Benjamin Smith's 101 Forward Controls (LHD & RHD)



The Land Rover 101 1 tonne Forward Control was built for the British Army between 1972 and 1978. They were designed to tow a 105mm howitzer and carry it's 6 man crew and NATO load of ammo. Land Rover built 11 prototypes. Then it built 2669 of which the first 41 were considered to be pre-production models. Approximately 2500 going to the British Military. A number had hardtops fitted and were used as ambulances (450) or Radio trucks (125). They saw action in the Falklands, the Gulf War and Bosnia. As of 1998 most had been mustered out of service, though a few are known to be still in service. More information can be found in the Land Rover FAQ for more information on 101FCs.

THe LHD is a 12 volt numbered #95900190A and was built on 22 May 1976 and was order #3/179. It had an UK army registration number of 71 FL 49 and a military asset code of 18255750. It was sent to Ashchurch and entered service in July 1976. 71 FL 49 first served with the British 1 Para Regiment both in the UK and in Germany (British Army on the Rhine). After that it was assigned to the 101st Regiment, Territorial Army. It exited service 4 Sept 1983 at CMA Maltby. It was imported into the US around 1984. 190A suffered a 60 mph rollover in Arizona around 1985. It limped back to the owners property and has not run since then. It sat in Arizona until 1998.

The RHD is a pre-production model and is somewhere between the 35th and 37th of the 41 pre-productions (all 3 were completed on the same day). It is a 12 volt 101FC with a chassis number of #95600016A and was built on 14 March 1973 as order #3/1. It built for the Land Rover "Government Sales" group. 7 pre-production 101s were built for this group (96400002, 96400003, 96400006, 96100001, 95600016, 96100002, and 96400007). The first two were given to the Canadian government for trials and are now rusting away near Ottawa. Land Rover used 16A as a factory demonstration model. It had a civilian registration of HXC 677 L. 16A was bought from Land Rover by the Venturers Search and Rescue with the winch and power trailer (Rubery-Owen #3) around 1977. It was fitted as a Forest Fire Engine with a tank and pump in the trailer. Photo as a Fire Engine with the Ventureres. 16A was imported came to the US around 1986 by a person in Santa Barbara, CA to replace the 101 that he rolled the previous year (see above). He soon moved to Oregon. 16A was moved to the Oregon Coastal Range and parked under a tree. She sat there for about 10 years. Then a Land Rover owner in Portland bought 16A along with the trailer and 190A around 1998. He took the trailer and trailer drive for himself and sold both 101s in late 1998 to a fellow near Seattle, WA. I bought them in the spring of 1999.

The RHD drove under her own power for the first time in at least 12 years on 11 Jan 2000.

In April 2000, I moved to Texas. The current owner for Rubery-Owen trailer #3 (now a fellow in CA) didn't have space to store it. So obtained the trailer, but not the drive on long term lone. I drove both the 101 and trailer California to Texas via Northern Calfornia, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado.

By April 2001 I was able to convince the owner of trailer to sell me the trailer and trailer drive. So I flew out to get the trailer drive parts. I now have all of the necessary parts to put it back to factory spec.

In August August 2001 I moved to NJ so the 101 and trailer faithfully (with a bit of mechanical issues) made the drive from Texas to NJ.



I made the 850 mile drive from Seattle, WA to Santa Clara, CA on 8 and 9 May 1999 towing the RHD with the Black Watch (Land Rover Discovery) <