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33-496: A beach armoured recovery vehicle ( BARV ) is an armoured recovery vehicle used for amphibious landings . There have been three different BARVs in British service since their introduction during World War II . They have also been used by Dutch and Australian forces. The original BARV was a Sherman M4A2 tank which had been waterproofed and had the turret replaced by a tall armoured superstructure. Around 60 were deployed on

66-427: A hull superstructure to accommodate repair and recovery equipment. Many of the latter type of ARV had an A-frame or crane to allow the vehicle's crew to perform heavy lifting tasks, such as removing the engine from a disabled tank. After World War II, most countries' MBT models also had corresponding ARV variants. Many ARVs are also equipped with a bulldozer blade that can be used as an anchor when winching or as

99-574: A share of its Avimo Group optronics subsidiary to Thomson-CSF and sold all of its remaining shareholding to Thales Group (the renamed Thomson-CSF) in 2001. In 2002 Alvis acquired Vickers Defence Systems from Rolls-Royce for £16 million and merged it with its existing UK business to form Alvis Vickers. The acquisition of Vickers brought the Challenger tank into Alvis' portfolio, as well as Vickers' successful military bridging division and its South African subsidiary Vickers OMC . In 2004,

132-470: A stabiliser when lifting, a pump to transfer fuel to another vehicle, and more. Some can even carry a spare engine for field replacement, such as the German Leopard 1 ARV. ARVs are normally built on the chassis of a main battle tank (MBT), but some are also constructed on the basis of other armoured fighting vehicles , mostly armoured personnel carriers (APCs). ARVs are usually built on

165-520: A vehicle based on the Centurion tank . A single M3A5 Grant tank was converted into a BARV in 1950 by the Australian Army . This remained in service until 1970. By the late 1950s, Sherman BARVs were becoming less useful as they were unable to recover the heavier armoured vehicles that were being introduced. The Centurion BARV FV 4018 was developed as a replacement. A mild-steel prototype

198-475: Is a list of ARVs by country, either designer/manufacturer or user. The Russian acronym BREM ( cyr . БРЭМ) stands for "бронированная ремонтно-эвакуационная машина", literally "armoured repair and recovery vehicle". The British tested their first ARV designs in early 1942. The decision at the time was to focus on the Churchill infantry tank as the basis, but cruiser tank based ARVs were also produced. When

231-712: Is at The Tank Museum , after being used as a firing range target. Another Sherman BARV is a museum-piece in India, at the Cavalry Tank Museum , Ahmednagar . The Australian M3 BARV is preserved at the Royal Australian Armoured Corps Tank Museum at Puckapunyal , Australia. The museum also has a second BARV that was based on a bulldozer. Centurion BARVs are on display at The Tank Museum (UK), at Yad La-Shiryon in Latrun -

264-698: Is reportedly well liked by its users, but its lack of commonality with the other armoured vehicles used by the UK has caused spares support problems, exacerbated by the poor nature of the Initial Spares Support package procured from Alvis Moelv by the UK's Defence Procurement Agency . This area is being tackled by the MoD's Defence Logistics Organisation . The Netherlands Marine Corps operates four similar Dutch Leopard 1V-based BRV vehicles known as Hercules , Samson , Goliath and Titan which operate out of

297-664: The BAE Systems Land & Armaments operating group. Alvis became part of Rover in 1965, which ended the company's car manufacturing in 1967 to allow it to concentrate on the manufacture of armoured vehicles. In 1968 Rover and its Alvis subsidiary were incorporated into the Leyland Motor Corporation later British Leyland or BL. In 1981 the then nationalised BL sold the Alvis business to United Scientific Holdings for £27 million. United Scientific

330-542: The Falklands War , being the largest land vehicles ashore, with the BARV from Fearless becoming stuck in deep mud whilst pushing an LCU Blue Beach . The vehicle was stuck in the mud for a few days, while a quillshaft (driveshaft between transmission and final drive unit) snapped during the recovery. The BARV from HMS Intrepid also became stuck in deep mud and suffered the same quillshaft failure and remained static for

363-681: The IDF tank museum - and at the Israel Defense Forces History Museum ( Batey ha-Osef ) in Tel-Aviv . A Centurion BARV, in private hands, is parked and able to be viewed at the entrance of a farm on Colne Road, Bures Hamlet , Essex, England. AeroVenture in Doncaster, UK has a Centurion BARV 02 ZR 77 on display as part of its Falklands War Collection. This was originally one of the first Centurions built as part of

