HM Coastguard Fleetwood Series III 88

History

Before the Coastguard's fleet of Defenders and 4x4 pick-ups, its auxiliary rescue companies around the coast ran short-wheelbase Land Rover station wagons as the first vehicle to a cliff or mud incident, carrying the cliff ladder, lines and lights for the volunteers. Fleetwood's covered the sands and channels of Morecambe Bay and the Wyre estuary, ground that has caught out walkers and cocklers for centuries.

The photograph, taken on film on the promenade in the winter of 1981 and shared on Flickr, shows the station's Series III 88 station wagon FHV 880V: dark blue, a full-length roof rack with two spot lamps and a rotating beacon at its front, HM COASTGUARD in white on the board across the rack front, MARINE RESCUE lettered on the rear body sides, a coastguard crest on the doors, an extra spot lamp on the bumper and the spare on the bonnet. The registry model reproduces it on the Series III 88 station wagon.

Imagery

Registry record

Manufacturer

Land Rover (Series III 88 station wagon)

Manufactured

V registration (1979–80); photographed 1981

Modifier / coachbuilder

HM Coastguard (rescue fit)

Engine type

Rover 2.25 L petrol

Production run

1

Country of origin

United Kingdom

Operated in

United Kingdom

Status

historic

Catalogue data

Record kind

Named model

Model line

Series III

Wheels

4

Nominal wheelbase

88″

Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.

Sources & citations

Researched sources

• HM Coastguard Land Rover, Fleetwood 1981 (Flickr, georgea495) ↗ — Flickr (accessed 2026-09-12)

Catalogue references

• https://www.flickr.com/photos/georgea495/50624910146 https://www.flickr.com/photos/georgea495/50624910146 ↗