The first armoured cars issued to the FCA (in 1948) were Irish-built Ford Mark VIs, of same type deployed to the Congo in 1960. After 1959 the three FCA motor squadrons were also equipped with the unpopular Beaverette, essentially an armoured Standard car. In 1972 the FCA were supplied with Landsverk and Leyland armoured cars retired from PDF service. Armed with automatic cannon and machine-guns, these new vehicles appeared to be a vast improvement on the old Fords and Beaverettes. They were in fact even older than their predecessors, having entered service in the 1930s. They required ‘Trojan work’ to keep them serviceable. When they were finally retired in 1986 they were eagerly snapped up by military museums.