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396-663: The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers . The Sherman M4A2 model was chosen as a basis for the BARV as it was thought that the Sherman's welded hull would be easier to waterproof than other tanks. Unlike other Sherman models, the M4A2 was powered by a diesel engine because it was believed the tank would be less affected by the sudden temperature changes caused by the regular plunges into cold water. A few Sherman BARVs continued to be used until 1963, when they were replaced by

429-814: The Royal Netherlands Navy assault ships of the Rotterdam class . The vehicles have a similar specification but a different cabin appearance. In England, the REME Museum in Lyneham and the D-Day Story in Portsmouth both have Sherman BARVs on display. Another, in running condition, is held by the War and Peace Collection , a private military collection in the UK. The wrecked hulk of another

462-722: The ARV (since the same parts can be used on the ARV and the vehicles it supports). Some ARVs are operated in tandem with armoured bulldozers. ARVs generally can only tow an equivalent-class vehicle or one that is lighter in weight. As such, an APC chassis-based ARV can only tow and recover an APC, but not a much heavier tank. While most ARVs are made from or based on APC or tank chassis, more rarely, an ARV may be based on an artillery tractor chassis. Some ARVs have specialized equipment that enables them to operate on beaches or in shallow water. During World War I, some British Mark IV heavy tanks were fitted with jibs to produce " salvage tanks ", but

495-552: The M88, which has a .50 cal heavy machine gun. One WWII M4 Sherman -based ARV had a dummy gun installed where the turret would normally go. Early ARVs in WWII were often repurposed tanks, with the turret and armament removed and replaced with some type of winch. In the 2010s, ARVs are generally factory-built. Even so, ARVs often use a shared chassis that is used on an army's other fighting vehicles, as this facilitates repair and maintenance of

528-500: The UK received supplies of US medium tanks – first the M3, then M4 Sherman, conversions were made of these to operate alongside and so simplify support. Alvis Vickers Alvis PLC was created when United Scientific Holdings plc acquired the Alvis division of the nationalised vehicle manufacturer British Leyland in 1981. United Scientific maintained its own name until 1992 when

561-587: The addition of working platforms, a nosing block, raised air intakes and an auxiliary power unit ; this has raised the weight of the vehicle from 42.5 tonnes to 50 tonnes. The Hippo has a fording depth of 2.95 metres (9 ft 8 in) and can pull vehicles up to 50 tonnes weight or push off from the beach a 240 tonne displacement landing craft . Currently, four Hippos are in British service, one each on HMS Albion and Bulwark , with two used by 11 Amphibious Trials and Training Unit Royal Marines. The vehicle

594-415: The basis of a vehicle in the same class as they are supposed to recover; a tank-based ARV is used to recover tanks, while an APC-based one recovers APCs (it does not have the power to tow a much heavier tank). ARVs with a crane can be used to lift and place concrete fortifications in place and help with other battlefield engineering. Some combat engineering vehicles (CEVs) are based on ARVs. The following

627-481: The board of Alvis approved a £309m takeover bid by the American defence company General Dynamics . Within three months BAE Systems , which already had a 29% stake in the company, outbid General Dynamics by offering £355m. The action was seen as a defence of the home market from a foreign rival. David Mulholland of Jane's Defence Weekly said "I don't believe BAE expects to make money from this deal," characterising

660-696: The duration of the war. All the Centurion-derived BARVs have now left service and have been sold to collectors or museums around the world. BARV registration number 00ZR21 can be seen at the RAC Tank Museum, Bovington England. In 2003, the Centurion BARV's replacement was introduced. This is the Hippo BRV , which had been in development under the project name of "Future Beach Recovery Vehicle" (FBRV). The name change reflects

693-625: The essential role for the LPD 's HMS Fearless and HMS Intrepid as part of the beach assault squadrons. The assault squadrons were initially a mix of Royal Marines and Army serving aboard the ships. The transition to this being all Royal Marines was seen to be essential. The crew for the BARVs would be handed to the Royal Marines with a sergeant, two corporals and a marine, all qualified vehicle mechanics, responsible for driving and maintaining

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726-422: The fact that, unlike previous generations of vehicle used in this role, Hippos are not fully armored. The Hippo is a conversion by Alvis Moelv of a Leopard 1A5 tank. The incorporation of Alvis Vickers into BAE Systems meant that elements of the work moved to BAE Land Systems, Sweden , formerly known as "Hägglunds", another ex-Alvis company. As with earlier generations of BARV, the main alteration has been

