Commander - The Scammel Commander in British Army Service
Peter Brown
Commander - The Scammell Commander in British Army Service by Pat Ware Warehouse Military Vehicle Datafiles WD4. Published by Warehouse Publications, 5 Rathbone Square, Tanfield Road, Croydon, CR0 1BT, England. Web site www.warehouse.co.uk ISBN 1-903062-00-4 Soft covers, 76 pages. UK price £16.50While not as attention grabbing as tanks, tank transporters play a vital role. Moving
modern tanks and other military vehicles often weighing over 60 tons requires a big,
powerful and hence very impressive machine. The Scammell Commander is the British Army's
current transporter and it has been in service since the mid 1980s and will serve on for
several years yet. Its full story is followed from the first decision to replace its
predecessor, though its long and sometimes troubled development, near acceptance followed
by cancellation in a round of defence cuts, reprieve, production and service in peace and
more active service in the Gulf War and in the former Yugoslavia. This includes accounts
on its testing, a detailed description of the vehicle, and a very useful account of how
the vehicles are used which is an area not usually covered.
Data tables, colour scheme and markings notes plus a complete list of vehicle serial numbers are also given. This is illustrated with about 120 black and white and 18 colour photos showing the Commander from mockup-up through prototypes to production vehicles, the transporter, trailer and ballast body variant are all shown in close up and the complete train carrying different types of loads. Also included are 1/76 scale plans of tractor, ballast body variant and trailer to complete a very comprehensive coverage. Anyone who plans to model the vehicle will find this at least an ideal complement and maybe invaluable. In whatever scale you work, with or without a load, this will be big addition to any collection.
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