{"id":237728,"date":"2023-09-08T11:50:45","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T11:50:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automotobuzz.com\/?p=237728"},"modified":"2023-09-08T11:50:45","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T11:50:45","slug":"explained-defence-vehicles-in-india-how-to-read-their-number-plates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automotobuzz.com\/news-features\/explained-defence-vehicles-in-india-how-to-read-their-number-plates\/","title":{"rendered":"Explained: Defence vehicles in India & how to read their number plates"},"content":{"rendered":"
BHPian Senna4Ever<\/strong> recently shared this with other enthusiasts.<\/p>\n My niche interest in exploring our defence vehicle registration system was recently re-kindled. Specifically, I took a closer look at the vehicle classification system that our defence vehicles follow and it’s represented by a single alphabet in the registration (i.e. the third character after the broad arrow).<\/p>\n For the bigger picture on the registration of vehicles of the Indian Armed Forces, head over to the Wikipedia link where I have contributed more.<\/p>\n Here is an attempt to summarise what I learnt as this would be interesting for fellow BHPians and more importantly, to get inputs from more knowledgeable members.<\/p>\n Some of this information is readily available on the internet and I had already known:<\/p>\n e.g.<\/p>\n A – Two-wheel Vehicle (e.g. motorcycles)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n B \u2013 Light Motor Vehicle (e.g. passenger cars like the beloved Safari Storme and Gypsy)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n C \u2013 Truck (< 3 tonnes) (e.g. Tata LPTA 713)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n D \u2013 Truck (3 – 5 tonnes) (e.g. Ashok Leyland Stallion)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n K \u2013 Ambulance (irrespective of size)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now, as I looked\/searched a bit more, I came across more photos and classes (i.e. alphabets) which led me to the following conclusions:<\/p>\n E – Multi-Axle 6×6 or 8×8 vehicles e.g. BEML Tatra trucks or Ashok Leyland FAT 6×6<\/p>\n <\/p>\n F \u2013 Specialist Light Vehicle?<\/p>\n I have only seen one instance on the internet and it was of a Force Motor’s Light Strike Vehicle (LSV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n H – High Mobility Vehicle (HMV) with material handling capability?<\/p>\n I stumbled upon this recently and only found one particular model that carried this classification, TATA LPTA 2038 6×6 which has material handling capability (i.e. attached crane to load\/unload goods). So, it’s hard to generalise the whole ‘H’ class.<\/p>\n Here is a bad snapshot from a video.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n P \u2013 Bus, Fire Truck, Tanker, Recovery Vehicle etc.<\/p>\n Found different kinds of vehicles which carry the ‘P’ classification, seem to be a broad category, e.g.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n R \u2013 Missile launchers, mine-protected vehicles and radar vehicles?<\/p>\n This is where it gets a bit vague and it seems that vehicle class ‘R’ is more based on vehicle usage rather than the actual kind of vehicle e.g. Missile launchers, Mine-protected vehicles (e.g. OBV MPV) and more. Official classification must be more technical.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n X \u2013 Armoured or Combat Vehicle<\/p>\n Vehicles which are meant for active usage in the combat field. Obvious examples: tanks and armoured personnel carrier.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hope it was as interesting to you as it was for me! Cheers!<\/p>\n Continue reading for Part 2 of BHPian Senna4Ever’s post & for more insights and information.<\/p>\n