tracked vehicle speed record

[landyandy]

doe,s any one know what tank holds the official and unnoficial speed record

Edited May 23, 2011 by landyandy

[Grasshopper]

I have seen a Scorpion that had a V8 fitted to it for that purpose, but it revved lower than the J60!

[Big Al]

I have heard that a metor engine was placed in a crusader and was used for a speed trial brown trousers were issued for the driver !

Al

[Adrian Barrell]

The original Meteor was fitted in a Crusader but only as an automotive test, not for a record attempt.

 

I think it is held by an M113, I'll look up my source.

[JoelH]

Found this information here.

 

The official international speed record for the World's Fastest Tank has recently been set by a CVR(T) Scorpion Tank upgraded to the latest S 2000 Peacekeeper standard by Repaircraft. Timed by the British police and MMST and witnessed by the Guiness Book of Records, a standard production S 2000 raced its way into the record books at an average speed of 82.23 kph. (51 mph)

held since 2002

[Niels v]

I know that the M41 walker bulldog were pretty fast, in Denmark they use to overtake the trafic doing around 70-80kmt and they had one doing close to a 100kmt.

 

but the M18 hellcat might have been faster.

[Adrian Scott]

I think Mike Felps got close to the record at A and E last year in his Hellcat !!!

[landyandy]

Found this information here.

 

 

that is the official record but it went a hell of a lot faster

[eddy8men]

bulldog 21.3bhp/ton

chaffee 16.09bhp/ton

cromwell 21.4bhp/ton:-D

[Nick Johns]

Staman international worlds fastest Sherman, listen to the exhaust note

 

[abn deuce]

If your only asking about tracked vehicles in general and not a AFV , How about Rip Saw it will top all the speeds mentioned so far . The stats are shown .

[Toner]

I was wondering where I had seen Rip Saw before.

I think it was programme about building robot vehicles for the US Army. I didn't realise it had a driver.

[Bruce Newsome]

The fastest tanks actually achieved their top speeds on wheels. The Christie M1928 was clocked at 69.23 mph on its road wheels and 42.55 mphon tracks, under perfect conditions. (The Christie “convertible” tanks differedtechnologically by using the same wheels to run on the tracks or directly onthe ground. Other hybrids raised and lowered pneumatic wheels.) The M1930 wasdemonstrated in Britain at 64 mph on wheels, with the wind behind it, and 30 mphon tracks. Christie’ssmaller and final convertible, the M1932, achieved 65 miles per hour on wheelsand 36 miles per hour on tracks. The related Soviet BT2 tank was rated for roadspeeds up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour. The speed records set by Christie tanks in the1930s were not surpassed during the Second World War, but their speed recordswere achieved without turrets, weapons, ammunition, or any stowed equipment.The Soviet BT tanks, based on the Christie M1930, were the fastest tanks to see action during theSecond World War, but only on their wheels. The evolutionary Soviet T34 and itsdescendants and the British Cruiser tanks, with adapted Christie suspension, ranon their tracks only. The British Cromwell was the fastest proper tank at 40 mph although speed was governed to 32 mph on the main models. The Vickers Tetrarch light tank reached 40 mph and was technically convertible although I haven't seen any reference to conversion during operations. The US M18 Hellcat tank destroyer was the fastest effective tank, at 45 mph. The Leopard 2 is the fastest off-the-shelf main battle tank, at 45 mph, although competitors have demonstrated at higher speeds.

[timbo]

I've always thought the 'official' record of 58mph seemed pretty slow, esp when you think of all the stories about delimited cvrts doing 70.. Having said that I think a lot of these stories are BS or at least based on an inaccurate perception of speed as opposed to real speed. My Sabre is admittedly a little tired but it really struggles on anything steeper than a very small hill...and if I were doing 70 there is no way I would want to duck down to look at the speedo !!!

[eddy8men]

it's mind boggling to think of the forces involved when a tracked vehicle is moving at speed, as the track in contact with the ground is doing 0 mph while the top run is doing twice the road speed, so if a tank road speed is 60 mph then the top run of track is doing 120 mph:wow:

[m109a3uk]

Didnt MVEE do a Lotus suspension version of the CVRT I heard a story that one hit a Cheiftian flat out and welded it self to it. It was supposed to be VERY fast even off road.

[landyandy]

it's mind boggling to think of the forces involved when a tracked vehicle is moving at speed, as the track in contact with the ground is doing 0 mph while the top run is doing twice the road speed, so if a tank road speed is 60 mph then the top run of track is doing 120 mph:wow:

 

the actual speed attainded by the scorpion was 88mph in trails,they had to back off as track pads started flying off and damaging the hull so yes the forces involved are immense

[AlienFTM]

I've always thought the 'official' record of 58mph seemed pretty slow, esp when you think of all the stories about delimited cvrts doing 70.. Having said that I think a lot of these stories are BS or at least based on an inaccurate perception of speed as opposed to real speed. My Sabre is admittedly a little tired but it really struggles on anything steeper than a very small hill...and if I were doing 70 there is no way I would want to duck down to look at the speedo !!!

