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The previous model FV180
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FV180, Combat Engineer Tractor (CET), is a most unusual machine. In a way you could say it was the British equivalent of the Swiss Army Knife. It is virtually unique as a type of armored vehicle amongst the armies of the world. Only the American Universal Engineer Tractor, which provided some of the inspiration, is in any way similar; but the CET was the first to enter service,. It is also peculiar in that it was developed by a Government agency after two commercial firms, GKN and Vickers, failed to come up with acceptable designs.
Work on the project began in the early 'sixties at MEXE, the Military Engineering Experimental Establishment at Christchurch near Bournemouth. Christchurch was responsible for the design of the very first Royal Engineer Tank in 1918 and similar modifications, known as AVREs (armored vehicle, Royal Engineers ), have been a regular feature of the British Army since 1943 on a variety of chassis. These all had one thing in common, they were based on an existing tank and all except the latest version, the Chieftain AVRE, had a weapon of some sort mounted in a conventional turret. For all that, AVREs are, and always have been, adapted tanks with all the limitations that implies. Combat Engineer Tractor was designed for its role from the ground up and carries no fixed armament at all, if you discount the smoke grenade discharges and two sub-machine guns which are the crews' personal weapons. The two men crew occupies a double cockpit on the left side. Each man has a duplicate set of essential driving controls and their seats can be reversed by simply moving the back rest. In normal operating mode, the driver faces forwards and the bucket operator looks backwards. Their cupola, which is fitted with two circular hatch covers, has the usual range of day and night vision devices and there is an escape door in the side of the hull. They are also provided with heated suits for cold weather operations and a boiling vessel that can provide hot food and drink, including the endless cups of tea which fuel the entire British Army.
The many functions that CET can under take are illustrated and explained in the Photo Gallery 2 and 3. The location of the crew has already been mentioned. Along side them, but separated by a heat and fire proof bulkhead, is the engine, which drives forwards through the transmission to the steering systems at the front. the end where the drive sprockets can be seen. In line with the sprockets are the road wheels, suspended by cranked axles and torsion bars. The final road wheel, which is spoked, also acts as the track adjuster and on the prototypes it had a steel rim, instead of rubber tyre; this was not found to be effective during user trials and a rubber tyre was later added. The development program began with the construction of two test rigs which were used to try out the main features before a series of seven prototypes was produced for troop trials. At present the only CET not in service is on display at the Royal Engineers' Museum at Gillingham in Kent. Don't miss the opportunity to take a closer look, it really is an ingenious machine.
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Development
In 1962, a General Staff Target (GST 26) was issued for an engineer equipment which would combine the characteristics of an armoured vehicle and an earthmover.Existing commercial earthmoving equipment could not meet this requirement as it had poor mobility, lacked both armour protection and communications equipment and had no amphibious capability.The following year, three companies, Caterpillar UK, GKN and Vickers, were invited to put forward their proposals for a vehicle to meet GST 26. GKN and Vickers responded but their proposals were not taken up. In 1965, the Military Engineering Experimental Establishment at Christchurch prepared a design to meet GST 26. At the same time discussions took place between the UK, France and Germany for the joint development of a Combat Engineer Tractor.Subsequently, two prototypes were built by the then Royal Ordnance Factory at Leeds, based on a design prepared by the Military Engineering Experimental Establishment. They were powered by a Cummins V-8 diesel, which developed 350 hp, were fully amphibious and incorporated some features of the US Universal Engineer Tractor. They were delivered in 1968, but France had meanwhile dropped out of the project as it required a vehicle with a higher water speed and only limited earthmoving capabilities.In 1970, after trials with the two test rigs in both Germany and the UK, the Germans withdrew from the programme as they required a heavier vehicle, without an amphibious capability, mainly for clearing river crossing points.
Description:-
The CET was designed to provide integral engineer support for the battle group and typical roles include excavating vehicle and gun pits for defensive purposes, repairing and maintaining roads, preparation of river banks, recovering disabled vehicles and preparing or clearing obstacles.The hull of the CET is made of all-welded aluminium armour, supplied by Alcan. The vehicle is normally driven with its bucket to the rear and in this position the crew is seated on the left side. The following description is for the vehicle in this condition.The driver is seated at the front and also operates the winch, with the bucket operator to the rear. Both crew members can reverse their seats and essential controls are duplicated so that either crew member can operate the vehicle. The crew compartment is provided with two hatch covers, which open to the right and a total of 10 vision blocks. The crew compartment is supplied with cooled air via the NBC system from an air conditioning unit, produced by Gallay Limited. The unit contains a refrigeration package with a compressor, driven from the main gearbox.The engine and transmission are mounted at the right side of the hull with the final drives being mounted at the front of the hull. From the engine, power is passed through two gearboxes to a steering unit and final drives. The first of these gearboxes, the transfer box, provides PTOs for the water propulsion units and hydraulic pumps. Controlled differential steering is used for road and cross-country
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http://www.armourinfocus.co.uk/fv180/fv18001.jpg
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27th March 2009, 13:43
