TRACKLINK ARTICLE - THE FV4018 CENTURION BARV

(This article was first published in Issue 112 (Summer 2022( of Tracklink, the magazine of the Tank Museum.  The photos which originally accompanied it belonged to the Tank Museum, so I have replaced them with photos from the public domain)

During the amphibious landings of World War Two, the British found they needed a vehicle which could operate in the shallow water of the landing beaches, clearing and recovering vehicles which had been swamped by the surf while wading ashore or pushing grounded landing craft back into deeper water.

The result was the conversion of around 60 M4A2 Shermans to Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicles, which were fully waterproofed and had the turret replaced by a tall armoured superstructure shaped like a ship's prow This also carried the engine intakes and exhausts well above the waterline and allowed the BARV to operate in 8-9 feet of water.

The M4A2 was selected because its welded hull was easier to waterproof, and because its diesel engine was thought to be less affected by temperature changes from repeatedly wading into and emerging from the cold sea. They were operated by REME engineers, and the four man crew included a diver, to attach tow chains to submerged vehicles so they could be pulled ashore to clear the landing beaches.

Sherman BARVs remained in service after WW2, but by the mid-1950s, they were clearly struggling to recover the heavier vehicles and landing craft coming into service. A project to replace them with a newer vehicle based on the army's current standard tank - the FV4200 Centurion - began in 1956/7, and the last Sherman BARV left service in 1963.

Development

An obsolete Centurion "Tower" with a large winch in place of the turret was used as the basis for development by the REME Fording Trials Branch (FTB) of the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers (REME).

This was used to create a mild steel prototype, which underwent its first test submersion in June 1957. As a result of the tests, it was modified to improve the air intakes and dispersal of exhaust fumes. Refuelling was also made easier by adding an 85 gallon fuel tank near the top of the superstructure with a waterproof external filler cap. The modified prototype was demonstrated in March 1958 at the Royal Marines amphibious testing centre at Instow in Devon.

The design was finalised at the Fighting Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (FVRDE) in Chertsey and a contract was signed for 12 Centurion BARVs to be converted from redundant Centurion Mk 3s at Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Barnbow in Leeds. The first of these arrived for user trials in February 1960, and the last in 1963.

Design

To create the BARV, the turret of the Centurion Mk 3 gun tank was removed, including its Ordnance QF 20-Pounder (84mm) gun and ammunition stowage. This was replaced by a tall angled superstructure constructed from 25mm thick armour plate, which allowed the vehicle to wade through water up to 9 ft 6 in deep, or stand in up to 11 ft of still water.

The 25mm armour on the superstructure was very light compared to the standard Centurion gun tank, which had armour from 51mm up to 152 mm thick. On the other hand, the BARV was never intended for direct combat, merely to survive artillery fire while working on landing beaches. If it did come under direct fire, wading the BARV to its maximum depth gave useful additional protection.

A ladder was attached to the left front of the superstructure, allowing the crew to climb up to the large two-piece commander's hatch on the front roof, which provided the only access for the entire crew.

The driver's position was slightly raised, equivalent to driving with the head out of his hatch on a normal gun tank. He had direct vision through a thick laminated glass cube if the water was less than 1.5m deep. In deeper water, the drivers' vision block was completely submerged, and he was dependent on instructions from the vehicle commander in his open hatch.

The vehicle was powered by the same 650 HP Rolls-Royce Meteor engine as the gun tank, though the complete engine and drive systems were moved into the back of the superstructure.

Removing the turret and ammunition reduced vehicle weight from 51 tons to 40 tons, increasing speed from 23 mph to 30 mph, making the BARV the lightest and fastest Centurion variant on land. Indeed, the BARV's effective weight in water could be as little as 15 tons, though water resistance meant the vehicle moved more slowly.

The BARV used the standard Centurion Horstmann suspension with three two wheel bogies per side. However the shock absorbers were all removed as they weren't necessary since the vehicles' weight was reduced when operating in water, and they would need frequent servicing after salt water immersion. The tracks were reversed so they had better grip when the vehicle was reversing.

