For the law enforcement, see Special Weapons and Tactics.
The S.W.A.T. is an armored law enforcement vehicle featured in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Design[]
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas[]
The S.W.A.T. is an armored personnel carrier (APC) seemingly based on the Cadillac Gage V-100 Commando, which the real-life Los Angeles Police Department sometimes used as an urban assault vehicle during the 1980s and 1990s.
The S.W.A.T. is designed as a large four-wheeled armored riot control police vehicle, where the front end assumes a wedge shape and mounts an unusable hitch on the center and circular headlight units on either side. The upper area is angular in shape and mounts a set of dual circular units around the middle, two smaller amber indicators and a set of handles/frames beside the dual light units and on the outer edges. The windshield area consists of dual narrow windows on the front and additional windows on the front quarters.
The vehicle has slanted sides and large wheel arches, where the lower halves feature small steps at the bottom that are intended for the occupants of the vehicle, while the upper halves have rectangular windows and small hatches, along with the fuel cap on the rear left side. Large access doors can be seen on the center, which have small vertical handles. On the roof area, the frontal section features unusable launchers on the driver side and hatches on the passenger side, while the rear section has numerous hatches and a large vented one for the engine bay. The middle section mounts a round turret that has a smaller hatch on top.
The rear end of the vehicle assumes a similar shape to the sides, featuring another unusable hitch on the lower center and access steps on the passenger side, while the upper area mounts a bulky exhaust vent on the driver side and circular tail lights on the oter edges, consisting of upper red units and lower reverse units. The underside of the vehicle is rather basic, having the corresponding axles and diffs.
The interior of the vehicle lacks a dedicated dashboard, steering wheel and seat, thus the character simply floats inside the vehicle. In addition, the seats are located far behind the windshield area. The vehicle also features a wailing siren but lacks light bars to complement it, like the Barracks.
The vehicle is only available in a navy blue color with San Andreas Police Department markings around, and can spawn either unmarked or with an identification number on the front-left, rear-left side of the roof near the turret and rear quarters (which are: 1, 6, 7 and 9). It also uses a set of industrial wheels with navy blue rims.
The vehicle is equipped with a small water cannon turret, similar to the Fire Truck.
Performance[]
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas[]
Vehicle[]
The S.W.A.T. is a very capable vehicle, with excellent top speed and grip, but suffering from understeer and poor acceleration up inclines (thanks to its heavy weight). On road, the vehicle handles acceptably well for such an armored vehicle, and the same goes for off road. Thanks to its large wheels and 4WD powertrain, it is capable of scaling moderately steep hills. However, its suspension is obviously geared for more urban environments, as although being soft, it has very little travel, and the wheels gain camber angle as they extend downward. These traits make well for crossing small bumps like curbs, and keeping the vehicle stable in corners by managing body roll, however, they make the vehicle noticeable bouncy off-road, compared to more capable vehicles such as the Patriot and Rancher.
The S.W.A.T., like any police vehicle, can be used to initiate the Vigilante vehicle mission. However, since Carl Johnson cannot perform a drive-by in the S.W.A.T., it is not recommended to try to do so. Out of all police vehicles in the game, the S.W.A.T. is one of the least favorable choices for this mission, being rather slow and poor in turning. However, the water cannon may be used to subdue attacking criminals for a ramming attack, and its heavy weight can be used as a weapon to inflict damage on any vehicle in its path, as its shovel-shaped front easily pushes cars harshly with minuscule damage done to the APC.
The S.W.A.T. uses a diesel engine and a 5-speed gearbox to power all wheels. It shares the same engine sound with the Enforcer and the Barracks.
Armor[]
The vehicle is more resistant to bullets than the average car, akin to the cut FBI Truck, however is no more resistant to crashing and damage than said car. The one from the last mission, however, appears with bulletproof and fireproof capabilities, so for an entirely unmodded game, the S.W.A.T. can be considered bulletproof.
Features[]
Like the Fire Truck, the S.W.A.T. is equipped with a fully rotatable water cannon similar to the one on the Fire Truck, having quick traverse and elevation capabilities. As with the Fire Truck, the water cannon cannot harm pedestrians but they can be knocked down, as well as used to putting out fires. It should be noted that attempting to spray the water cannon from the front or the back will collide the water stream with the S.W.A.T itself, meaning that the player should aim upward or to the sides when using the cannon.
GTA San Andreas Overview[]
Acceleration (0-60 mph in Seconds) |
Top Speed (mph / kmh) |
Gears | Engine | Drivetrain (FWD / RWD / AWD) |
Mass (kg / lbs) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
N/A | 68 / 110 | 5 | Diesel | AWD | 5000 / 11023 |
N/A | N/A | 5 | N/A | AWD | Cannot be observed |
Gallery[]
Prominent Appearances in Gameplay[]
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas[]
- End of the Line - In order to get inside Big Smoke's hideout, Carl Johnson has to steal a S.W.A.T. from nearby SWAT members fighting against a group of gangs. While inside the crack palace's first floor, a second one will ambush through the wall and two SWAT members appear.
Locations[]
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas[]
The S.W.A.T. is considerably rare, appearing only twice during the last mission, only one of which can be stored in a garage:
- The first one is required to be stolen by the player to ram into Big Smoke's Crack Palace (which is bullet and fireproof), but may be stored in any available garage space after. Due to a glitch during the mission, however, it is difficult to save the S.W.A.T. as it will normally disappear after the mission (apart that this glitch also affects other law enforcements vehicles). The only way to save it will be to fail the mission and then play it again. The easiest way to fail and keep the vehicle is simply to park it in a garage, and then blow it up. Once the S.W.A.T. is destroyed, the player must allow the garage door to close and then reopen it to restore its condition.
- The second one is seen inside the Crack Palace when ambush, and it is also unlocked and drivable, but cannot be saved into a garage, as the vehicle is stranded within the interior. Unlike the first one, it is not bullet nor fireproof.
- For the iPhone version, the method is a bit different: The player must store the vehicle in the garage and then commit suicide to fail the mission. Afterwards, they must press "NO" when asked to restart the mission, then the player can go back to the garage where the vehicle was stored, and then save the game. The S.W.A.T. will be saved in that garage.
Trivia[]
General[]
- As indicated by the existence of the handling line being still in the game files of the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV, a "S.W.A.T.", implied to be the same vehicle as that in GTA San Andreas, was intended to appear in the game.[1] An equivalent was finally made available in The Ballad of Gay Tony, in which a NOOSE APC with an operable cannon fitted with explosive rounds is introduced.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas[]
- Boxes of S.W.A.T. models can be found in the Zero RC store, labeling the vehicle as the "Swat Van 92". 92 refers to the year San Andreas is set (1992). The same boxes can also be found in the Definitive Edition of GTA Vice City, still retaining the 92 on the box despite the game taking place six years prior.
- The wheels are much thinner than the actual model (about as 1/2; 1/3 of the actual wheel's width).
- Strangely, Denise or GSF members can perform drive-bys inside this vehicle, clipping through the windows. Whether this was intentional or oversight is unknown.
- According to unused audio lines, the S.W.A.T. is meant to appear in the chase in End of the Line, attempting to ram the player's Feltzer off the road. Carl will have to shoot out the S.W.A.T.'s tires to make it lose control and crash.
References[]
- ↑ Grand Theft Auto PC: Grand Theft Auto IV\common\data\handling.dat>SWAT
See Also[]
- APC - The Ballad of Gay Tony and Grand Theft Auto Online equivalent.
- FBI Truck - A similar anti-riot vehicle.