Breakdown - British Recovery Vechicles

8/7/2019 Breakdown - British Recovery Vechicles

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,eREAKDO\VNIt. .His~o,ry ,!}.rR.!l!C6V~:ry Velh~c:le.!i i i i inLbelBr~l'1!,I!d] ATIli i l ,


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A H is to ry

A 'C J 'l iIc kU'41i:1, ' WWf . l r J b J! '" lJ rt dg .r U ? / ( 61)gatilry hrrJl . AUf ' ' I t-tel !iil l l h : e ",un a pg n fr om rJ l ' l1 l rmkt al l! t 'dplllrmi I ta i i ap~ or je-rmtl i t4~r;.ks .


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REM,E MU$EUMRQY31Etecirical aad Mecb,;mjcal Eogineus

Vehic les in the B ritish A rm yBrian S. Baxter


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.Crowt i ( ; (jPM~J '~ '989First p t 4 M i 6 l lf ; d i '189SUlmd i m p t " e ' S s i . ( ) n 1990ISBN 0 1}1904564

Fn:u Cln'lil'I"GhieJraln: An 11W. i .~hU lg ' " 'C h iefw~J; I hu lk It/' IiIi ~wep:dtJPir on t~ 8, .6MB "rn:I'l1~ ~ri'G.BaM c~crTfJ. '1(J i . s~ammBl i E 1 t ' p l m : m ; $ oJ.JO bifarllry Wl! lrkslfu,PREME in K~ I 1 J : d U f t g ,if S O -u m D fOl~ r r a i ~ i 1 1 ' ca"')!i~a C e n tu r io n Inrm. C P ' k t N p D J D a ttw $ .)

: ~ IMSOpub l : i~ . ti ll i! lS ~ . llv.ilnble from:J !M5 l 0 IPUb !J Ji ll al ioW l 'C ~ lI iNU \ 'U [ l Il J l d . t .e lephul '! t : (J~a l[rfillly)P O B ox 2 7 6 , L (J .m iO I l , . S O W S . s u r'DiLeptl.lJlh~' orden: ",] ~1i!7:~~IJGe!Jeml.enQ,~ fJ71-iH 00II(q,i,l'ciii~~Y8Iml:in 1)_l:II:.CltioDbr!wID nmplbe!l ! l )HMSO Bp l il 'bh l ll ;IH4 9ll iP HQ ~ bo :r Il ' L c md4 J!h :w e.1 v 6 JD , 0 1 1.,g 73 { IO l [ (W1llIIiU ~en'Ji;C' Q I I l i ll y ),258 :S~ St~'!M. B:irm.:lllgUlIDl, 91 2HE 021..(,,13 3740So'lllilizy H01lSG, 3~ W i n :r ; S t re et , B l t . i ! l i 101 , . I i I S I 1BQ ( ()Z n ) ,2 61 10 09 ' - 2 : I '[J,rir.l.t:6Sl l ' e b . " t , Mlmcb,eot;:r. M O O MS 051-~~4':lIB~ Chk~r St~a;l,.&lti.l:!!l.j;Rr14]Y(W12J ,2384517]iJ:J ' thian ~lIld, .~dinb~ ' 'L1!h. EH 3 '9 1A ,Z 0 31 -Z 2S 4 ]S IH M S Q ' A I:~ E OO ii:cdA,geIlO~ s ee Y e ll ow ~ )an d t h l J l f J u g l l gwd b O Q k e l . l m


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,lction v i.FromHersete .Horg~powe:r [1 T he .E ar]y D evelo pmen t 9f Medtlulkll]sport 28f' T he Firs t W orJd W iilr : M.Ola r l ' r .a~.spon .andks. 3r 3 F.irst WQd~ \:WarSa]va~'f;.Systems. and

6Scrimp and Save~]9191:0 193'9 9c. r C h an ges in th ~ W ar O ffice an d th e A .rm y~ sQrgan:~s.an:ioos J I}Equi:pmen~ DeS]GIIll'l the I 920s ~I1d..19308. II

J Recovery Vehkles in tile r : n ~ ! l ; r w l ;!)r '~riod 1 . S4 T an k R ec!l;:rv c;t'y an dth e F its t Tanksporters 19The Second. 'Wodd 'Wal' 231 T h e O u tb J'eak o fW 1 ) r; T h e Caimpaigrl in Fr~[!:cc

B elgium and: ]rs LegEl.d.e& 24 2 194,0-1941iTile Cam~~ i t! Nonh < I n a ~stEq1l1!iiplnen( 17

3 ' 1941-194:2: New Orgml lSR l ]OT; ] :S and New~ipm~t 32'i t 1941-1943: Ihe Centiaued War. in the Midd::leand N orth A frica. 38 5 1 94 2-1 94 4: F 'l .lr lfu ie.r .ev.e-iopl'Th!l::nts.m th eKin gdom 416 TIl.I!Campaigns,.in S ici ly aoo I t : i i t l y 4.3'l]~ 2.-194S Am liO iI;Ire dRecovery V.ehicles andTnnsporl:.ers4I7B D D ay .E !ndt h e - N o rtb West U E uro p~

m.p~ igg 54I} Tille. Wa r Ag ai]]s t J ' i ! : p ~ n : I n d i i l an d S g ~ d ' U ,E:3stl~ 5'

Pan : 4 T he D evelo pmen r o f R . . e . c o v . e r y VemC:]el i i SiFlli:e '1.945 63

Cl$a / )$M .1 The P,os:~'~Wu. it u a : U . ( H : 1 I : Dle: 1 ' 9 4 0 s aad1~50s 64

C k a f J - $ ~ 2'R.ec~l\\"ery Vekk.les 8:nd.Transporters in ll'le194(18aad 19S0s 66

C i J a ' P - t J w ~1 'I'nf: f'iffit P.ost~War ARV is 74C l l a . f J l t e r 4 ' T he 19OO s:N'ew fWm;Qpmes an d N ewDesigns 81Cn~ ' I J ' ( J I ' : 5 T hcl 97D s an d 1 9S 10 s ;N ew elt"AnnouirOO. Reeov -

e " : r y Vehicles ~7C h a p . t J J r - 6 F1 liFthc :rProg r~~ in Wh~C : :: ]I i:~Recovc: f1 'chk,h:s

and Tl:oms,Purters 9[G . lo o saty o f A ]:lb ll" ew iad on s , 97Ack now. ledgl;m~f!i IC i :' l 98~l I!d.e: li :. 99


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Part 1Froml Horse I D'HDrsep :war


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Chapter 1he Early Development of Mechan ica l

Iroughom recorded his 'lory until about two hundred, y,ea:t580 the limi:mli:on,s, i J i f man'. abmty in agrkulture, landransport and warfare badbeen the power of the horse. Theorlifea~d o f m i li ta ry operal :i o 'i J iS was con :dk i ,oned by

a:lldi cou ld only e,l:t-ange when a n~'~r PO 'Wc ; f sourceB y the late eighlccnth century sleal1~power hadome a p l "8 . cti ca ]i 'ty 'a n d 1 J U . ! w ay wall clear fo r a newu strialised w orld. A s, early ,o s 1 78 2: [h e Fren ch manb ad l b, .~ i :1 it8 J s team -p ew ered gu n t[~ c[Q r~ th e firs t!l tt cr np [ a t a:pply . ing steam to 'WR!dare. T he first :Ori t i sJ lfo e the use 'of ,Q : I . i . l j : t : ! l , I ' l ' steam tracters cameduring

