RAF Crash Rescue Marshall Ambulance

History

Marshall of Cambridge built ambulance bodies on the long-wheelbase Land Rover from the late 1950s to the early 1980s - an extended, raised box body on Series II/IIA and later Series III 109in chassis, of which roughly 2,000 were produced for the British armed forces and overseas customers. Most served the Army in deep bronze green as battlefield ambulances, but the Royal Air Force took the type too, including a crash rescue ambulance variant attached to station fire and medical sections for 'the rapid recovery of airfield incident casualties' - distinguished by a substantial front crash bar (which could also carry an awning for a casualty handling shelter) and a 240-volt input socket for keeping the vehicle warm and charged on standby.

TRP 291G is a documented survivor of this RAF crash rescue ambulance type: a 1969 Series IIA 109 with Marshall body, chassis 25114748D, carrying RAF titles and a Northamptonshire-issued civilian registration. Auction and enthusiast records report long RAF service - stationed at RAF Lossiemouth by one account, and serving some two decades at RAF Catterick (home of the RAF's fire service training school) by another - followed by preservation, a substantial rebuild including chassis and panel repairs, an engine replacement and gearbox rebuild, and additions such as overdrive, free-wheeling hubs, two-tone horns and an LPG conversion. It has been shown at the Gaydon Motor Museum Transport Show and was offered, unsold, at the Iconic Auctioneers Silverstone Festival sale in August 2025.

In RAF service the crash rescue ambulances wore the force's blue-grey rather than Army green, as TRP 291G does in preservation; the Difflocked build follows this Royal Air Force crash rescue presentation.

Imagery

Registry record

Manufacturer

Land Rover (British Leyland)

Manufactured

1969 build; Marshall 109in ambulance bodies produced late 1950s to early 1980s

Modifier / coachbuilder

Marshall of Cambridge (ambulance body)

Engine type

2.25 L petrol inline-four (replacement engine fitted in preservation; LPG/petrol dual fuel)

Production run

~2,000 Marshall 109in ambulances of all users; RAF crash rescue examples a small subset

Country of origin

United Kingdom

Status

preserved; offered at auction August 2025 (not sold)

Catalogue data

Record kind

Named model

Model line

Series IIA

Family

marshal-body

Wheels

4

Nominal wheelbase

109″

Base catalogue fields are exported from the Difflocked game. In-game physics values are arcade tuning, not certified historical measurements, and are deliberately not shown as specifications here.

Related base model variants

• UK Marshal Body Ambulance — UK Marshal Body Ambulance Series II · 109″ · UK medical body
• Meteor Works — Meteor Works Series III 109″ · St John Ambulance · Weathered Marshall body

Sources & citations

Researched sources

• 1969 Land Rover Series IIA - RAF Ambulance Crash Rescue, TRP 291G (Marshall of Cambridge body, 'rapid recovery of airfield incident casualties', front crash bar, 240V socket, RAF Lossiemouth attribution, rebuild details) ↗ — Iconic Auctioneers (accessed 2026-09-10)
• 1969 Land Rover Series IIA RAF Ambulance Crash Rescue - auction record (TRP 291G, chassis 25114748D, two decades at RAF Catterick, not sold August 2025) ↗ — The Classic Valuer (accessed 2026-09-10)
• 042 Land Rover 109 Series IIA Ambulance (1969) TRP 291 G at the Gaydon Motor Museum Transport Show (photograph and identification) ↗ — Robert Knight via Flickr (accessed 2026-09-10)
• Military Land Rover Ambulances (Marshall extended raised body on Series II/IIA/III 109in chassis; production late 1950s to early 1980s; roughly 2,000 built) ↗ — Ex-Military Land Rover Association (accessed 2026-09-10)

Catalogue references

• User-supplied RAF Marshall Crash Rescue photographs, including TRP 291G

Development reference notes

• Marshall ambulance family — marshal-ambulance, meteor-works, raf-marshall-rescue · HERITAGE-FLEET-REFERENCES.md

  The Series IIA 109-inch Marshall ambulance body is shared by the army ambulance, Meteor Works (Fan Favourites), and RAF Crash Rescue variants. The shared shell has an extended rear overhang, a broad low roof with rounded eaves, high side windows, paired rear doors, and a closed angled lower rear panel sweeping upward behind the rear wheel. The additional `images.jpeg` rear photograph establishes the full-width sloping panel, central folded hatch, recessed paired lamps and lower round reflectors; no deployed horizontal step is shown. Preserve these common body features when adding further liveries. RAF Crash Rescue uses the user-supplied TRP 291G photographs: dark blue body, yellow roof, waist stripes and bumper, white/red medical panels, CRASH RESCUE brow lettering, ROYAL AIR FORCE side lettering, amber roof beacon, paired blue front lamps, aerials and an outboard searchlight. Listed under UK military and Special Vehicles rescue/ambulance. Reference files supplied by the user: `imagesg.jpeg`, `imagesgdsgds.jpeg`, `kkk.jpeg`, `imagesll.jpeg`, `e6e0e10c51677d4b1471d6c1dc1de9cagdgs.jpeg`, and `imageshh.jpeg`. The final photograph also illustrates a later Series III Marshall-bodied ex