4wd.sofcom.com/Mil/LandRover/FC101.html
Tail End Charlie (TEC), out of 4 x 101s, here in '98.
A Joint Services Expedition crossed the Sahara from West (Dakar)
to East (the Red Sea) in 1975.
They used four of the then new
101
forward control Land Rovers, two having prototype Rubery Owen
powered trailers.
The objectives were:
To make the first crossing from the Atlantic
to the Red Sea through the Mauritania - Mali empty quarter,
mapping the expedition's progress.
To make a gravity measurement survey along the route for the Royal Society.
To collect rock, lizard and snail examples
(the latter with respect to Bilharzia especially)
for the British Natural History Museum.
To experiment with new methods of
desert navigation. To provide a test for the new 101 Land Rovers.
The expedition was led by Squadron Leader T. H. Sheppard.
Sheppard wrote a detailed report after the expedition, copies of
which are sometimes "passed around" between
101 and Land Rover enthusiasts.
A film was also produced, and shown on television.
The expedition unloaded at Dakar (Senegal) on 24 January 1975.
The planned route led north to
Nouakcott (Mauritania) then east through
Atar,
Ouadane, and
Tessalit (Mali) to
Tamanrassat (Algeria),
Agadez (Niger) and
Kano (Nigeria).
However permission to enter Algeria was not forthcoming
so, from Tessalit, the expedition headed south
to Niamey (Niger).
Niamey (Nigeria) and
Kano.
From here it passed through
Fotokol (Cameroun),
Ndjamena ~Fort Lamy (Chad),
Abeche,
El Geneina (Sudan) and
El Fasher.
Then N and NE on rough tracks to the Nile (4 April).
Here the route turned SE to reach the Red Sea
via Atbara to Port Sudan (16 April).
The home run led north
then inland to Bir Shalatein (Egypt) and
Cairo (2 May).
The four wheel drives performed well in general throughout the trip
although there were numerous minor faults:
hub oil-seal leaks,
differential nose oil-seal leak,
swivel pin oil-seal leaks,
a split pipe to an oil cooler.
(Anyone who has owned a series Land Rover will probably identify
with these difficulties and may wonder if these were really faults as such
or more in the nature of design "features".)
One Land Rover experienced a broken spring leaf which was repaired.
On the other hand, the vehicles' ability in sand is greatly praised
in Sheppard's report.
The biggest problems were with the two powered trailers and
it was pointed out that their being well-used prototypes may
have been a contributing factor:
The load beds were too light and distorted, planks being used
to spread the load;
the trailer transmissions vibrated and made alarming noises
that could not be diagnosed even after extensive work
so that 6x6 was only used at slow speed in soft going
and then with some trepidation.
Both trailers experienced suspension and brake problems and one
had to be abandoned (16 April) when a spring broke.
Sun compasses, as developed by the WWII Long Range Desert Group,
were used for navigation while driving.
A mirror was also used to reflect the sun onto the ground ahead
of the vehicle in featureless sandy areas to give the eye
something to track and to give warning of sudden rises or drops.
A paracommander parachute was trialled in parascending mode,
towed behind a Land Rover, so that an observer could gain a view
of dune fields to help in plotting a route, but its use
depended on a "favourable wind direction."
Overall 12,054km were covered, much of it on rough
tracks, some of it across completely trackless areas.
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