Initially, the Saladin was due to be issued before the Saracen APC but the Saracen was given a higher priority so production was delayed.
This delay was used to good effect as it allowed the obsolete 2-pdr gun to be replaced by the newer 76mm gun.
The Saladin was a large, six-wheeled vehicle which had excellent cross-country performance as each wheel station had independent suspension and the vehicle could theoretically run on only 2 wheels.
Saladin was used in reconnaissance Regiments, in which role it was used by both the Queen’s Own Hussars and the Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars, before being replaced in most theatres by Scorpion in the 1970s.
The Saladin remained in use with the Cyprus Sovereign Base Area Recce Squadron for many years, finally being withdrawn from service in 1992.
Pictured is a Saladin of the Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars in Brunei during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, in 1962.