 

Stop you if you have heard this before.

 

After Basic Training at Catterick in 1975-6, the RAC Soldiers took an HGV 3 course. The RAC Crewmen did a Radio course followed by either Chieftain or Scorpion (depending whether they were destined for an armoured or a recce regiment) D&M course or a Gunnery course.

 

I did Scorpion gunnery. One of the mukkers I met in Basic found himself on a Scorpion driver course. I bumped into him in the NAAFI one evening and he recounted his day's events. He had found himself on the A1 near Catterick and flagged down by a jam sandwich (or whatever it was in those days).

 

The constable walked round the Scorpion (to the wrong side until he realised that CVR(T)s were built for BAOR ...) and told the driver, "Look sonny, I am not going to stand in front of a magistrate and tell him 'I was proceeding along the A1 at 65mph when I was passed by a TANK.' Don't do it again."

 

I certainly never got the impression it was one of Billy Bullsh's tales, but I wasn't there.

[Richard Farrant]

The constable walked round the Scorpion (to the wrong side until he realised that CVR(T)s were built for BAOR ...) and told the driver, "Look sonny, I am not going to stand in front of a magistrate and tell him 'I was proceeding along the A1 at 65mph when I was passed by a TANK.' Don't do it again."

 

I certainly never got the impression it was one of Billy Bullsh's tales, but I wasn't there.

 

 

The company Repaircraft, are upgrading CVR(T) vehicles and advertising their top speed as 51.1 mph (electically inhibited). Now when you were training in 75/76, I believe the CVR(T) was on normal contact breaker ignition and governed rotor arms were not used on the J60, so the sky was the limit. Later on they were modified for Lumenition electronic ignition with an inbuilt rev limiter, which slowed them up a bit .

[Dave]

Surely the Warrior must be a contender here, i seem to recall the early ones were fitted with the Rolls Royce CV8 but twin turbos pushing out around 830bhp, Then some spoilsport who has obviously never been on the sharp end of enemy fire decided to down rate them to 550 bhp.

they were fast cross country as well, the only real problem was the plastic fuel tank through which you could watch the fuel sloshing around making the troops in the back sick as hell.

[exrock]

CVRT capable with J60 of 70 MPH, but limited to 50 MPH, that was the official line we were given in the RAF Regt.:nut::cool2:

[AlienFTM]

Surely the Warrior must be a contender here, i seem to recall the early ones were fitted with the Rolls Royce CV8 but twin turbos pushing out around 830bhp, Then some spoilsport who has obviously never been on the sharp end of enemy fire decided to down rate them to 550 bhp.

they were fast cross country as well, the only real problem was the plastic fuel tank through which you could watch the fuel sloshing around making the troops in the back sick as hell.

 

Sitting sideways enclosed in the back of an armoured vehicle is seasick-making without seeing fluids moving!

 

I was lucky in that I only crewed in the back of a Sultan for one exercise season before getting command of a rebro ferret.

 

The soft suspension on a CVR(T) meant that every time the driver sped up or slowed down, my guts churned due to the same motion in my stomach that caused seasickness (even though I raced yachts for the regiment).

 

At least when commanding you were generally looking at a point in the distance in between brief checks of the map.

[Lewis Garner]

Not sure I'd want to do that sort of speed in a CVR(T), ours was bad enough at nearly 50! The speedo was showing roughly 48mph and it was just bouncing off the limiter.

Then again if her majesty is paying for the repairs afterwards, who cares? It's when you have to fix it yourself and out of your own pocket that you drive a little more sedately

[Turret_Monster]

Not sure I'd want to do that sort of speed in a CVR(T), ours was bad enough at nearly 50! The speedo was showing roughly 48mph and it was just bouncing off the limiter.

Then again if her majesty is paying for the repairs afterwards, who cares? It's when you have to fix it yourself and out of your own pocket that you drive a little more sedately

 

Mmm, I went 'off the scale' a couple of times over the weekend, however, I did have the thought of what can occasionally go wrong in the back of my mind.

 

And although her the taxpayer might pick up the tab, I still have to fix it myself.

[Brucie]

Didnt MVEE do a Lotus suspension version of the CVRT I heard a story that one hit a Cheiftian flat out and welded it self to it. It was supposed to be VERY fast even off road.

 

In reply to this message, MVEE did all sorts of trials on CVRTs, and the incident you mention did take place when I was based at MVEE. The incident occurred on the test track at Chertsey where the CVRT was coming of the test track onto one of the side roads and was travelling at a high speed and there was bad weather conditions. At the same time a Chieftain tank was proceeding from the skid pan area onto the test track. The CVRT collided with the side of the Chieftain, there was minimal damage to the Chieftain and extensive damage to the CVRT and as a result of the impact the two military personnel in the CVRT Mick and Ken died. I along with my comrades attended the funeral of Mick while other comrades attended the funeral of Ken.