recymech66

The MAN SVR belongs to the Red Top recovery section hence red panels, when new in 2010 it was first painted desert colour (showing on the wheels) with red panels but they then decided to repaint it green again. I have photos of it in desert with red panels.

I know somebody from this unit LMFAO.

Was this taken last weekend by any chance?

They are not used to 'tow lighter vehicles' Cosrec is correct they are designed to lower the hernia bar (Nato towing attachment) in order to tow the in service recovery trailer 20t Craven Tasker. Before these drop plates were issued the towing A frame of the Tasker sat to high when connected to the towing eye so these drop plates were designed to lower the A frame to the horizontal position. They also had the added advantage of keeping the stiff legs in the raised position due to being pinned through them. Because these were an addition to the CES there was no correct stowage point designed therefore crews had their own ideas on were to best stow them, hanging off the rear step handrails were a bit chippy in my opinion. The best place was to fit them were they were intended to be fitted and you only had to unpin the bottom to lower the stiff legs when winching. Incidentally 32KE34 used to be my Foden a few years ago. :-)

SA80 A2 Rifle clips, for stowing your weapon out of the way so it doesn't rattle around and smash you in the face. 2nd photo down, 2 items far left are used for retaining the periscope in place.

Hope the lads are ok, now for me the annoying thing is the fact the MoD still continue to pay out for a recovery contract when we have the tools to do this ourselves ie MAN SVR and the manpower available who are more than capable. What a waste of cash and resources.

Did you get the pics I emailed you on the 20 June?

Probably not at Arborfield as the site has been sold and the school is due to move.

Yesterday afternoon M6 southbound just North of the M62 junction a civi lowloader carrying a white T34.

Sorry just seen your reply, PM me your email and I'll send pics.

I'll take some photos for you but it will be monday now. Let me know if you get sorted before then.

Correct it is the auxilary winch,fairlead from a Chieftain ARRV, also Samson has the same one

Nice to see photos of your Foden at work Steve.

Paint is faded Nato green, markings are as follow's: Chalk No = Means it's from a unit possibly RAF or airborne chalk number refers to order of march for flight. FAW = Front Axle Weight RAW = Rear Axle Weight AUW = All Up Weight Sorry can't help with the other marking with the bayonet.

That 6 wheel Pinz ambulance is from RAF Akrotiri Cyprus.

There were a number of Fodens which had cracked cross members due to a design fault so the whole fleet had to be inspected, all damaged ones were repaired. Is the damage on the crane seat possibly consistant with being caused by a tree branch? Lots of military vehicles suffer damage from trees when driving through wooded areas in the dark.

Steve, Your Foden spent time in the late 80s (probably from new) at 147 Workshop Coy TA in Scunthorpe before being sent in 1990 on Op Granby the first Gulf War, on it's conclusion your Foden then went back to Germany with 1 Bn REME from Osnabruck. Trying to find out what other Operations it deployed on and some more details. Also waiting for somebody to hopefully get back to me with some photos of it in service.

TBT (Tank Bridge Transporter) CRARRV (Challenger Armoured Repair Recovery Vehicle) Trojan (Challenger based AVRE)

Carrying artillery shells, 2 man lift? Edited to add: ignore that, silly idea.

Is it in relation to some form of sport?:undecided:

This one is easy and still done to this day just ask any PTI. Carried out on a PT lesson, 2 soldiers stand facing each other about a foot apart, one with left foot forward one with right foot forward. Both soldiers grip each others hands in the same fashion as the photo then pump each others arms furiously. Not quite sure what it achieves but gets you warmed up on colder winter mornings. Probably not the answer your looking for though :-D

Just had another look at the video with sound up, the whine from the winch sounds like all Rotzler winchs fitted to Fodens (got quite used to that sound). It wouldn't be pulling anywere near full capacity as it doesn't look like there's much rope out, maybe the angle the video is taken at, I'd would love to see it with a heavy 2:1 on it when you put it to work. Also once the revs are set you wouldn't hear that much of a significant change in engine tone. Looking good though

These strops are rated at 96 Tonnes for Army use, never understood why they had to be rated as such just to lift the underlift, they were never used for anything else.

Well spotted

Winch looks like it's working a treat there Steve.