terrain_Vehicle

[Erwin]

Thank you...

I noted: "The Vector PPV was found to have unreliable supension and wheel hubs as well as poor protection against improvised explosive devices. It quickly lost the confidence of field commanders and was withdrawn from service.[5]"

From this and CMSF one really gets the sense that aside from the Challenger tank, the poor Brit soldier really has crappy stuff - awful feeling of sliding into 2nd world status - I guess like the Romans after their empire crashed. How long for the US I wonder.

[hcrof]

The Brits have been putting up with crappy stuff since the dawn of time - and then complaining vigorously about it. Check out our ORBAT from the late cold war, it is scary that we were to fight the Soviets with hopelessly outdated equipment even then.

The British soldier has always relied on excellent training and leadership to get them through their scrapes - check out the Falkland islands campaign where much of the Argentinian equipment was better than ours. Only extreme aggression and excellent physical training stopped the ground invasion from becoming a disaster.

[Erwin]

Yes, I just got back from a few months in London and picked up and played a cardboard game called "Where there is discord..." (I think). It was a solitaire game of the naval, air and ground challenges of Falklands, and clearly showed what a close run thing it was.

Some of the best graphics and production values of any cardboard game I have ever seen btw if others are into that.

I recall back then during the "Thatcher war" cynically thinking that there must be oil or minerals out there someplace for the UK to care so much - even tho' at the time all that was strenuously denied. But, now, guess what...

And I see the Argies are raising the whole thing again. Plus ca change...

[Jonny(FGM)]

Actually I think the previous bout of oil exploration was inconclusive

[-Eddie-]

From what I'd read I assumed the Vectors were complete sh*te but in the book Fire Strike 7/9 written by a British JTAC he said him and his FST loved the Vector as it was better protected than the WMIK they were given. In fact at one point they survived shrapnel from a 107mm rocket landing near their position :eek:

[Erwin]

Things that CMSF appears to teach (as opposed to RL which may or may not correspond):

The Brit stuff is ****e compared to the US (altho am enjoying playing the Brits due to the increased "challenge"). But, Vectors are only glorified trucks. Scary to think of soldiers being sent into combat in one.

CMSF also teaches that the WMIK is only good for transportation. Hard to see its use anywhere close to combat.

[hcrof]

I suspect you will find that when NATO comes out, all their equipment will seem ****e compared with the US kit too. Not surprising given relative budgets really, the US military is a scary, scary thing!

As for WMIKs, I like them but you have to be very sneaky with them. Hull down at 1km is a good place to be! Either that or dismount the main weapon They are definitely a post cold war piece of equipment though - they would be suicide in high intensity warfare against a competent opponent.

[flamingknives]

The Vector is no more daft than an armoured Humvee, or one of those odd trucks that the Marines have.

I think that you may be somewhat surprised by the quality of the kit that some of the NATO countries have.