A 7.62mm Bren LMG was carried aboard each BARV for local defence, and later replaced by a GPMG, but neither was usually mounted

The standard guards over the tracks were replaced by heavy-duty wire mesh catwalks, which let water flow easily through them. Three handrails were attached at the front of the vehicle, painted white to help the onboard diver navigate back to the vehicle when working in murky water.

A wooden nose block covered in thick rope was attached to the front of the BARV, and used to physically shunt stranded tanks up the beach, or push vessels back out to sea. A stowage bin behind this held recovery equipment.

Although a winch had originally been requested in 1958, the BARV was not fitted with one, as doing so would have also meant adding a spade for the vehicle to act as a ground anchor when winching, and added cost, complexity and delayed the in-service date. It therefore achieved most recoveries by acting as a simple tug.

A BARV could tug 27 tons on packed sand, but every foot of water reduced this by 2 tons. The crew could use a pulling block assembly, carried stowed above the driver's compartment, to achieve a 2:1 pull for heavier loads, provided a suitable anchor point was available.

Various pieces of other equipment including pioneer tools, fire extinguishers, towing equipment and a spare roadwheel were stowed on the sides of the structure.

Crew and deployment

Each BARV had a crew of four - driver, commander and two recovery mechanics, one of whom was also a qualified diver. The latter used both compressed air and pure oxygen diving equipment stored aboard the BARV to attach tow ropes to sunken vehicles or use an oxyacetylene torch to cut away any wreckage or debris hampering the recovery process, at depths up to 6.1m

The BARVs were originally used by the Army Royal Engineers, as part of an "Amphibious Beach Unit", most of which were used with the Royal Navy Amphibious Warfare Squadron in the Middle East.

When the British Army withdrew from "East of Suez", the Royal Marines took over the amphibious landing role, and took over the BARVs with it. One Centurion BARV was carried aboard each of the two amphibious assault ships, HMS Fearless and HMS Intrepid.

HMS Fearless' BARV was lost when it was submerged at sea during an exercise off Browndown Beach in 1981, but it was later recovered.

HMS Intrepid and HMS Fearless saw active service in the 1982 Falklands War, taking part in the amphibious landings at San Carlos. The BARVs were the largest vehicles put ashore, but HMS Fearless’ BARV suffered a drivetrain failure whilst working on Blue Beach.

HMS Intrepid was put into extended reserve in 1991, and was effectively replaced by HMS Ocean, before both assault ships were replaced by HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark.

A final BARV was deployed during the second Gulf War in 2003 with 539 Assault Sqn, Royal Marines.

Replacement

The Centurion BARV served until 2003, with BARV 02ZR77 being the last Centurion in British service after more than 50 years. Oddly, four of the twelve Centurion BARVs built seem to have been sold to Israel after leaving service.

Despite proposals to create Chieftain or Challenger I based BARVs, they were replaced by four Hippo Beach Recovery Vehicles, based on surplus German army Leopard 1A5 tanks. These were converted by Alvis, later incorporated into BAE Land Systems (Sweden) formerly known as Hägglunds.

As with the earlier BARVs, the turrets were replaced with a raised superstructure allowing the Hippo to work in water up to 9 ft 8 in deep, though unlike earlier versions the superstructure was not armoured. The driver's position was moved up into the superstructure for better visibility, and the original driver's compartment was sealed off and allowed to flood freely, rather than creating a buoyancy pocket that would reduce traction.

Other changes included the addition of an auxiliary power unit, working platforms and "pushing block" nose, revised transmission gearing and the replacement of the original aluminium road wheels with steel ones that would better resist saltwater corrosion.

Four Hippos were purchased, one for each of the Royal Navy's two amphibious assault ships (HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark) plus two used by 11 Amphibious Trials and Training Unit Royal Marines.

                                                                    The Centurion BARV

                        The Centurion BARV's replacement, the Leopard-based Hippo