Land Rover’s military Lightweight celebrates its 50th birthday this year. Louise Limb talks to one owner from Cornwall’s MVT
‘2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the military Lightweight, or ‘Half-Ton’, going into volume production’
A familiar face at military vehicle and other shows around the far south west with his replica SAS Desert Patrol Vehicle, Cornwall MVT member Keith Bradford has also smartened up a Series III Lightweight. The Series III Truck, Half Ton FFR you see here looking mostly as it would have done in service, spent much of its civilian life in quite a different guise.
Military vehicle enthusiast Keith is a fan of military Land Rovers in particular and felt that of all the models to seek out, a Lightweight was the most important, as, apart from the less plentiful one tonne-rated 101 FC it was the only Land Rover developed specifically for the armed forces.
Usually referred to in military circles as the Half-Ton, the Lightweight, which celebrates its 50th birthday this year, earned its name from its full air-portability. Developed initially as the Rover I in military nomenclature, the Series IIA Lightweight was introduced in 1968, with 2,989 of this earlier model leaving the production…