W a;r~ 185+ -. 56~b l lJ i t none was en t au t b i i : = f u t ' ebegan soon aftee, In .~,351 01

u n d e r me c : o n u . m l , , o f t h e Roya. ! Eng in ee rs , ( R . ' I E )b v 1873, the ' r u n e o hm : A sban tiW :a:rs in A f'rk a~ 3m ber o f m acltim es wag in~~t'lice. riab: were earned out

suling guns and wag:on trains, The term 'mecbanicalMT)" d ; 1 0 0 : r ; < from this period. Some ofrhese' cadylik e th eir d.v i1 io n B i ! r i c u 1 ~ c: :ot lm~ttpan:s ,~'W e r e

iucd wiw powc.rod winchesend were used to recover otherrscters, gtIIIs or W;S1J:;OIl :S, which overturned Oil ' becamegg~d: in soft g t 'u 1 L ! J . n , d . .Whilst D o t designed specifically fd,r

pu:rpooe tJtu;! se 'I '>"e r.en effect, -r he f ir st ] ': ,e c t l v 'C r y '. ..e hi cl es . .B y U ;'99. I[h'eb~ning' orm~ Boer \ljlar- thesteam

ractor bad become efficient but ilil~n : r e r n a J combustionetrol) Ic~gine had been d e'" ~ ap ed in the .Iai!l[two decadesof theeenrury and the m~Q r cat 'wiiSlikee:dy seen ii IS ~ :mor'cn u :t ic a l : m e a U ' !! I o f light 'l:rOOS;pl}fL A ntllmhor o , : f s t e a mracro rs an d tw o mO[Of carswel ) l, ! sem '[0 :Sou th Afr icauring the war.Up ' tio t I 1 i 5 t ime MT had remain ed ~ I.E responsibili y buthe g row ing civ:U ~ii'U 'li.u se of steam IU lI d p ;: 't f/D I , ~ i F l ! J : : i J ] , e dh icJ es iI ld u'c ed '~ !m eW ar O ffice in 1 ' 9 t 1 0 1 ;0 set up :~chJm.icai. Transport Comnlitro~, Th~ firsn:aials of ' ' 1 ~ H : i i ' n . L ~

es were held in 19 0 1 " aU bIn OD e o f the cO!l'l tei!lrt~!lit1:.S b : ingS 1: eampower ed .. : B y ] ,901 the Colnmi: l ; ' tee 1 '1d t --c:OO.mmlel ided

.M T should become the province of the . A r m Y ' S~:M~o.rps.(ASC). Tria1s cantlnued und~r the contro] ofrheof Su p p l ie ,s . a n d Trnl1:spo![i[ at th e W a:r O m i C . 0 .l n i t i a J l v s t : C ! : a m r racter s 3 'n di s team l o rr ie s, p :r edomlOO l 'Cdin ce Ilh e~ t .n :;lia .b D llit yw a sth e p ro du c t o f half n 0 0 I I 1 1 J l i r y oflevelo_p;men:t.Mcncllcan Sind motor' lo rries wer e a i r : lint toonreliahle and tiragile for miUt!f!ry U~] pardcuJarly ,aWBYrom firm gnH.wd IU' roads j but 8. number of f a r " ! , ; j g h n . > dc iv il ia n e .n t 1 n l ls .i a : s: ts poimed ' [ f i e way by vo lumeeci !l lg p ri '! fl l: te :

cars IU Id motorcycles fOI military maneeuvres and, ono cc as io n s, flee ts o f b 1 lJ l8 es ,cars sad lorries were hired todem on strate th e !liU '~ W ::ID c,ov"'eI l iel l [ o J bodies o f treep s b~mad. The power o f the steam. uacl:t)l .H Dow speeds W as idef h , 1 ' h au lin g lo aded W~:[]!S an d h eav y guns onel!rhls enable(,i,l tn hold off the cempedtion of the motor vehicle in . theser o ]~ s l I 'r u : 't icu l ady , for r ome years. For Ioad car.ryinghowever, th.e.11l0[DJ' I.'ilrry s~liJnb'~gan 10.eme~"g,ef rom, theearly d.cmOM tra:j ;:ions. 'St l1idtt. i .a .h! as tile leader in lu ficld. B c i i '1 91 4 w h eeJ ed . an d tr ac ked '[:i8.,cton with petrol or p.am,ffinen gin es h ad been derekrped which CQl!li]d imp rov e on mostfearures o f the steam tra tor,

T he W u O ffio l:was n o t : i l & s lO 'W'lO mo\re w ith 'th e t imes s]8 SOl lnel im:es ,cb.imt::d. 'Tn!:' p rngma:tic men o f th e t ee hn i ea lC orp s) RE J AnDy O r d.n 3i ijJ :e D~"Paltmem ( ADD ) an d. A S Cs im p ,~ y w an ted f eliab lc an d effici.etu machines 'befuremaking la:rge:..scale Eq1ll:ipmem purchases. The firsr staff ell~!7e[ein , service by I 9 0 3 . th e' y ea r In w Ille]] ~ he f ir s t A S C M 'com.pany : was :I 'brmed. B y 1 90 9 'th e armu liI l fin an cial es ti-mates showed reducdons in d\e number of hnree-drawnA . s e com.pnnj~.s in f . a V l ll ! . li : F ' of an increase inM T .H not it s ~ l i f l 1 l I l . c y tltls period was t~l't~inJy th e E I I d u l . e l l l . c e r u

0 ( [ th e .D .1010r ' l; l" ! ;' :i t. i.C t t !' , Wi t h C ( J I i D U D : 1 J e n d , 8 I b . . l e.ore i :hougiu. Ih ~~fa:r Office issueds]peci.fi .c!1tioM fot Wa.r Department (Wr:~o r r i e s ~nd establ ished a coasiderable : m e a . : .> U t 1 ; i o f designst . IW.dI l1 '&ti .o:n witl!:! w b j c _ h m an ufactu rers s eek in g cont rach.lildt:Qcump]y. Thetesnlt wa s not only a s er ies of very1P i : 'a .c tl~ j~ : robus t 100 wd1~eWgned :m:i] iMry vebl ,d 'es bma ls o a s ped6cat i.Q1 I' l wh i ch W'!1~ in a d v a n ce o , f tha t then.(lffered to c iv U i a n b u .} " " e r s b y some .D ' lEUlma.Ctn re rs ,

To mc:re8l!le' th e lm l.llm1 !1:o f M T which wou ld be madeavailable inwar , E l l su 'bs1dy seheme was d ll !l v :i ~ dJ bywhich ru.BIGlIusL re ta il l1e r w as p aid ' til ciVil ian owners of \VDs,eeiiica.ti~JlIiv,ehldes O n eenditicn th;n d M Z Ywere gU[,1 ' IeD; -dered '[0 th e War Off ic~ ifwar biJ :I ok ,eom . T h e ii rn t s~nl;!!mgin,]90S W E l lS fo r s team v :em ~]es . 'Fbepext :s ub sid y S ch emecaillted far :petro.~ loro~s"i!l30cwt (1Jh"lO~~) I ! ! ' ! I . d . 3 .. o ,n l~a.dapl1lcili"!:fi.. M o s t , m:anuml: :: tt u"er s o f lo r r ies , andthere wereth~n m illlY IDOJ :li!than ooda,y, : p rodu l :ed en e or more WUtypes" The most : f i l l !11 lDU~ wa~ ,a L ey lan d w hich waschosen tt h e Roya l F~y in g C - Q " [ l I S ,RF,C ) ~ o b e i ' t s ~ E i . ' ! n c i E i r d 3 t a n D e . r .T h e s e~ alk l'J l oirthe R .FC in U 1 1 a ffl.}fJ].liIe Army 1 :0become We 'Royal Air FOl'C!: (RAF)" led to me Leylandb ciJ )g ~ uw n ,c '\"eran~I,~~he '.IR AFry pe ' .


