The FV434 is the Armoured Repair Vehicle variant of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

FV430 series The FV430 series covers a number of armoured fighting vehicles of the British Army, all built on the same chassis. The most common is the FV432 armoured personnel carrier. Although the FV430 series has been in service since the 1960s, and s ...

armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, ...

s. Introduced in the 1960s primarily as a means of quickly changing

Chieftain A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized a ...

MBT power packs in the field, it is operated by the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME). It is still used by the REME.

Description

Officially designated FV434 Carrier, Maintenance, Full Tracked, the FV434's primary role is to repair disabled and damaged vehicles, but it also has a limited recovery capability. It is fitted with a crane (capable of lifting up to 3 tons) to assist its work in repairing armoured and un-armoured vehicles. The FV434 is capable of changing other FV430 series power packs, however, it is unable to handle the power pack the British Army's

Challenger 2 The FV4034 Challenger 2 (MOD designation "CR2") is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman. It was designed and built by the British company Vickers Defence Systems (now known ...

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...

- this is done by Challenger armoured recovery vehicle in forward areas and soft skin repair vehicles in base areas. In addition to the crane, the FV434 is fitted with a fold-away work bench to the rear of the vehicle. Like its personnel carrier version, it is capable of amphibious operations with the aid of a flotation screen. Once in the water, it is propelled by its tracks at up to 5.6 km/h. It is crewed by four soldiers: commander, driver and two fitters.

Examples on display

The

REME Museum of Technology The REME Museum is within the MoD Lyneham site, in Wiltshire, England, about southwest of Swindon. The museum holds collections of technological and historical artifacts associated with the work of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers ...

has an example of a FV434 demonstrating the change of a power-pack on a FV432. The Norfolk Tank Museum has a restored and running example currently on display.

References

Citations

Janes Military Vehicles and Logistics

Bibliography

*Foss, C. and Gander, T. ''Jane's Military Vehicles and Ground Support Equipment'' (1984)

External links