Unicorn class

Infobox Weapon|is_vehicle=yes
name=Unicorn


caption=
type=Armoured personnel carrier
origin=Sri Lanka
crew= 2 + 12 passengers
length= 4.8 m (16.73 ft)
width= 2 m (6.73 ft)
height= 2.6 m (9.68 ft)
weight= 5.8 t
armour= Classified
primary_armament=Twin 7.62mm MG (front)
secondary_armament=
service=1987 - Present
used_by=Sri Lanka
designer=Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers [http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2007/02/04/ind04.asp 59th Independence.] Retrieved on April 22, 2008.]
designer_date=1985
production_date=1987 - 2000
manufacturer=Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers [http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2007/02/04/ind04.asp 59th Independence.] Retrieved on April 22, 2008.]
variants=Mark I to Mark VI
engine=Diesel Engine
engine_power=
suspension=4×4 wheeled
speed= Road 96km/h (59.61 mph)
Off-road 30km/h (18.64 mph)
pw_ratio=
vehicl_range= 1000 km (621.37 mi)The Unicorn is a mine-protected wheeled APC used by the Sri Lankan military.

Production History

Initial research into producing a "Blast Protected Vehicle" armoured personnel carrier was begun in 1983 by a lone Infantry Major named Jayantha de Silva who was concerned by the destruction wrought by Improvised Explosive Devices that the Tamil terrorists began using on military troop transport vehicles. These IEDs became rampant in the north and eastern provinces with the escalation of the Sri Lankan civil war. The many experiments he carried out showed that explosive force dissipates in proportions to the distance travelled. These led to the production of vehicles based on commercial truck chassis with a V-shaped hull about two metres from ground level. These proved so successful that the then Minister for National Security, Hon Lalith Athulathmudali, coopted all the engineering firms in the country to build the vehicles to the specifications drafted by Major de Silva. The project was then handed over to the Electrical and Mechanical Engineers of the Army.

When the terrorists found that their IEDs were ineffective, they stopped using them and the production of these vehicles ceased. The terrorists began using them again about two years later, and as the Army found itself short of enough vehicles, a few consignments of the South African made Buffel vehicles were imported, even though they provided protection only against land mines, and proved ineffective against the IEDs. Further development continued in 1985 by both the Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (SLEME) of the Sri Lanka Army [http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2004/04/25/fea22.html The evolution of the indigenous armoured vehicle: From Unicorn to Unibuffel] Retrieved on April 22, 2008] and the General Engineering Wing of the Sri Lanka Air Force [ [http://www.airforce.lk/hist/hist1/h3c1p3.htm Sri Lanka Air Force.] Retrieved on April 22, 2008.] Both designs where based on the South African Buffels which had been brought in 1985.

The air force developed its own APC for the SLAF Regiment in small numbers. The SLEME developed the Unicorn Mark I by 1987, which too where produced in large numbers by the SLEME for the Sri Lanka Army and for the other services as well.

A distinct feature of the Unicorn was that the driver-passenger compartment was undivided. According to soldiers in the battlefield, this feature made communication among the two sections easier than that in a Buffel where the driver was separated from the passengers.

Variants

There were several models that where developed as a result of continuous upgrading based on combat requirements. These include Unicorn Mark I to Mark VI. Production went on till 2000 with a total of 93 Unicorns being produced by the SLEME with the Mark VI being produced [http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2004/04/25/fea22.html The evolution of the indigenous armoured vehicle: From Unicorn to Unibuffel] Retrieved on April 22, 2008] . The production of the Unicorn Mark VI was stopped when the SLEME started producing the more advanced Unibuffel.

Operators

*SRI
**Sri Lanka Army
**Sri Lanka Navy
**Sri Lanka Air Force Regiment

References

ee also

*Infantry fighting vehicle
*List of armored fighting vehicles

External links

* [http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2004/04/25/fea22.html The evolution of the indigenous armoured vehicle: From Unicorn to Unibuffel]