| As its name
implies the Sahara version of the
M201 was designed to cope with the deserts of North Africa. The Sahara was not an
army modification to the standard factory issue jeep but was a special
model that the army requested Hotchkiss to make and was
produced in
batches on the factory production line. The photo
taken at the Stains factory in 1963 shows the finishing
area where a batch of Saharas complete with sand coloured canvas can be
seen in the distance behind the standard M201s.
Like
the standard jeep, early Saharas were built with 6 volt
electrics then from mid 1960 as 24 volt jeeps. There were
many significant differences between the Sahara and the
standard M201 though and it was much more than just the
sand
tyres and a desert sand paint job! |
|
 |
The Sahara chassis was of a
modified design which included strengthening, up-rated rear
suspension springs (13 leaf) and additional mounting
points for equipment like the
tool box fitted at the
front. To improve the
Sahara's range a second fuel tank was fitted under the
passenger seat with a selector in the fuel line to switch
between the two tanks and a
second jerrycan
was mounted between the front seats. To help overcome vaporisation
problems in the high operating temperatures an
electric
fuel pump supported the normal mechanical one. A
cyclonic
air pre-filter was fitted on the right-hand wing to
reduce the risk of damage to the engine posed by sand in
the air. The sand that it collected was ingeniously discharged into the
exhaust pipe using the venturi effect to draw the sand down and
jettison it with the exhaust gasses.
FRAME
DETAIL
 |
|
The
tool box and its mounting brackets obscured the position
on the frame where the army serial number was stamped. To work round this the army number was often,
but not always, stamped on the side of the chassis in the
same area as the frame number. Thanks to 'Chaz' for supplying the above
photo - unfortunately the detail has been obscured by the
thickness of paint. As more data is collected there is an
increasingly probable link
between frame numbers and Sahara models in that 6 volt Saharas (pre 1960) were sometimes prefixed by 'MS' rather
than the standard 'M'. In the case of the 24 volt Saharas
(1960 onward) the prefix was sometimes 'MVS' rather than the standard
frame 'MV' |
| The need to stamp the army serial
number on the side of the frame can be understood from the
photos of Tim Tearle's Sahara. The tool box was mounted on
the strengthened tapped holes obscuring the number in its
standard location though it was still stamped there as well.
Frame numbers with the 'S'
included have been found on jeeps where there is no apparent evidence of
Sahara origin at all which creates a bit of a mystery though it could be
that surplus 'S' frames were used up at the factory to
produce standard jeeps from time to time and / or jeep
chassis refurbished at La
Maltournée had the mountings removed and
the holes welded over. |
|
 |
. If your M201 has
the army number stamped on the side of the frame like this or a
frame number with an 'S' in it somewhere then the chances are that
it was originally built as a Sahara model and I need to hear from
you by
e-mailing me here.
AIR
INTAKE AND PRE-FILTER
Air from the cyclonic
pre-filter mounted on the was piped through a specially
notched bonnet. (Photo: M201 No. 21942) This
Sahara was subsequently used as a 'normalised' radio
jeep.
|
|
|
 |
|
It
would appear that few, in not indeed any, Sahara
jeeps exist today in their original form, the principle
reason being that their raison d'etre ceased when the war in
Africa ended and they were gradually phased out.
Most
were converted to carry the ENTAC missile system, the rest
were reduced to standard jeeps e.g.
Rémy's Sahara which
became a radio jeep. Rémy's jeep is unusual in that the
notch in the bonnet was left untouched, in the case of Tim
Tearle's Sahara which became an ENTAC launcher, it was
closed over by welding in a plate (photo opposite). The
conversion to ENTAC did not involve the need to rebuild the
jeep and features like the windshield spot lamp cane be seen
on many photos of ENTAC jeeps. |
SPOT LIGHT
 |
The
directable spot lamp mounted on the left-hand side of the
windshield was another
specific feature of the Sahara model. The
circuit diagram given in MAT 3541 shows that the
switches for both the spotlight and the windscreen wiper
motor were mounted on the windshield itself, a neat trick in that the
standard set of single contacts could be used. The lamp was mounted
on a bracket welded to the frame . Note also switch 'K' for
the electric fuel pump. |
 |
EVIDENCE OF SAHARA ORIGIN
 |
|
Evidence of Sahara origin found on
M201s today can be confusing. The windshield shown in the
photo (left) has the Sahara spot light mounting bracket
though the jeep it actually ended up on had never been a
Sahara. This was probably the result of the rebuilding
program by ERGM at La
Maltournée where a 'hotch-potch' of
refurbished parts ended up on jeeps leaving the works.
Tim Tearle's Sahara was not rebuilt
and provides a good example of some other
original Sahara detail. In the photos below
The
brackets welded to the side of the main chassis rail (below
left) are were where the electric fuel pump was once
mounted. The control for isolating the electric fuel pump
(below right) was mounted in front of the fuel tank by the
drivers seat mounting though the electrical switch mechanism
was actually mounted under the floor, hence there are no
visible cables.
Evidence
I have seen while searching for Saharas at shows suggests
that, when worn out or damaged Saharas passed though
La
Maltournée, the brackets were removed
from the frame leaving only the frame number with it's 'S'
designation and / or army number stamped on the side with
the frame number to indicate Sahara origin. These frames
then ended up on standard rebuilt jeeps with no real Sahara
origin beyond that of the chassis. |
 |
|
 |
 |
Further evidence of the jeep's Sahara
origin is apparent from the front wing which still has the
holes on the top surface where the cyclonic air pre-filter
was once fitted. The rear of the wing has holes where pipe
leading from the pre-filter to exhaust was secured by clips
and a hole in the step where the pipe passed through to the
exhaust system.
Loops fitted to the bonnet also appear to
be another
feature of the 24 volt Sahara (below). |
 |
 |
|
 |
 Basic technical details of the Sahara can be
found in the army publication
EMA
2222-17 and the technical manual for
the Sahara which was MAT 3339.
If you
think that your M201 may have once been a Sahara or at least has
some parts of Sahara origin please do let me
know even if it has obviously been rebuilt since. I am trying to
trace as many examples of these as I can.
Thanks
to all who have helped in making this page and the pages it links to possible.
Emile Tarbes: 6 volt Sahara M201 no. 8665 (1959)
Tim Tearle:
24 volt
Sahara M201 no.
23469 (1963)
'RR' 24
volt
Sahara M201 no. 21942 (1963)
|
