David Molyneux Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Photographed in a layby on the A432 near Knockdown, probably mid seventies. Any clues as to what it was used for? David Molyneux Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landyandy Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 this looks like it has been modded to carry a crane,possibly in civillian hands as can,t find anything about mil conversion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I have a feeling there were a few tanks modified with cranes for use on a range for positioning targets. They may have been Chieftain, so perhaps this one predates them. Something tells me it was on one of the experimental trials ranges such as used by RARDE and suchlike. Looks like it has a winch fitted as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antarmike Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I know it hasn't got the usual ARV winch rollers, but I am wondering if this is based on an ARV not a gun tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landyandy Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 looking at the 3rd pic its had all front armour cut out and crew compartment gutted which is strange ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antarmike Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Could the Tractor unit be an Atkinson Venturer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landyandy Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 its a mk 2 arv with the side boxes removed,i,ll ask john attlee tomoz as he knows the history of them better than most Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Newsome Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 the superstructure is constructed with armor plate and AFV hatches so it's an ARV not a civilian conversion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 (edited) Richard Farrant I have a feeling there were a few tanks modified with cranes for use on a range for positioning targets. The crane tanks date back to Centurion Mk2 used at Kirkcudbright in the 1960s -until replaced by a similar model on the Chieftain. So the Centurion would pre-date this Conqueror conversion. Landyandyits a mk 2 arv with the side boxes removed, While almost certainly some form of crane and the vehicle is certainly a ARV but looks more like the prototype FV200 series ARV rather than one of the 20 Conqueror ARV Mk2s FV222, note in particular the vertical winch cable rollers at the extreme rear -the FV222 had a pully wheel type similar to the earlier Mk1 ARV FV219. Steve Edited February 25, 2011 by steveo578 quotes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landyandy Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 from a reliable source its the prototype arv 2 converted to range crane in 1966,used on a couple of live fire ranges,mostly salisbury,she was most certainly on her way to scapyard when these photos were taken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I would have thought it would have made a reasonable hard target -the Otterburn Conqueror ARV Mk2 was abandoned as a hard target where it stood when it broke its final drive whilst crossing the range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 A photo of the prototype FV200 series ARV as mentioned in post#9 note the winch rollers at the rear and the shape and position of the side door in relation to the roof line is different from the FV220 ARV Mk2. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antar Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 Could the Tractor unit be an Atkinson Venturer? It looks like it from the rear windows, what is more concerning is the trailer is more than likley a King TD35 (35 TON LOAD CAPACITY) what weight do you think it is actually carrying ! That trailer has no hydraulics, the neck was disconected by manually jacking the trailer bed, I know because I used to move my Antar on one, jacking that with a 24 ton load on was hard enough with 2 15 ton toe jacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 (edited) antar what weight do you think it is actually carrying ! I don't know what a FV200 ARV weighs but the Mk2 ARV weighed 57ton -of course some prototypes like the Challnger ARV prototype were badly overweight compared to spec. So allowing that the crane cab and turntable would equal anything like winch which could have been removed from the interior through the front plate the weight will still be between 50-60tons which is a bit much for a 35ton load capacity- the rules must have been very relaxed back then. By the look of the trailer wheels the whole thing looks maxed out. Edited February 27, 2011 by steveo578 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antarmike Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 (edited) .... like winch which could have been removed from the interior ..... I suggest the winch is still in the vehicle, because the winch rollers do not appear to exactly match either a ARV Mk2 or the FV200 , and it would seem strange to modify the winch rollers and then take out the winch. Or viewed another way, surely if you remove the winch, you would remove the rollers at the same time. Edited February 27, 2011 by antarmike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 (edited) antarmike I suggest the winch is still in the vehicle, because the winch rollers do not appear to exactly match either a ARV Mk2 or the FV200 , I only suggested the winch being probably the only viable valuable component in the written off range aid/crane and it makes the removal of the glacis understandable -the crane-turntable would have to be removed before cutting through the superstructure roof all requiring another crane - cutting the glacis would allow the complete winch possibly including the frame (assuming it had one) to be pulled out without a crane! If they had a use for the winch it would not be necessary for its function to have the winch rollers. IMO the photos in post#1 match the photo I posted in #11 which is probably the FV209 the 1951 Vickers M/S FV200 ARV prototype I have marked in yellow the points of commonality points of commonality exhaust,aux.exhaust,hatch,roof,wheels and rollers. note the rollers on the vehicle shown in Post#1 and #11 are very different than that shown on the photo of the wreck FV219 (below) which has also had its spade removed and it would seem strange to modify the winch rollers and then take out the winch. Or viewed another way, surely if you remove the winch, you would remove the rollers at the same time.Assuming the winch rollers were modified it could have happened any time in the long life of the FV209, which had a 10 year+ life at FVRDE and was involved in sorting problems with Fv219 and later FV222 there were numerous problems with the winch in FV219 to the extent that one of the three trial series was returned to Vickers -and was never seen again! -which is a bit like the documentation of Vickers which was handed over to Cambridge University -no doubt never to be seen again. The FV209 was also used for DD development in which it lost its rear spade and at some time it was used to develop a front spade -which later led to development of the same in the Chieftain ARV. The production FV214 had a different winch roller similar to the FV222 half of which were production line rebuilds of FV214. Steve Edited February 28, 2011 by steveo578 problems with photo upload & word wrap + wrong number Fv214 should be FV219 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antarmike Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 (edited) I understand your logic now, Winch removed just prior to scrapping does indeed make sense. I spend several minutes flicking back and forth between photo's before making decision that rollers were different. Putting the two photographs next to each other does make it easier to compare and yes this could be the FV200 prototype. Edited February 28, 2011 by antarmike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will1970 Posted March 28, 2022 Share Posted March 28, 2022 Hi, looking for some information or photos of an ARV that was at Bovington in the mid 1970's that was deployed rapidly to the Marine camp Hamworthy Poole to recover two tanks that were lost off am LCM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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