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ha pte r ,2e First World War: Motor Transport and

B r iti sh Ex ,p e di ti o n :; ,u ;y For~ (BEF) embarked fore in 19 ']4 o n th e o utb reak o fW o dd \ " i : ' 3 .1 I th e maind o f s trar egic military movement on 1and: l i l, las ] :' ,; )i lw; lY, '. di B " . ; i IF C - : -& tel ls l:v e n erwcr ks 1 !'X ]S tC i rn .r Jtam aIlY'mll>t

mo:s.t .1ynon-standard, often badly worn and n o t r .cb 'l ;!. S[e : r l l ; ' ) ,ugh : F i J i : " the: purpose, One mere l~,se flll1ldoc is~.o IlIlli"3:!l, I 1 J . , r er equ .i :s : it io . n i ogo f ove r . ' l ! ' t l lolU3nd LondQli b u ses ; M os t o fthem went it o l~r an ee c omp lli ele wim ' therr ,l:o:lourfu.l. bu sbud .i '' '5 bU 'Lmanyw ere h ner co nv erted 1: 0 cargo "dudes . .o nuamodlfied survlvor still ~Nis ; [ sin c h i l l Lg~dmm.'funs,porl:Mu s e um 'c ol~ l i: cti oo .

Th e l o .n g :e .r te rm s o i l u t i O ! I T I J " " ' ' ' ' 3 : 8 ' ' m e P l U ' C . i l . I l 8 e o f ! t: :h oua nd~o r AmerictlI m, l't3 lian a.n d Sw is s lorries. In all eascs.tb.esewere sturdy, we:nt~~gin~et~dmachines and. some oftltH~:Amerian l l ' : Y p e S ~ particwarly ~w.e ;J i' ~apab l e o f cauy i lJ ,g


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[0.008 than tbeWD types. Purchases were made linerth e MiI:d:s try o f Mu:~ i t iof i ! iwh ic h g ril du .d ~y ' t ookresponsibility ffir [be prov i s ion of all wa r n l E li te ri ai ,

The O:j'igin~lplan for M'f malntenauce in France to bebetween the AOC and ASC f{)u.ndcred due to the

ariling or-scarce spare parts by front line A SC unitsaadn tu ally m os t M T repair W B S c31"~k-dOU I 'b y ' [be ASChich took 0 \ " 1 1 ; 1 ' the former AOe Base Repair Workslrop atTIl': lank carne ~nloexistence fur \ ' V i ! L ) separate reasons andHE developed initially by IW Q S o . r v i " e e s . " tbeNIiI\')' and ' I Ju ;nny ..From the begi.nni.ng,of the- wa:r the ,N~!(I'yhaderated on ! : . h I : left filuik of the allied armies in R~]gium in.ar oJe ina v n l diiv]8,ioD:l>hav ing been fo rlI u . .d Irom bothr in es an d n [l '",;aIres er vis ts w ith ou t s h.ip flI .T h e R i;rY iI ]av al A ir S erv ice (R N AS) supported th'ern with: reennnaiss-ce and bnmblnglhghts and" mobile pilot rescue' servieesci up 1:0 save 'downed' pHOIS be' ore (he Germans could[CI them, This service, ming armed passenger C -8 J l " S ~ 800n

iscovered the limitations ofunprotected ...ehieles andadupted armoured cars, some ofqU.i'lC' elaboratew~tlJ machine gun armed fQlal,:rll1El Lur re t s . The 1914im ag e r no te r ca r with fC>U' whee l d ri v e on l y , r D ' , a g i [ . e wooden

wire-spcked 'wheels .a:nd weak transmiasiea soon created auest or better cross-cenrury vehicles, S O ' begElfl a lfl1im ofeJ1col . l rngL'd b y iU l ex-saldier, ~he Pirst Lord ofe Admiralty. as b e [ben was. ; Mt WiMt . o . n Churchill.Onc~ the eady mo!bilrt phue of [he wlir bad eaded 91J.d thep p o s in g arm ieshad dug ' iO J a dv r u :u : :t1 > o u ld o n l y b e m a u c :! the: face ofimell~ machine gunand au]ih::ry we. The

enormous C;OS( in LiYell 1:l! 'IJughl demand 'S from I .hf:om Ior s cross-ceuurry armoured vehicle c~pi;ib~eoftrenches, crushing barbed wire and COI : l ' ; f , e . y iHgachine-gnntesms ~n'!:Oction. Soon and lo gically . th er Office plans 'Werecoordinated with the developments

5tan!:!tlili:iy the Navy and, eventually, J machine' W W C D was rushed into prodncticn.

The design which W8S1iO dominarc early armouredarfare was (b e [lQW fam.iH.ar J :h om b oid s hE l.p ~which

S r ~ . p , f i . l ) 't a: n k b t it ag u s - i t a w uA . ( I n : < J ' l n e rt ti'\!jl o{~ ~ g J l r j 1 ( 1 r .i g ~ l UP\!1Jt\ r m rn ,e d ' g u n U J .n J ~.remams.1)t iU o n th e design o f the R oyal Tank Regiment(RTR) CI.p badge ..A spenson p roHud !ed on each side of thevchic]e inwhicltWilli mourned either l'Vj;fg machine-guns or a6~poour l .de: r : ![ Il 1 'l ,. The machine , WSls d.\ l igned 't o c ro s s en emyt renches . Thuir wid th d it c1 ~ iH t :i .dts len gth o f m ere dUIIl26 feel and. th u s ~ w~igh'~ f n early 3-0 tOIlS. The ~in.civiliau firm involved il l 'the design was Messrs Fosters ofLincolr; but mallY others took pan in preduction, Thepdncip1~ oftmcked vehicles we:re.lby 191$, well under-s t ood , '[0 the USA t ri lckt :: d. r :lg ric uh u ra l tr acto rs w er e .ah :e adill lise and similar machines had been built il l Enolandiliousb not adopted commercially.Th:' name siv en by the N B V Y 1 0 the n ew device du t. in g i tseftdy involvemenr was 'Jandship' and for a time thu smck:bUI: me i 'i .t '1~ t. "Cysurrounding the project was enhanced bymarking early vehicles a:s't~nk8' their rivened panelcen str ucticn r e& C .lllb lin g w s ome degree large water t~:mJ"s. .Thi.s risp security code-earne soon attached itself ro [be.new vehade and DO oJlidal redesignation since that time h~succeeded in I :hang: ing it,

