RIPA

[Q G Campbell]

Re. my comment that
=20
>  I would suggest it was for the same
> reasons that you never saw tanks on the streets of Northern Ireland.

has been misunderstood. I was referring not to their military value in a
Northern Ireland type conflict but rather their use by the "other side"
as a weapon in the propaganda war.
=20
It seems that very early on in the conflict a decision was taken at the
highest levels not to deploy tracked armoured vehicles in NI. Wheeled
APCs were considered marginally more acceptable but even that changed
when armoured Land Rovers became available.

A reason for this decision was an appreciation that the deployment in NI
of tracked armoured vehicles, even APCs, would have a powerful,
negative, propaganda impact, particularly when viewed from overseas.

There was real concern about how this would play in the United States
where support for the Civil Rights campaign was very strong in the late
'60s and early 70's.=20

It has been suggested by Geraghty and others that the concern was of
such an extent that when, in 1972, the operation to clear the "No Go"
areas of the Bogside were being planned there was much discussion as to
whether (tracked) bulldozers should be used by the Royal Engineers.


Quentin