HAMPSHIRE CONSTABULARY, HUMBER SUPER SNIPE, COT 778C, IN RESTORATION, PRESERVATION AND SERVICE.

The Humber Super Snipe estate was a new type of Police car in 1964 when it was utilised by several forces as an accident unit. Britain’s roads were becoming a lot more congested and of course the accident rate was going up to. Forces like the Met, Kent, Hampshire, Sussex, Hertfordshire and Cardiff City equipped the big estate with enough kit to cope with the worst at any accident scene. 

Humber helped out by offering options to the equipment list like special racking and lighting systems. These cars were the forerunners to the Range Rover and BMW X5 type Police cars we see today.

The Super Snipes were fitted with 2.9 litre, 6 cylinder engines capable of 106 mph and a 0-60 time of 16.2 seconds. 

The standard fit gear selector was a three speed with over drive  column shift but Humber offered Police versions with a floor mounted four speed gear box which was said to be the best option. With no power steering they were heavy cars at low speed.  

These cars were required to carry huge amounts of emergency equipment including a petrol driven generator to power auxiliary flood lighting, Accident/Slow signs, 12 cones, blankets, first aid kit, tow rope, crow bar, shovel and broom, fire extinguisher and many other items for use at accidents.  

This 1965 Humber Super Snipe estate       COT 778C was the only such car purchased by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary. It is also the only surviving Police spec Humber left in the UK.

It formed part of the experimental trials that Hampshire undertook between this car and the Volvo 121 Amazon estate in 1965. Although the force went on to buy several Volvo cars as a result of that trial,

The car was based at Eastleigh  Police Station and it’s call sign was Charlie-27 (C-27). It was used as an Accident and   Emergency Tender mainly on the old A33 Winchester by-pass from the Southampton boundary north, through Eastleigh towards Winchester and the surrounding area.

In 2006 it returned to Hampshire for the Police open day and was reunited with one of the Hampshire Volvos together with