\ 'Wlu . : nthe fi rs t l an k !' W ~ : l:i ti nto action in ]916 cen t empunry miliary vehicles were 'steam and paraffin powered!tractors weigb . i J . l g 10 to .~5 tons and the Amcr i .~ :m Holttrac o rs weigru n g abo u t l2 tons..The h t :a 'l i' ie s t mo to r [ on "i t: '!were some of th e imported types whh a laden w~igh . l ofabou t S t om" Tanks, .at n .c~ J :J lI t0 to n s, w er e Iberefm:e inalr e. 8 p ~C '[ smo n s te rs . ..nd while: ' [hey struck terror into thoseGermaas th Yconfronted they also caused grtat.iogi:;.licproblem'S for [he British Army.The tank WaS to be operated b y : a . new eorps bu t ~g:tin fmreasons of secrecy it w as fir st known aS ID e Heavy Section ,the Machine Gun. Corps CMGC ) . B y th e time some vehicleshad b ee:Q cap tu red b y th e G erman s th e uame "tan k ' was we.known and. no need remained for euphemism, sc the neworganisation was rree to proclaim i ts el f a .! !th,r:Tank Corps.T he wDr :d ~Roy~~'as added to lhe CO ' !'p S ' t itl es hn r riy d l: eJ(lie: war en ded an d elso te {h e.A.Oe an d A SC in recogni t iono f th eir outstaading wt1irservice,In common with . other heavy machines, the tank h,ad to

be cie: l ligue:d .[or ' carr iage byrall, This dictated that th e s ide-sp o n san s mus t b e detachable, ~ i l 1~ethe widtb of th e ,ma.inbody of the tank was ~lre~d.y dose 1 : . 0 the UKr[)ilwaylo ndin g gau ge ohppmx.i!n:il[dy Y feet. Any IDQVemCm 3'\-""


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i J.w. ay s , h ad (0 be onthe ti l :nk'3 owntracks, cltherpowr.:red'orwwoo. In France and Belgium the semi-:filatureof the war e n a ' b h : : d i 1 1 l i h , 1 , 1 B Y lines [[0 be

well forward. Frtim We rail head, the approachover p~)~r[mId:;;with l l : l :1derpowemel and C(l[iltplclI.dyvehicles meant that in the lank '5 fi lM bartle so

brolee dewn that on l y sixerossed Llli~:iltf!tl line,W; lI t O f .l ic -t; 'w,""~Vt:!ry keen to ge t tanks inti]. actlen,

e x p e c . ~ i l 1 g them. W reduce the ..ppaJJ~ng i n i : l i I l U YF~w,if an y) ob stacles were p laced :In the 1i\i 1Yofiew w eap on 's dev elo pm en tan d m uch th ou gh t w en !: in torganisaticn to operate and 8UPPO'!l it. 711 MT

S .C in h L 8 iH : y prov ided drbi'~r5 an d Y~hideti,~ppOl~~ h i1 :s '~A n n offk:.c:rs and AOCrrodc51"( 1 h 1 2 : 1 1 in sepsrare Corps) ~ " ' < f ; ! n :involvedtrom the srart ill

1 la. in ing the tank 'e armamenr. The 'H ea vy S (O ct iO ilii. (laterBU1'lch) MGC provided uu :uk .c r ews , h eadqna r re r scng :i u t:1erWgof f ic :e r s and lIliiU:lY repair rnidl&9rnefl. A ~were :ilhipped to Frano~ I o r I S t' o ckp i li ng" others were'B~wiil]gwn in Dorset , where tbtii-ileW CGrp!f l !depot'i!l!fiit was cl5:tilblis.hed. The opc l . a ,[ itm~dh ; l : f;1 :n

a. static wn(~~shO'p(later tided 'ranl~CorpsWorkshop). 1 0[1 11 : has te to gf;t tan ks in to iJ 1C llo :n rb ie

III F~oUiCI;; fal l~d IlQ r ea lis e th e di]flicm.tiet'len t in the inrrodnction o f an emirely d 1 . e W Wetlpon.mtH~hrn.es .o f unce rt ain - r el i ab i ] ]t y whoae .crewsfifildg rgan i s< lt icm lacked e~per1()mce. II;w as in ev i t-

eihQ,ps, thar th e tank achieved vel,. , limiTed success inbart le but i~ s .poremial was d~arly seen an do:p{inur;::d, Soon tanks were organised ,i n

io n s.. e ach w Ith ir s mVTI mob i J e wnrkshop, but thisqu ick ly changed wh en \l to :r ks ho p s were eembineurger units leavinga handful cf'rradesmen ] . 1 1 each

'In au perv is e n ln k. G : : : r e W s in m ai r ue nan ee lind simple

A s th e s ,iy .eo f tile T 3 . 0 1 1 : : C or:p s in F m nc~ .i:f.lcf.'('1Ul~lindc-a:suiitlties throughoutthe A rm y created sev ere m an powershortages the: n eed arose [or greater p r oduc l: i.V .i ~ y f rom l h '- 'i 's .maL ln umb e:r !5 o f skilled nadesmenevailablete the[CC l ln i t: :: aJco rps .The i!:i1gi]']J~-erof1)ce::ts i: Q bOlh Ui;~TankC o.rps and the ' A O D ~ IJ I!l.Lng mcir knowJedge of prodluc.ILiQ.1lor,~nis .niln I' r e d c p . L O i ], 't .: d . ! . I t o C 'tOld(;lsmil!illfOlrlltaximumoutput. I~a.dii.lgme:'V,i[ab]yw Ihe.thinning. om. elf front-llntradesmen , , 0 0 0 l m o s l D : u their d .i . 5 ll p p e a rm c e . . This createdmC it .C s ta tic l'ID rk 5 .h ojJ 5 where e,ngi:r. it ' leri:ng C{iXl. i j~d!:,;t i il t io.n:8rould be given mare em .p h .u ;]s b u t WEl~ Qn l y f ei 3 is , ih ] er n r b .estatic warfare oondiuons of theWestern [-'.m.nt.

SOOiIJi after tan ks w en t ln te actio n in l i9H,}a cr iai samseover the supp ly o f rhe 6 -pO ' ll n dcr . gu n '!i l~~Stb e N a vy needed~orecaiu stecks to eq uip light craft andfer the defc!1:c:ellgm,ln!1l1:erman s : I J I . b : m 3 : r i n . c s which orl:.C!ll1'tUir:~~d m~ ; l ' t : I F I : " ' : n J ! lv e ss el s. u s in g gunneryin save t o rpe ci oes ,. W! l er e3 is lIiMy o f~hL;ll 'e 'l '~lk[ 'Ulnks .I . intcring the b~ule .f ickJ" 'w 'e! .'e deemedunsahrageibJe itwas now impor~aJn to allieast recover theglms ..A ' !i !< i I' l; " a ~ 1 ; !'piiI:rtyilnder. CEI.ptall 'l ['l,.P . : B I: I tier, a for.meili'RE offn'l:~J[]S.~' l a.ba.UJJ'ri:\l;:ti:iI:'li'if.i~uns ,il.tid seon CO-l Ind semeoftl l!eraniksrne_ms.e~yes Ito be .[\epa:ir,8ibl,~Dr at l ea st r ! L ' l I b.8 ivelZuhe:r wva,g~abJe camponeats, F. rom 11118beginnl[lg t rheregrew up first o ne th en [WI) tank-salvage compan i es . .Am l J in gth e soldiers !\. cn r in g i n th e [U81 romp'


