HM Coastguard Series I 88 Capstan Winch

History

HM Coastguard took many of its rescue Land Rovers second-hand from the services in the 1960s, and this Series I 88 is one: built in 1957 for the Ministry of Defence, released in 1966 and re-registered KYL 88D for Coastguard use. The capstan winch on the front bumper, driven off the engine, was fitted for cliff-rescue work — hauling the breeches-buoy lines and the rescue cradle — and the vehicle kept its military bronze green rather than being repainted.

The Flickr photograph shows it preserved on the road, still carrying its Coastguard identity: bronze green with a grey canvas tilt and door tops, the capstan with its yellow cap on a bracket ahead of the grille, the spare on the bonnet with a coil of rope on it, a yellow disc on the left wing front, small H.M. COASTGUARD lettering and the crest on the doors, and black KYL 88D plates. The queue row's description mentions a blue livery, but the photograph shows the vehicle in green, and the model follows the photograph. The registry model reproduces that vehicle in the Marine group.

Imagery

Registry record

Manufacturer

Rover Company (Land Rover Series I 88-inch, 1957)

Manufactured

1957; MoD release and Coastguard registration 1966

Modifier / coachbuilder

HM Coastguard (capstan winch and crest)

Engine type

Rover 2.0 L inlet-over-exhaust petrol

Production run

1

Country of origin

United Kingdom

Operated in

United Kingdom

Status

preserved

Catalogue data

Record kind

Named model

Model line

Series I

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 Series I KYL 88D (Flickr, homer----simpson) ↗ — Flickr (accessed 2026-09-12)

Catalogue references

• https://www.flickr.com/photos/homer----simpson/6660268207/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/homer----simpson/6660268207/ ↗