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Stalwart diving.

Swill1952xs

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Swill1952xs

Swill1952xs

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As a lover of heavy transport, the Alvis Stalwart has always fascinated me as do most amphibious vehicles. In one section on here I saw what can only be described as an act of total lunacy. Anyone who would launch a Stalwart off a river bank at speed and "Dive" into a river in the way shown; must have a serious death wish. I'm glad I wasn't a passenger at the time, being a non swimmer.

 

The point of this post being to ask a few questions about this wonderful piece of engineering.

 

1- Is the cargo body part of the vehicles buoyancy equipment. ie, if it filled with water, would it still float?

 

2- Is the vehicle designed to "Self right" in water. ie, if it rolled sideways down a bank into water?

 

3- In the event of it briefly becoming submerged, as in a dive into water; is there any protection for the engines air intake to stop water being drawn into the engine? (Via the air intake)

 

4- How much does a Stalwart weigh, and how much weight can it carry in water.

 

5- Are the hulls completely watertight, or do they rely on a bilge pump to remove water from inside?

 

6- Should the driver of the Stalwart in the video be committed as a loony?

 

I regularly see a couple of Stalwarts on the roadside between Cooksbridge and South Chailey in East Sussex. (A 275) The one that really interests me has a Hiab fitted to it. The owner has had several Army land Rovers there at times too, including the most interesting of those, being a forward control version? :)

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ArtistsRifles

ArtistsRifles

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As a lover of heavy transport, the Alvis Stalwart has always fascinated me as do most amphibious vehicles. In one section on here I saw what can only be described as an act of total lunacy. Anyone who would launch a Stalwart off a river bank at speed and "Dive" into a river in the way shown; must have a serious death wish. I'm glad I wasn't a passenger at the time, being a non swimmer.

 

The point of this post being to ask a few questions about this wonderful piece of engineering.

 

1- Is the cargo body part of the vehicles buoyancy equipment. ie, if it filled with water, would it still float?

 

2- Is the vehicle designed to "Self right" in water. ie, if it rolled sideways down a bank into water?

 

3- In the event of it briefly becoming submerged, as in a dive into water; is there any protection for the engines air intake to stop water being drawn into the engine? (Via the air intake)

 

4- How much does a Stalwart weigh, and how much weight can it carry in water.

 

5- Are the hulls completely watertight, or do they rely on a bilge pump to remove water from inside?

 

6- Should the driver of the Stalwart in the video be committed as a loony?

 

I regularly see a couple of Stalwarts on the roadside between Cooksbridge and South Chailey in East Sussex. (A 275) The one that really interests me has a Hiab fitted to it. The owner has had several Army land Rovers there at times too, including the most interesting of those, being a forward control version? :)

 

1) - Yes and NO!!

 

2) - NO!!

 

3) - Sort of! the air inlet and outlets open into the hull, the engine air intakes are located just under the load bed decking so a degree of water can be taken onboards before problems arise.

 

4) - 9 Tons unloaded, load capacity is 5 tons hence the bridging plate figure of 14 for the FV620 and FV622. Add 2 tons to the unladen weight for the FV324 and 624 versions fitted with Hiabs.

 

5) - Hulls are supposed to be completely water tight but incorporate both automatic and manual bilge pumps for accidental water ingress and slight leaks

 

6) - Probably! That said the Bundeswehr tested theirs by driving off the end of a pier at 30 mph so maybe the one you saw had a German driver!! :)

 

The Hiab equipped versions (FV623 and FV624) are possibly more useful but note that if the engine is't running - neither does the crane unlike on an FV434. And that Hiab add 2 tons to the unladen weight which results in added stress on the front 4 wheel stations and a pronounced nose down attitude when swimming. Personally I prefer the GS variants, the FV620 and FV622 but each to his (or her) own! :)

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Swill1952xs

Swill1952xs

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1) - Yes and NO!!

 

2) - NO!!

 

3) - Sort of! the air inlet and outlets open into the hull, the engine air intakes are located just under the load bed decking so a degree of water can be taken onboards before problems arise.