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3irs t World War Sa lvag e Sys tem s and'" ' tquiprnentco ~~ 17 ,o f M T, ]i~l!::!1lain[en9IIce:; 'W ~ s m ain ly an ASe

' ~ ! . ' j ; i l d l i l ! : y . One of the pioneees in the developmene 0vehicles was the h it Mobile Repair Unit of 93A Se. A detailed aCCO'IIJ.l l. tf '[ he d ei ll ig n o f i~!l,equipment and] its cmpl,Qyment exists i n . a long

tter sent borne by Corporal Sydney Burrowa 'tu b~~loealI i' f o r ~ilIC'h.li&.i(lnin, thechurch :!Ilag:il~eis sper ;: : ia l CW 1&[-s Issu e fo r 19'16. T h e rep air 1 lll1 Ili :p ecialis ed in -recover'

J,~~ lO;Fry$hAwi~ji:b, wiJ~ , hma l i ~ : m d lIw:mmJ.i{inl1 t'iIDOpy

an d dev elo ped reco very v eh leles by f in i ngcE l :r g. o l or ri es w i t hlo cally fab ricared cran es o r sh eer legs an d hand-eperaeedwinc 'hes. The winch was,pOS.~t.ioned inth e fro n ~ o f (he l o w . r ybody with space fo r faur men lO operate it. As , 'm efeliju.irernrnl for rerovery velliclcl!, Increased II secondreeovery unit was fDrmed and. mere Lo r ri es wer -e CO n :VC f I C dfo:r ~iJi1Use. 'Gndually more 'oophi!'l'ticaood c 'Iu ip rn il !f Jl t wasdev elo ped an d b .u il,t b yth e repair units. D e v ic es i ,n ~ ,~ u d.e -dp :u -l1 e:yb h xk s to p ro v id e mechank :~d adVMUJ1!,~whenw.in,chin: ;g~ g r ound ~ : ncho l i; s o f 3 . spiral design, used vr iginul1 l !f 'O rsecu r ing parked aircraft whens t rong winds threatened,and a dummy axle or ambulsnee which enabled se' lrerclydamaged 'Vch,ichlS to be towed to wOl'kmops, . Theseron,V'eftw vehicles we re Ils u ~U y known as 's~j]vage Lorr ies 'and sometimes' "fmt ~id. I .orr ies ' . This U5i1i : of medical'[erm in o lo gy 'W a s ItO be perpetl!1a:E,ed in th e r ef er en ce to~v' t ihi ( :h~casualties' an d ineth er w ay .s in later yeEin.

A fl , 'o u r Ju : :- chass ,I i 'l f or (he. im;p roved sruv~~~lorries w3,stb ~ Ame r ic an Peerless which w = - s l . l r r o o !iI,Tjth 'a weUdes:ig:necc ra n e Qogm ,i iI !d SIl.:Pif iordnsstru:is whh::h cou ld ~ p l : ! ! c o o O . r .th eg ro T If id 1 1 0a ke - th e weight o f th e rear o f 'm e v eW c 'le ~'hiH:frlng. T he CiU~'Opym il s w e n !' d es ig n .e d with a !o.n_gi'ludluiils lo tto accep t thecraee 'boom. T o o wheels fo r the d1. . lmmya xle w er e stowed on tbe s ide members o f the [Qfl), ~hpss~sbeh in d the rear w heels ,giv in g i [ 'th e 3.;ppearance o f a6 -w heeter,Theo;pporlunfty W , ; 3 : S , taken to use my gun tractfl'i'!l 6 1 '

passitlg r ank s for : re co v er y _ G u n traeturs, wheel ed . a n dtracked, were'm ostly li:n ,ed with winchee, A parti,f!;!Jar]yU5efUt v eh icle , n ev er av ailab le in suffident numbers solely

Pe(1rks.s,Jal~(l.ge lony "l lOwing r n : a r ja,tk l tnIJered ami dm.rmtj! WI!wheeb J 1 1 ' D t ! . i i . ; d on M ~ l!t1~o flh e d u :m j .s ,


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. l o r 1 ) '1 .v i. t h dw:!I'IW /1JCIc S(! lup ' lnu i ' f. 'l t a r j r : u : k m i s . c .d l!fMilrcm ! J .se on recovery ~was t he A :mm t:} J n Holt tractor. This in

fOIm W,ElSa h ,E11 f " [ r ; l : I i ! : . : : k~ [b e : t : r . , o r . U . su .pparted i l I l d iby a reel rol le r . T he rear tr ack s gIl' ll!. ' ! ita 'LlsefllJperformance and incorporated. ~ steering' system 'b y

brakes. The patent Jor this system had been . purch-th e war from the B ritish firm R u stca an db y, H o lts W~rl;iwiddy em plo yed as h iea.v yg u o .A pO 'puJa r A m e d . c a r . L lOfl'Y \'Vl'l.:$ the.F'\W'D made byo u r W heeJ D riv e t\Ut'O Compa n y . Despite s olld ty re sed traction o f 4-whc-d. drive mads the .F\VDa:

practical g 1 ! l ! : F I i tractor : formedi.'Ilm.l(ullcry. i[,was s lso apolater m th~ eress-cuuntry miital"Y' lorry of thi: fU u ,D t e .S nmeFWD s wer e c on v er te d. ttl l ' ec:ovt :fY vehielea, ene bcingused by' th e Cent ra l .M'[ DG: p o l in i,oIldo:n. nespi~e:dltev ar i.ety o f meehaaical ,[,~"'Ov,ery ,~qu~p:mem[here WM Oi!:Vc:!'enough iII!i~ i :dl jfb l~J!! .' ld ,llaRY a motor .~orry su :ffrsfed thein dig n it y Q :fo om .,grecovered by horses.Tank reoovery presented rremendeas pfo!blems. A ,sQ.1ll!ildtan k cou ld tow an oth er onflnn level gmblimd,.whichwaspnwtical , in di e wotksh~p area b un rarely s o o n , th eba tlefield where most tanks became cas 1i1 ~ln e!i, H ere vmsn unendlna panorama o f trenches and. shell holes. o\fIDenQ ,

:Set ,ofmud. 10 these circumstaeees towiti~ Was a~ lmos , t .impossib[,e: s o nm i ' t : a r l iRs . had ItO be dug QUit : ,:nul.dnmagooo n es r ep ai :I -e d, i n : v i ~ } ' l e f r e u h sd e e b e ' h .e : < l1 io o d! l in d pum:: .bed O 1 t U : o O . rdril led out with hmd drili~s.Ear ly ,e:x.pe.r.iments w i'l h G e :nm imhand-grenades le d to their use COif l :miogpJat:e!5 andsrm iglu t!:n in g ru nn in g gear,t J . B C ' k S j g u n . planks and! sheetlegs .fo r l i.ftm,g: were co .m .au l np la .c e ru.d:~in Ii!COvery i Jpem,t ians.The ,clrlief lmitationswere enemy shdling, terrain aadweather.

