BARV
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The Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle (BARV) is a British military support vehicle used for amphibious landings.
There have been three different BARVs in British service since their first introduction during World War II.
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[edit] Sherman BARV
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 the invasion beaches during the Battle of Normandy. Able to operate in 9 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 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 make easier to waterproof than other tanks. The M4A2, unlike other Sherman models, was powered by a diesel engine and it was believed this would be less affected by the sudden temperature changes caused by the tank repeatedly plunging into cold water.
A few Sherman BARV's continued to be used until 1963, when they were replaced by 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.
[edit] Centurion BARV
The Centurion BARV FV 4018 was the replacement for the Sherman. Twelve were originally built for use by the Royal Marines. It had a crew of four; two of the crew were members of the Royal Engineers, one of whom was a qualified diver.
[edit] Current BARVs
In 2003, the Centurion BARV's replacement was introduced. This is the Hippo BARV, which had been in development under the project name of "Future Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle" (FBARV). 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 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 hp (634 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 km/h (40 mph) to 32 km/h (20 mph), but its tractive force has been increased to 250 kN (56,000 lbf). Other modifications include 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 is 2.95 m (10 ft) 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 service, one each on HMS Albion and Bulwark, with two based at the Royal Marines Testing and Training Centre. The vehicle 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 two similar Dutch Leopard 1V-based BARV vehicles known as Hercules and Samson, which operate out of the Royal Netherlands Navy assault ships of the Rotterdam class. The vehicles have a similar specification but a different cabin appearance. They too replaced Centurion BARVs.
[edit] Surviving examples
The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Museum of Technology, in Bordon England, has a Sherman BARV on display. Another is privately owned in the UK, this is probably the only Sherman BARV in the world in running condition.
Centurion BARVs are on display at the Bovington Tank Museum (UK), at the IDF Armoured Corps Museum (Yad la-Shiryon) (Latrun, Israel), and at the IDF History Museum (Batey ha-Osef) (Tel-Aviv, Israel).
The Australian M3 BARV is preserved at the Royal Australian Armoured Corps Tank Museum at Puckapunyal, Australia.
[edit] External links
- Sherman BARV at REME Museum of Technology
- Sherman BARV photo gallery
- Centurion BARV photo gallery
- The US M3 Medium Series in Australia
- Article on the Hippo FBARV, published by Jane's.
- Photos of the Dutch Navy variant of the Hippo BARV, German language
| Modern (post WW2) UK military vehicles (not AFV) |
|---|
| Light vehicles |
| Austin Champ | Land Rover | Land Rover Forward Control | "Airportable" Land Rover|ATMP (Supacat) |
| Load carriers |
| FV 620 "Stalwart" | Bedford MK/MJ 4 ton | Militant 10 ton |
| Transporters |
| "Mighty Antar" | Scammell Commander |
| Recovery and engineering vehicles |
| Royal Marines Beach ARV | FV180 CET | FV106 Samson |
| UK Armoured Fighting Vehicles |