 

4) - 9 Tons unloaded, load capacity is 5 tons hence the bridging plate figure of 14 for the FV620 and FV622. Add 2 tons to the unladen weight for the FV324 and 624 versions fitted with Hiabs.

 

5) - Hulls are supposed to be completely water tight but incorporate both automatic and manual bilge pumps for accidental water ingress and slight leaks

 

6) - Probably! That said the Bundeswehr tested theirs by driving off the end of a pier at 30 mph so maybe the one you saw had a German driver!! :)

 

The Hiab equipped versions (FV623 and FV624) are possibly more useful but note that if the engine is't running - neither does the crane unlike on an FV434. And that Hiab add 2 tons to the unladen weight which results in added stress on the front 4 wheel stations and a pronounced nose down attitude when swimming. Personally I prefer the GS variants, the FV620 and FV622 but each to his (or her) own! :)

 

Bu**er me. I didn't expect a reply quite as quick as that. Many thanks for your reply and knowledgeable information. As for swimming with a Hiab version.............no way. I'd rather not go in the water with one. Swimming in an Argo Cat put me off that idea. :)

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Chrisg

Chrisg

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I regularly see a couple of Stalwarts on the roadside between Cooksbridge and South Chailey in East Sussex. (A 275) The one that really interests me has a Hiab fitted to it. The owner has had several Army land Rovers there at times too, including the most interesting of those, being a forward control version

 

I know the guy with the land rovers the 101 is ex first gulf war. I think the stollys are his next door neigbours

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Swill1952xs

Swill1952xs

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I regularly see a couple of Stalwarts on the roadside between Cooksbridge and South Chailey in East Sussex. (A 275) The one that really interests me has a Hiab fitted to it. The owner has had several Army land Rovers there at times too, including the most interesting of those, being a forward control version

 

I know the guy with the land rovers the 101 is ex first gulf war. I think the stollys are his next door neigbours

 

Handy having a neighbour who shares your interest. I could do with chasing up my uncle from Shoreham, who I haven't seen for a good few years. He had a Leyland six wheeler cargo bodied truck (Beaver?) dating from about 1944 and his son Gary had a Scammell Pioneer in desert colours. The last time I saw them was about ten years ago at the Laughton vintage show which is held in September. I just love that show, and think it's ten times better than the Festival of Transport.

 

Several years ago at Laughton, I met a miserable Scammell Explorer driver who was demonstrating its abilities over the mound of dirt they have there. I asked him if he was enjoying showing it off on the sort of terrain it was built for, and he replied that he was very bored doing it. I told him I used to drive a Pioneer doing recoveries with it; to which he replied "Everyones driven a Scammell..........you can have a go if you want to?" Miserable git! I asked him if he was serious and he said he was. I was in the seat by the time he'd finished speaking. I bet he thought I wouldn't have a clue what to do as he just sat there without speaking. After a brief look around I was off which shot him up the dirtbox and I went round two different ways having the time of my life. Unforgettable moment. :)

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Swill1952xs

Swill1952xs

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Would'nt mind betting he is on this forum :rofl:

 

Snot you is it..............hmmm.....:-D. You can bet your boots he is, and it wont take long for him to find my post.

 

Oh well..........spose I wont get to drive it again after this. It saddens me though that people exhibiting vehicles at shows are often rude and uncommunicative. Ok so they probably get peed off hearing everyones boring recollections of the one their great uncle had, but that's the name of the game, and what keeps these shows going.

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Degsy

Degsy

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Handy having a neighbour who shares your interest. I could do with chasing up my uncle from Shoreham, who I haven't seen for a good few years. He had a Leyland six wheeler cargo bodied truck (Beaver?) dating from about 1944

 

 

I think it would be more likely to be a Hippo.

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chambers101

chambers101

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Pops had a Stolly with a crane. He first tried his in the Thames at Twickenham slipway. Unfortunatly he only had one of the jets so he could'nt steer anywhere but i think the test was only to see if it could float. It's just a shame he died before he finished it. On another note one of my dad's friends Swam a Stolly from Hayling island to the I.O.W in 94 or 95.