,d~1J WIlY w i r } , disabled ~~l(JII'f:(j,"'.There were mBfl IY proposals for V . a ' r iM i ; ', ' O l of the tankal though few w en : b ulb , One w hich ,g ,o funo ,p' tQdi!JCt iOIi iL '\VIlS

a gun carrier, designed. to . carry h~vy artillery pieces overbroken groWId. Y.c.:k.of engine power and o th er des ignUmiun : i~ f l s condemned this equ ipm~:n t mainly t< o l l . resuppJyr ole,lln u b efo re tb ,"j/ wC'tebu: i ] '1!ItW' of fuc :p~an:nl;':difrywereea.mtail./,;.ecll:for ccnverslo n to :sa].v~e lanks ad. 'were finedwith. p o wer o p er ate d sh : 'wmg cranes" They poot1ted \'ery1 . 1 , efu l in th e Cen tr .a J. md D e po rt W o r ks ho ps but were to ooo.ll'5P~I:'lI!()U!ll. [,0 bepti l .c t ic i iI I ] in forwil l l i 'd:l l !reas, In stead early


15/109

uk 'S o r tan kwere adap ted by th e fin in g o f.:1 Iset ofto th e fro nt ItO act a s m o bile- cr an es , I..iI 'tmg was by

ck a I1 . dYtc: kJ le .Wb f l l these tanks wert: permrlllf,ndy1 .0 this ro le they wou ld ab o be usedus tank tY,gs,

us represeming m e nearest equivalent 1 : : 0 an Armouredc .!i)v er y V eh icle CARV ) thaI this W,ell" PI 'QduGI.-d. There W{lSattempt to reate a purpose built or winch-eq uippedc eve r y ' 'i '' eb i ~ ]e :S l .a itELb l e fo rfrom-line u se. th e m os t lIkelyb~ing t.he rclarively low power of availabh: enginesite u e e d t o CO l :a ;ce 'n tmteon p roduci l1g , g u n tanks, T l : i a l .he T an k C o~ . t rade5mc;r!! ev en a lJ ilo \.v .lns fo r their e&ti: 'aor-

W !l ry 's k iU s ~ w er e , ~M t:te b r ll lg b 8 ick ' an y damaged and,!itt a 1 i ~ was an OUlS'!',I;Uldl,llg achievement.B y U9 '1 7 th e L i g l u e . : r 'm~djlJ.f . i1l 'tSinks , were in p ! : ' { ] ( : h l c t i o . n ,

u t tl1 .dr n um bers were relsti v e ]y f ew ;'!~dtheir weigbt o f14 tons did llnte to ease :rro'Dl-lh!l:: recovery dili'iciill.ltie~. Theedium tank's role Wfi$ pUl'Sui{' after a hreakLhrougb by theavy tanks of the earlier designs, IIwas on[y througi\ alll,ormous,lyexpand_dl tank production rata [hUl the Carpsad been able to cope with frHeu:~(ival:lk~ank losses and stillui:ld up the huge reserves n eeded fer th e m ado r tank, battles'C amb ,~ :I .tld Am ie ns . 1:n191 8 , Ge .rmBn y la un c he d a

v e 'S lu rp /r i s e offensi V ~ with. mitial 8 U i C C e - S S .but theollD,rry and army was too exhausu:~d to sustain such actilljty

the allies drove the Germans back, The ,1 \ rmlsticeo llewed in N ovem ber 1 91 8 .L ]u :1 e is reco rded o fril,e :s~hra.gc"'lOft on mil! r e i . i'li.vdy fewks u sed agaimn Turkey in m e M j d c :H e ' J ! ; a s L but,

o~ r ; , _ ( ~I ~rWt!).Pf'JCd ,SId/till'g!l f ! 7 f l . k . f J . Q : f f t d (In t n I J grm ~ 'aml? i"hu lL

gener"Uy. t e r r a i n there was mtu;:;hlcss broken up hyconcentrated sbel . l in t t , an d it waS. th er efo re m ilc h easier 'totow broken do wn tan k5 using fi t u i l nks er heavy '~raellI.1r:li;.ArmQu red :1115 were operated 'by(iilli: A rmy In all th eth eatres o f ~JPe: r .ar iQn8bu t ' [heir recovery was more akin tothat employed for MT except that, bciog somewhi i l i t heavieon ly th e larger :salva.8e lo rr ies cou ld b e used to lifr o r to wllilenli.


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Part 2Scriftl'p ,and Save:,." to 118.1'


17/109

hepter 1hanges in the War Office and the Army'sr O rq an isa tion sday in. November 1918 brough t [0.WI en d the wara in st ,G em umy andhet allies . T h e B r itis h ArmY ' , b y ' t l 1 ' e nin ly WD 5 cr ip ts o r v elu n teen for 'W~rsersdce naly, was.~~ed down despite: ~ncrea8ed : responsihili: t : ies ~ 1 t 1 . theperiad due 1;0 many additioaal pol ie lng tasks, To

e pre-war d uties , o f eonrrelling me Empire were DOWed theoccupatica ofGemumy 'In d fo r a tim~ part (If' tbe a dd ed c emm lrmem ofJ 'Blestin ,e._. i n te rna lcl1 l1 ty in I relan d. an d ass!S'[r;UICe te the a l li ti bo l sh '~ ' !l I~ke Russ i ans . Conseriptlen eo ntin ued till J l91 0il ln d much

went DU o th e recr niu in g 0 : n ew reg U lar :s n'ld~ er s.or m e n.,~""ml!dtanised brancbes of the Army the RA.SCn o d . L f f i c u 1 t y .[e 'Ia:i i l l :n~its M Y which had p rov t'd moreman h orn ed '~rn_i: ' I$]l@rt,1 f a lC t o r . crur:fying l1''J.!:IJt[~...~...:... " - " l~ 'u . '1 - . . .1 : m peace ume: 'tJlll!ti;.!l" nowever, were seen [If I'ev;' mhave a pe ac e- time ro le an d! th e n o '\\" Roya ] Tankrps {RTC) Yl'aS .reduced te the UK Depot 8l1d romwith sm .E Il I~de ta chmenr s ove :l 's ~s mQ5 't ty i u u ;;i :r .t ~moured cars,T he c:av ab y b ad b een l ittle u sed in th e etatic W,aJrfale o fWeSlenJi F.ront but J.!twcrtbl:.less continued afrerthe warhav e a dlsprepcttlonate influence eo A rm y affairs , T hi~I '[ i [)O I " 1 : l ' : 9 i s t l:he :sr:;i'if[ o.f :me>chflnisa t iol luni l l192S. In

939 th e C i il va ]l !'Yregim en ts , b y m ell .il l]mm n al l in anmoured rote were combined with lh~.RTC to fermtheArmcHu 'oC r l C o r p s (RAe).

