Land Rover Tangi - Operational Use

Operational Use

Tangis are known to the local population as 'meat wagons' (as the police are often referred to as 'pigs') or a 'Newry ice-cream van'. The vehicles are synonymous with Northern Ireland's Troubles. At the height of the Troubles the vehicles were essential for patrolling across Northern Ireland, carrying two police officers in the front and a maximum of five officers wearing riot helmets and carrying shields in the rear. At this time they were painted in a dark grey livery. A number of people were killed after being hit by the vehicles during the Troubles, usually in riot situations.

Since the Good Friday Agreement and the resulting peace, the vehicles are largely used for crowd control, particularly during contested Orange Order parades.

The vehicles are now painted in standard white, yellow and blue Battenburg markings, as seen on the majority of police vehicles throughout the United Kingdom, rather than the original battleship grey. The original rotating blue beacons have been replaced with full width halogen light bars and small blue strobes fitted to the front grill.