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Swill1952xs

Swill1952xs

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Pops had a Stolly with a crane. He first tried his in the Thames at Twickenham slipway. Unfortunatly he only had one of the jets so he could'nt steer anywhere but i think the test was only to see if it could float. It's just a shame he died before he finished it. On another note one of my dad's friends Swam a Stolly from Hayling island to the I.O.W in 94 or 95.

 

Crossing from Hayling Island to the I.O.W with a Stalwart is probably cheaper than going across by ferry. The worrying thing being the number of ships that have gone down on this stretch of water.

It would be rather fun to race a ferry across, just to see the faces of the people on board. :-D

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ArtistsRifles

ArtistsRifles

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Crossing from Hayling Island to the I.O.W with a Stalwart is probably cheaper than going across by ferry. The worrying thing being the number of ships that have gone down on this stretch of water.

It would be rather fun to race a ferry across, just to see the faces of the people on board. :-D

 

At 6 knots flat out for the Stalwart - it wouldn't be too much of a race for the ferry!! :):)

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Richard Farrant

Richard Farrant

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At 6 knots flat out for the Stalwart - it wouldn't be too much of a race for the ferry!! :):)

 

I think that this took place from Lepe on the coast of the New Forest, to IoW. We were at a MV event there and a certain red Stalwart powered by a K60 diesel went down the beach into the sea, from our vantage point above the beach, we could see it progressing fairly well until it got into a cross current. An Inshore Lifeboat went out to it as it was drifting more than making headway, eventually it seemd to make progress and we all watched till it drove up the beach on the island. The return journey was also watched and after a time it made it back to the beach only to bog down crossing the groins and had to be pulled over them, by a wrecker.

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gritineye

gritineye

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I just love that show, and think it's ten times better than the Festival of Transport.

 

Thanks so much for you kind words Swill.

 

By the way, many HMVF members have supported the Hellingly Festival of Transport over the years because, due to the hard work put in to overcome many problems by Bob Bone and the rest of the committee, this event has contributed ten times more to various worthwhile charities.

 

Blatant plugs for the FOT follow

 

http://www.HMVFTV.com/watch/83deff5c7813a67e14f0/Mack-NO-&-close-coupled-Long-Tom

 

http://www.HMVFTV.com/watch/4c3a763a7e62d825349f/Scammell-Explorer-towing-ARV-Tank

Edited by gritineye
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chambers101

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That might have been a different time. On the video i have it managed to cross the Solent but it got stuck or broke down on a beach. Towing it with the Centaur halftrack didn't work and just proceded the tracks to slide off (i think they slid off a bit) so they winched it with a Land Rover up the beach and then off they went into the island.

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chevpol

chevpol

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I used to enter this one regularly in the Eighties, until it clashed with another event. Still visit it when I can, a good turn out of commercials always there.

 

used to go there in the early to mid 80's whilst on hols with my parents, we had a couple of friends who had preserved buses (London Transport Guy single deckers), used to go in sat evening, come back sunday for the full day. Wanted to enter my 1965 Austin A40 one year, car section organiser said no. (mind you, he did say in his reply letter that he didnt want any more MGB's!!!:shocked:) There were some great exhibits though, a lot of vehicles we didnt see up here, really good show.

 

Monday we would go to Great Warbirds at West Malling, happy times

 

Mark:cool:

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Swill1952xs

Swill1952xs

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Well..........

 

I'm going to stick with posting in this section.........it's just right for me. Not "I may be stupid"..........I definitely am.

 

So far, in nineteen days and seventeen posts, I appear to have insulted a member with a Scammell who was kind enough to display it in use at Laughton, and actually let me drive it. Everyone seems to know who this person is except me, although I have a good idea who this person is?

 

Secondly I appear to have run down the FOT at Hellingly without knowing the background of this forums input to the show. Haven't exactly made myself too popular by the seem of it.

 

I hope to see some of your vehicles at both shows next year......but I wont be proudly introducing myself. I will be the one shuffling past looking a bit sheepish.:-(

 

I was going to cancel my membership, but being stupid, I couldn't find out how to do that........and to add insult to injury; my friends list is empty too.

.

Edited by Swill1952xs
Gloomy feelings!
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