A ft,erW o:dd W ar I 'm e .Minisrry of M.uu:i ' l i!]n: : i ceased '['I)mt 1 i I I : n d . th e 'W ar O ffice 1 't:ga:jn e;d full ,[' l;sp0f.lilibi1ily fa,l",MId procurl.ng vehicles and equipment,

I remained tbe l "espo:ns ibi l i l j ' o:hhi! RAse 3 1 ' I . c l l anperimen.taJ department wa~ set up inP Oomp.wy R A s e .sfu nctio ns in clu ded v eh icle d e . " t e L Q p m . e L l l a n d tJ ia lt: iinunct ion with civ i l ian . .manu facmrers ,In 1 .9 .1 9 th e War O ffice formed iIMed:lOln icu l Tmn~PQrt rBeard ' t D r co o rd in ate- th e foreseea iacreased u se o fT t:h ro n gh ou tl:h e ,A r my , B y ] 9 27 ~ th em ech an is atio n o f

e A m : t J ! r g a l i l L e r . a U y ll;ilidprogressed. to O (b e SlB.ge where [I t wa sre I.o gi~ a]m U 'ea:1 !M T as fOIUUnC equipment rarher thanmething peculiar, Therd(u'~,followinga 19'27War Officel rg a: n is a u n n th e R.' \OC;iI in Jmu .my 1928 to ek O 'I 'er

:fo:r .M T issues ' t C i a n ,P'otrtsof '~he A _ r m , y other~o I~b~RASC.The Moe was courrelled i a ; ] , m e W.RTbytbe MBSl"e1" GeneiEl l o f Ordnance (M GO ) W 'h crc~ sMS,e came under the Quarter Master ' G C : . I l e . m l (QMG)mling 'tbe :RASe I ,csponsibi l i ' ly fO'f 5 , i J l I P ! p l : y h ~ fo od a nd

fu el, as important a . funct ion as transport, A 1 : the same I l m t .th e cl as s.i Jic ati cm o f all vehicles was b egun : .A ' vehiclesln cl u ded tan ks . arm on red car s ; ]o rry mounted guns an d h~ .t racks , Later, f uUy t:r,!i!i~kedgu n t ractnrs wer e a dd ed 10 this]isl. 'B ' v eh lc les were M :T v , eh~ch ;! ~! , l p i . ' l t ' . n e d by :my 'buncho f th e A rm y otherth~ th e RASe. RAse vehicles weres i .mpJy !B' \ re h jc le s ope ra te d by th e R .> \S C which thus: : ; ;~ug~uo retain someth ing i l l :f its or ;~gIna l p re-em in en ce indliisfidd,Fur II. time: after 1918 lh~Department of1~ilnkDesignand E.xper imen ' [ (DTD & . E) caatinuedrc f U n c t i .o , n . under in!h~ d, Colonel P. Johnson, an UTe englneedng officer, an dMtS tr n n s fe rr t" d. , . in 1-92U, te the Su;perin ren dem o,f Desigp'sDepanmem srthe litoy~]Arsena l , W'ool:wicb, ' \Vork ceneenttatcd o n m e , M ediu m D ~ liIn i m . p t ' O " v ' e d wart ime design llQUffined with suspension. O t b.er v er sio n a were made asam,pb l 'b ious tanks bu rno ser i /t :~ :pfoducL ion was undertaken.Then , in 1'923~for o o o .n o .m y :r cas o n s; th e D TD & E wascles ed d,o wn and the W ar O ffi,oe ~I.!gl!.'l, de&i:g;ns for newtan k s fr om traditio n al armaments mamrfacturers ~tii.rting, .this t ime, to add. this weapon to thei.r stocktn trade, Tankdcsi,gners r>emElining in tb~ Supf!:1"ioln:nd'e:ntof Design'sdiepa[ tm~ i I i l twere . in .1928,~transfen;ed to th e D ireeterere o fhlfichmlizatlon, part fJfth'!:l 'MGO's departmenr. TheirroleWEiS n ow relegated to l iaisen w ith th e cemmercisl s,uppliersan d m in or m odificatio iD w O ',rk . S o m.e co mp lete deslgJlis w ereproduced during '[h~Ja't~~rearmament period and PUt unoprodh;u;; '~ign but mest tank design at: ~5 ' I i_m~was ' the \ l, '1 'o. rko f c omme: rc il il llf irms. T he ' Wa r O iBke , so ug ht B all.d] RASe'" ,eh ld es fr om . mo to r m an u fac tu rer s by p.roii,lidiQg dCis igns :p c ci n ca ti o n s ., r e S ti n g pnm.l'i.Ype~ an d. th en p lacin g o rders ,A ll th e c o r o s . !: Il v o h ro o . inmeeh an icel tn ms po r't an d'~:rat;:tiQlll"OOk part, either lO L n l J y OJ." . c P 8 : r n : u : : l y " in the trials 0DEW veh ides . The RAoe was cnncemed with. th eir r ec ov erandr~,;dl and the RE with their co m patib ility w ith m i l l , l a : r :'br id\! les .The :Ilec:m.i:ng[y cemplicared structure fo r the' o l ; m , [ ; [r . d ofp.rocullewel[ilt, 't~Mg a,JldQ1je: rat io!l l o f mechaaicavew'des funct1ufi l l :d reaso nab ly w ell s in ce th e A rm y and \V~O ffio o w ~e' sm all; m os t o f th e exp er im en tal , work W'a'Sear rled o ut by eathusiasrs whose eng i n .ee rl ng [: [a ;i n i ngo v er ro d e i n :~ 0 r ' co . rp s ri:val:ry an d th e s cale of operat ion wasm,inim.tll., It w~s ' n ot '[illlI936 '~t tb~ tetsl Arn ty pos r t -WorJ lWar I M Y h u]din g~ . reached 4.000 wodd-wide and ,a t thatt ime th .ennl i r ,e re but a few hUlldl'd tanks .From 19'33, nQ'Iv::H.lr, a new threat 'D O peace became


18/109

ren t fro m N .azi G ermM l.j' an d L O th e a1ftiidy ' i : :omplexem 'o f meehan i s at io n was soon added 'the quantitativems of rearmament, i.e, the pnnrdi .n .g ef modem

. pmr.: ll tfor the H:glJIlm:and reserve armies. '[he Waredeparrments dealing with tlUp!l!'nt dlmign ands io n wer e f re qu en tl .y r e( Ji rg ~E li 8o o in an effertte {lope.e re as es in s t8 iff r ath er th~lI'Ir0 reshuffle (lif respoIl i5.ibiLi-have h ad m ere impact. A maier step was theg up of a Dit~e'~(jfaoo of MUm,lions Produclion bUiI: thet s o f thiswere qw.ckJy lost when this, together Vlith it sMOOls depl:r lment and directorates, 'was,

1939 In to the n ewJy created Min i s t r y of Su ; pph '}J.':'Willg sirrreadered almost Bil litatechnical bran-th e n ew Mloistry" the W : I D f Off ice: l a c k e d , for [h e

l , f ir st : y-e .u o f Wo r ld Wil r :U: , any branch with th eto produce t-~c::.~\ruc:~d! i ; p t , , ' : d f i c a l i i , i : ! l ~ or directlv,es~ r I , . t O S could wark to w heIJ . d.es lgn .iJ .l.g miLimryTrials establlshments tO~lwere E l'alUl fe1 "r ed s o

organislilltiom; had to be formed 12 0 c on du C '[ u se r- o f mach i nes des igned by th e civi l ian min i s uy . Infaer,war p. I. ''Ogr .es. sed hundreds of scrv ioemcn wereded to the 1 \108 and the cro ss-flow of ideas andhdnt!l coneerningequlpment did 110t depend en we] y'r ig id in tf:~ , ...d ,ep fl l"DJ lJ e1L l it8 lhanne ls o f cemmunelatlon.

