Alvis Saracen The FV603 Saracen is a six - wheeled armoured personnel carrier built by Alvis and used by the British Army . It became a recognisable vehicle as a result of its part in the policing of Northern Ireland . History . The FV603 Saracen was the armoured personnel carrier of Alvis ' FV600 series . Besides the driver and commander , a squad of 8 soldiers plus a troop commander could be carried . Most models carried a small turret on the roof , carrying a Browning . 30 machine gun . A . 303 Bren gun could be mounted on an anti - aircraft ring - mount accessed through a roof hatch and there were ports on the sides through which troops could fire . Although removed from active service , it saw extensive use into the 1980s in Northern Ireland and was a familiar sight during " The Troubles " . At times they even appeared on the streets of Hull , a less - hostile atmosphere for driver training in a city of similar appearance to Belfast , and only a few miles from the Army School of Mechanical Transport . As a member of the FV 600 series it shared a similar chassis with the FV601 Saladin armoured car , the Salamander fire engine and the Stalwart High Mobility Load Carrier . The chassis , suspension and final drive remained similar , but the engine , transmission and braking systems varied significantly . The Saracen was in turn used as an armoured personnel carrier , armoured command vehicle and ambulance . The FV 603 model saw many variants in detail , including radio or command fitments and specialist equipment for Artillery or Signals use . The Saracen series also includes : Saracen was produced before Saladin because of the urgent need for a personnel carrier to serve in the Malayan Emergency , entering production in 1952 . The Saracen was produced both with and without turrets fitted . Variants . Saracens were initially equipped with an L3A4 ( Browning . 30 Cal ) machine gun in the turret , and a Bren gun for the gun - ring at the rear of the vehicle . Later Marks carried the LMG , and L7 GPMG . In popular culture . A Saracen masquerades as a German armoured car in the 1964 film " 633 Squadron " , which was set during World War II , a decade before the Saracen was first built . In the Tom Sharpe novel " Riotous Assembly " , a Saracen is destroyed with an elephant gun by Constable Els of the South African Police . In the 1992 film The Crying Game , a character who was kidnapped by the IRA was accidentally run over and killed by British Saracen . In the 1983 debut album " Script for a Jester ' s Tear " , by British progressive rock group Marillion , the Saracen was referred to in the final song : " . . . crawling behind a Saracen ' s hull from the safety of his living room chair . . . " The lyrics of " Forgotten Sons " describe the conflict in Northern Ireland and the discrepancy between what was really happening and the perception of the conflict by the British public . The Saracen was used in the 1995 film of Judge Dredd as carriers for prisoners and personnel carriers for Judge s . 101 FC s were also used as taxis . During the 2009 G - 20 demonstrations in London , members of the Space Hijackers protest group drove their Saracen into the City of London and parked it outside the Royal Bank of Scotland in Bishopsgate . The Saracen , which had been painted bright blue with black and white chequered stripe s , was equipped with CCTV and marked " RIOT " ( but " not " " police " ) . The group were reportedly there to protect the RBS building from " bad " demonstrators , although the police declined their assistance . Instead the vehicle was searched and police questioned the protestors , who were dressed in plain blue overalls and helmets . The vehicle ' s eleven occupants were arrested for impersonating police officers and for traffic offences , and were later charged with impersonating police officers , although the case was dropped before coming to court .