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This vehicle is not currently on display at the Museum
The AEC Militant range of 10 ton trucks and tractors was produced in very large numbers for the Army between the mid 1950s and late 1970s. The bulk of those built had 6 wheel drive and were capable of movement over rough ground. Most were built as cargo trucks or gun tractors and a batch of the later, more developed versions, as recovery vehicles described in the other sections.
A feature of the REME field workshops has always been a capacity for mobile operations. This has been achieved by mounting special machinery and spare parts, tools etc in trucks and trailers. As the concept of forward repair developed, ‘in situ' repair of tanks became the practice. As a result there was a saving on tank transporters and unnecessary traffic during exercises or operations. The simplest way to solve tank engine faults was to lift out the whole unit to gain access. On earlier tanks this had not been considered during design and engine removal was therefore a slow and complicated process, made more difficult if done at night in driving rain and with the enemy not far off. To speed up the process, other armies had developed tanks with engines and accessories all linked together in such a way that with a minimum of disconnections the whole unit could be lifted out and a new one put in its place.
The complete unit was termed a ‘power pack'. In the 1960s new British armoured vehicles were designed to incorporate this system. It was normal practice to hold a stock of new or repaired power packs and to route faulty or damaged ones (unless the problem was easily solved) to a base workshop where refurbishment took place on a flow line principle. In peace time the powerpack repairs carried out in a field workshop's buildings, would in war time be dealt with in a field location with limited covered accommodation. A complete tank powerpack weighed about 3 tons and could not be accommodated or stripped down inside a conventional workshop truck. Therefore there was a need for a special mobile power pack repair facility. Various interim designs were produced based on truck and trailer combinations.
The design, was produced and tested in BAOR, mainly by 6 Field Workshop and consisted of a modified AEC 10 ton truck. The truck's original cargo body was replaced by a box body with sides hinged at the top which could be raised up to form an extended roof. The front and rear of each side extension were in rigid panels but the new sides were canvas. There was no floor to the extensions which simply gave a greater covered working area.
The novelty was that the design provided for two such vehicles to be linked together side by side giving a considerable covered working space. Sets of tailor-made rails were laid in this space and complete Chieftain or FV430 Series power packs could then be moved along the rail beside the truck. On both sides of each truck midway along the body floor was a crane which could lift components off the power pack onto the truck's deck. At the rear of the cranes was a set of automotive test equipment.
Within this extensive covered area at least two power packs could be worked on simultaneously. Faults could be diagnosed and new components could be fitted and the resultant repair tested. The completed power pack could then be rolled out and crated if not required for immediate use.
The standard equipment was built by 37 (Rhine) Workshop from 1978, based on a developed version of the 6 Field Workshop design. The vehicles were then issued to the main field workshops in BAOR.
In order to disguise the Powerpack Repair Platform (PPRP) when in ‘situ', the cabs were covered by a frame and canvas that gave each the appearance of a lean-to or porch. The whole device was often painted to look like a barn and this name stuck as the common description. It was sometimes convenient to operate one vehicle on its own. The Museum has one example of this vehicle.
Length |
8.66 m (28 ft 5 in) |
Width |
2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) for travel |
Height |
3.65 m (12 ft) |
Wheelbase |
4.87 m (16 ft) |
Engine |
AEC 6 cylinder diesel |
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Page produced by Peter Eldred - Last updated 24 July 2004