Puckapunyal Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle

[Chris Ballance]

Thanks Adrian for confirming the vehicle is a D8. I just found a copy of the Tankograd Tech Manual on the WW2 D7, but I still have a good bit to learn about both the wartime D7 & D8.

I noticed this BARV D8 is not listed in the online inventory of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps Tank Museum. Maybe it belongs to the collection of the Australian Army Museum of Military Engineering (AAMME) but is in storage at Puckapunyal?

It would also be interesting to know if the vehicle was one of the REME conversions or if was an Australian copy built for the RAEME.

[Mike Cecil]

Chris,

It's a new one on me, and I have been to the ATM many times, though not recently, and thought I knew the collection reasonably well!

Sorry for for mis-directing your thread about a BARV you probably already knew about.

Mike

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Chris, I changed the title for you.

To read more about the Grant BARV, see http://anzacsteel.hobbyvista.com/Arm...les/m3ph_2.htm

Regarding the Caterpillar D8 tractor: due to their very low ground pressure it was ideal for beach work, so it was selected as an alternative to the Sherman BARV. It was wadeproofed by the REME. In one of his books Brian Baxter of the REME writes they were also fitted with an armoured body, but other sources state they were only wade proofed but not armoured.

They are referred to as "wade-proofed D8 tractors", never as BARVs. I suggest not using this term as it solely refers to the Sherman BARV.

HTH,
Hanno

[Chris Ballance]

Thanks Hanno for changing the title of my post and for the additional information about the Australian M3 BARV and the recommendation on the proper description of the for the wade-proofed D8.

I'm planning on dropping a few letters to the REME museum in the UK and the AAMME in Australia. If I find out anymore details about the vehicle in question I will post them on MLU.

Happy New Year!

Chris.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Chris,

Please do as there is yet still a lot to learn about them. Here's a great picture of a wade proofed D8:
image.jpg

This thread also contains pictures: http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=12987


Best wishes for 2015 to you too!

Hanno

[Hanno Spoelstra]

For good measure, here is a picture of an Armoured Bulldozer, also made by Caterpillar and converted by the British, but used for other purposes than the Tractor.

image.jpg

[Mike Cecil]

Chris,

The RAEME collection forms part of the Army Museum Bandiana (AMB): from their website:

"Royal Australian Army Chaplains Department
• Royal Australian Corps of Transport
• Royal Australian Army Medical Corps
• Royal Australian Army Dental Corps
• Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps
• Royal Australian Electrical & Mechanical Engineers
• Australian Army Catering Corps
• Australian Army Psychology Corps
• Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps
• 2/23rd Australian Infantry Battalion
• Australian Women's Army Service
• Australian Service Nurses
• Army Apprentices
• United Nations, and
• The John Laffin Collection

Gaza Ridge Barracks, South Bandiana, VIC 3694
Ph: (02) 6055 2525
Fax: (02) 6055 2886
Email: bandiana.museum@defence.gov.au "

Regards

Mike