Operation Motorman ! Tanks on the streets of the U.K.

Centurion A.V.R.E. on the streets of Northern Ireland 1972

During the “ Troubles” in Northern Ireland ( or the north of Ireland to some of our readers ) The IRA ( Irish Republican Army ) had a significant grip on their own Catholic communities and the Protestants were becoming increasingly restive, expressing strong resentment against the ‘No Go’ areas that the “ terrorists” had set up in Belfast and in Londonderry . The Baracades had to come down ! On 31 July 1972 Operation Motorman commenced to reoccupy those ‘No Go’ areas . A total of 21,000 troops were concentrated in the Province and the intention was announced beforehand, as a result there was very little resistance from the PIRA ( Provisional ). The operation was one of the biggest undertaken by the British Amy since the invasion of Suez in 1956. Its aim was to re-establish the Army in all the hard Republican areas, particularly the Creggan and Bogside in Londonderry and the Andersonstown, Ballymurphy and the Markets areas of Belfast . These areas were well protected by barricades and their clearance was the first step to ensure freedom of movement.

A troop of four Centurion AVREs embarked on HMS Fearless on the 30^th . H-hour for the operation was 0400 hours on 31 July and by H minus 2 a cordon was in place in Londonderry around the Bogside and the Creggan, securing the start line for the four battalions who were to occupy the area . The AVREs were landed from landing craft and led the assault to clear a way through the barricades on all four battalion routes . The barricades were formidable and in one instance almost led to an AVRE blade being sheared off. The clearance of the barricades drew only spasmodic fire . Only one gunman and one petrol bomber were shot dead . Within three hours 0700 hours all the objectives had been secured and the AVREs were re-embarked and removed from the province .

The use of tanks in any Internal Security Operation is always a very emotive subject and in the eyes of the media any tracked armoured vehicle is a tank. As a precaution the AVREs had ROYAL ENGINEERS painted prominently on their sides, but in the event there was little publicity and few pictures, and the significance of their use was lost in the general reporting of the operation.

Adapted from 'The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers Vol XI 1960 - 1980'

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