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This vehicle is not currently on display at the Museum
During the early experiments with ARVs only obsolete tanks were available but once the Churchill was used its weight and solidity proved very useful. It was intended that there should be an ARV version of each type of operational tank so that automotive spares supply would be simplified in armoured units.
The Churchill ARVs were therefore intended for the independent Army Tank Brigades and later, for units using specialised Churchills such as the Crocodile flame thrower tanks and the Assault Vehicle (Royal Engineers) or AVRE. REME field workshops also used the Churchill in preference to other types as its thicker armour gave better protection.
All the earlier ARVs were essentially towing vehicles. The recovery equipment stowed on the turretless tank hull included cables, towing bars, pulleys (known as snatch blocks) and demountable lifting booms which could form an ‘A' frame crane. A hand operated ratchet pulley provided the lifting power. It was clear early on that the ARV needed a winch but, initially design and supply problems prevented this. By late 1944 work was in hand to design an ARV Mark 2 with a dummy turret housing a winch whose cable fed out to the rear. A hinged spade anchor was fitted at the rear. Prototype ARVs Mark 2 were produced on the Sherman, Ram and Churchill hulls. Few of the Sherman and Ram ARV's seem to have been built. However, Churchills were converted on a production line basis, some in REME workshops, and production continued long after the war ended. By this time, this version of the ARV Mark 2 had been accepted as the standard. It remained in service in decreasing numbers till the early 1960s after which it became obsolete. The newer Centurion ARVs Marks 1 and 2 gradually replaced it.
The Museum's example of the Churchill ARV Mark 2 is displayed at Bordon on a plinth. It was salvaged from a gunnery range in Germany and given a cosmetic restoration by members of SEME. It is not in working order and lacks the rear spade anchor. The original vehicle was fitted with a Croft winch driven from the vehicle's main engine.
Length |
8.38 m (27 ft 6 in) |
Width |
3.04 m (10 ft) |
Height |
2.96 m (9 ft 9 in) |
Weight |
40 tons |
Winch |
25 tons capacity |
Engine |
Bedford horizontally opposed 12 cylinder petrol |
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Page produced by Peter Eldred - Last updated 24 July 2004