759-706: The first contract between 1944 and 1946 (the exact date of build is unknown). It was one of the two BARVs that took part in Operation Sutton , the British landings at San Carlos with one from HMS Fearless supporting the landings on Blue Beach and one from HMS Intrepid supporting the landings on Red Beach and remains the longest-serving armoured vehicle in the British forces, leaving service in 2005 after taking part in both Gulf conflicts. Armoured recovery vehicle ARVs may have winches, jibs, cranes, and/or bulldozer blades to aid in tank recovery. Typically, any specialized lifting and recovery equipment replaces

792-514: The group was renamed Alvis plc . Alvis acquired the armoured vehicle business of the Swedish engineering company Hägglund & Söner in 1997 and the armoured vehicle business of GKN in 1998. Alvis acquired Vickers Defence Systems from Rolls-Royce in October 2002. It was in turn acquired by BAE Systems in 2004 and became BAE Systems Land Systems (Weapons & Vehicles) , now part of

825-530: The invasion beaches during the Battle of Normandy . Able to operate in nine-foot (2.7-metre) deep water, the BARV was used to remove vehicles that had become broken-down or swamped in the surf and were blocking access to the beaches. They were also used to re-float small landing craft that had become stuck on the beach. Unusually for a tank, the crew included a diver whose job was to attach towing chains to stuck vehicles. The vehicles were developed and operated by

858-489: The majority of their work was at the tank parks in aid of moving, maintaining, and repairing damaged tanks. The first true ARVs were introduced in World War II , often by converting obsolete or damaged tanks, usually by removing the turret and installing a heavy-duty winch to free stuck vehicles, plus a variety of vehicle repair tools . Some were also purpose-built in factories , using an existing tank chassis with

891-459: The purchase as strategic rather than commercial. The bid was accepted by the majority of shareholders. In September 2004, BAE announced the creation of BAE Systems Land Systems , a new company bringing together the BAE subsidiaries, BAE Systems RO Defence and Alvis Vickers. Alvis Vickers became BAE Systems Land Systems (Weapons & Vehicles) Limited, a subsidiary of BAE Systems Land Systems. In 2005,

924-464: The replacement of the turret with a raised superstructure which, in this case, resembles the bridge or wheelhouse of a small ship. The original 830-horsepower (620 kW) diesel engine has been retained but the gearing of the transmission had been lowered; this has reduced the vehicle's road speed from 65 to 20 kilometres per hour (40 to 12 mph), but its tractive force has been increased to 250 kilonewtons (56,000 lbf). Other modifications include

957-568: The tank, and also providing full mechanical breakdown services for all embarked vehicles. The training for the crew would take place at Bovington Camp for driver training and at the home of the BARV, RM Instow in North Devon, the Royal Marines' amphibious testing centre. There were many occasions when the BARV would break down or get stuck. In 1981 the BARV from Fearless was to be lost at sea off Browndown beach to end up fully submerged. The following year both BARVs would see service during

990-556: The turret and cannon found on a battle tank. ARVs may in some cases have electric generators, blowtorches, chainsaws and fuel pumps to help with recovery operations, or spare parts, to facilitate field repairs. Some ARVs have a spade component to anchor the vehicle when it is towing or lifting. Since most ARVs are based on tank or APC chassis, they have an armoured crew cockpit and engine, which means that ARVs can be operated in combat conditions. Rarely, an ARV may be armed, such as some M32s, which have an 81 mm mortar for screening purposes, and

1023-537: Was a manufacturer of military sighting products. In 1992 United Scientific adopted the name Alvis plc. In October 1997 Alvis acquired the armoured vehicle business of Hägglund & Söner, which was later renamed Alvis Hagglunds AB. In September 1998 Alvis acquired the armoured vehicle business of GKN in a deal which saw GKN take a 29.9% stake in Alvis. GKN's shareholding was purchased by BAE Systems in September 2003 for £73 million. In early 2000 Alvis sold

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1056-526: Was followed in 1960 by 12 production vehicles. These were based on the hulls of Mark 1, 2, and 3 Centurion tanks that by this time were redundant. Although initially assigned to the Army, they were passed to the Royal Marines when the Army's amphibious assault role was given to the marines. The BARV was basically a Centurion body with built up sides to accommodate wading in water up to 11 feet. The design

1089-428: Was functional yet crude with sloped armour built above the tank hull. The tracks for the BARV were reversed so they had better grip biting in reverse. The Centurion BARV retained the gun-tank's Rolls-Royce Meteor petrol engine. Centurion BARVs had a crew of four; two of the crew were members of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers , one of whom was a qualified diver. The Centurion BARVs were built to provide

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