h is ~~!;\lr.ing ( l , r the 'W ar Office ~q'L1ip.meru:h esw as aco os til llcn t C RU C lif much o f the delay nodCNQ. I : S w l t i e h o od e v iU . ~ d ~qulpmernd ev elo pmem in'Y ea rs o f the war.l eq u :e n ~ tr ia ls and manoeuvres {)r'~!l"my units W Id

ill ' lh-e.1920s an d i :ady 1930" 'W~t .e meam '10tGlctica] concepts an d to show what, ifmy.

n i :s at io n was r equ i: r~d to meet the n eeds of~ an d realiseof, mechanisation, C o nclu sio ns w ere S ] Q < W inand thenelsts had afield day. The WEIr Officemovedbur d i d , before ' W ~ v J d \V;r U bC '~n ldecide' E Oarmoured division. The:R e : g l l L l 3 : r A r.m y fi.eM f o r c e : ~nKin!1ldom in . I:h~ pr,e-M:u.nich c ri si s " pe ri od

Jy amounted to two div i s1o l l i l~ 'wonh of troops, T~~Ir arely uxerci ised in their field f"tlfmaJrions and were stiUm, fu lly mechanised, 'S o t he s cale of r 'cp3ir an dciy supp 'r t cob bl~d 't.ogc1tlier for maaoeu vres Wl!ve

O[ the. fu ll n eeds of wartime op -'rudon$~o f ~ " ina u m Y ' th~H w a s to b e m e reas ed in : s ize a, t 8,Q U J l t s, u :i p p ln g the resau .rees ~v~i[~bh~losuppnrt it ,

be fair, s ome eri lig: ll 1 :ened (dfic,ers o f R AO C (E) hHdP.~"~l~t .! '[hI.'!1930$ fQreca5'~lng";"U:cg i iuc :ly the effec tswarfare \l!(l mid:r C orp s an d. th e c h~ :i lg es wh:k .hd b e made 'to p r -o v id e < [~ ff ecti ve rep ai r an d r eCDve fYrt. For the most pari tb.ey were unable 10 ;infllJ:~'m:cethe

p])ii!-wa:rO~tiOIlIlS l! .edtnl,ealtrBiiningw.as no t thOU!!Ih![ilprop . r bar ;: k .g ro :nm;dfo il "d i c l~ t iJ i !g COl'"prs 'O~

moee up to dan:esince lrwH thought ]:ilie]y 'th;j'[ the : ! ' . !C . o ) ! t "\"ar.' \ ! ! t O i l Iellbe more mebile . Time \ 'i 'c ru ld th en b ec ame thedo,mmatiog faeroe so any repair work which wouJd tru ;


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Cha pte r 2quipment Design in the 1920s and 1930s

ery on e b el iev ed. m at W o rld W i : 1 l ! ' J was ~th e war to en d alls ", T his W,BS en sh rin ed in Govern.m~.l l I t poHi : :Yin8

le n-y ea r ru [e dung~ro ' l . t s ly I!ISSlIJ lmlngt h a i ! : th ere wou ld 00 aoh er m~ rio :[ro.ntmcntiil] "Warfo r t en y e . i i l r n , f'o r r e a s .D :D S , on eo f f is ca l exped~e:ncy ' t J h d s period was con t inua l lyThe Treasury guardians o f the 'nation's w a r -

epleted weahh: armed will i the l en-year rule and knowing :e vast h!g"ol,r:), of usable eqlllipm~nt remsining in Armyfelt justif ied in p([Illg:g,in.grom A : r . :m s r Estimates m l 1 . ! u : hfu n d s ,f er . dceve: 1n pmg and providimg n ew equ i pm e n t.lthougb hnge weapon ~tol.:ks remained, the bulk ofthe001000 motor veh ic les il l u se H I[ th e en d ofWodd W ar I h adeen so ld o ff. Thooel 'i :ff l i l i01:11g qu ick ly b ecam e obsal'f:'tle.\Vheurne war ended, co:n'Ullctl! for the vast numbers Q f

anks n e : e d : G d .ForP~i : rn.1919were cancelled, E~tgE l t at th eWilli 8.11 i n :i :r ia Jp , roduct io n con tract fo r Medillm C tan k : ,

de'v eJo pm e;n l u f [h e &[edium A . used towards th e end o f th eand .3 6 of these Wli:fili: C Q D ] : p l e [ o o . The 'fWlk Corps,in size 3lJ!dw:i i l i , thesenewer IIIId ml[dle-r taruQ

needed . f~ o f th e o lder h eav y n U L k 5 , ~Q surplus mach inesere sold to i f r i C ' J ] c U y gove r :Dmems and mM1 ) ' ethers becamewat' m e m o i l . L 2 I t L s . Openl'rloml~ p l a n s , c v o l v " n g a s '[ h o e w a rended ) co nv in ced th e: R T C thaJl: fu ru ee w ar s w eu ld be morewc bi 1e ' a n d : SO~ ~d lh o 'l ig h s ome heavy tan ks w ere s til l usedfo r . training, and f rom 1921 by ti le n ew ly r e- es ta b li sh ederrlterial Army (TA)j n e future was seen (0 [ie with thefu~~l\;irmediums. For a few years the Medjum C s and. a'IJIIlmdfil1 f t : :l q l ' I i ! r im e ; rn a ] M ~diwn . D s were the on ly OlJe!]lhiicll could, by I l I l Y i l trer.cho.f the imagi ll .a ti .On . , be re :gnrd :cdras modem. Despite this and th,c insecure fu mre o f th e R Cth e potient~~dof armour WitS recognised b y such II'Hlndils:asMri l j ,orGener i i l I .F .C . Fu lles an d CapUl i n .B .H . , U.dd len~" ax !: . .B om fo r es 3,w r h.e m o b il e w a rfa re that was tocharaeeerlse the next majo r co n flict and did their best toi n f luence deve lopnu mIs a .cco rdi li lg l y .Thf:r,e had been much prQ:fPi~SS during World War I

I [ O W 8 1 : d , s i m p r o v i : n g th e :r eJ iab ilir y a nd ' P \ l " E 1 c d c a l value o : r M Tand ]hCr ,~were even better prospects, given cxperimenr andd i . ""e.l ,opmellL Four-wheel dtive, th e u se o f s ,h afl driv ein stead o f ch ain ddve, w ider u se ofpneumat ic lyt,gS '!lV~n o n~ ( Dm~3~'~o:llIlt':[;S~heav ier C i l P E ' l ~ i ' ~ y lQmes an d ti le U!re efc ate rp ,i lI .a r.tu eb a ll b.rougb' l. nearer m e ~ - e a L i 8 . a , I . i c '1 lC l f d l ~CC:D:CJ!'pl ora fu]]y m ech an ised arm y WhCi5.C vehlcleawouldm o l om .ger dep en d o n r osds . More forward th in kin g an ddedicated o fficers th erefo re fo ugh t fu r an d gailled ,a llH~Bgl':!i!

budgetwhich enabled the pO!iot-war. Army [0keep abreas t G jn ew dev ~]o p:rn \en tti in -r;m sp tlft !!In dran ks an d to carry o msmal l scale expcrime'l1n and pu rchases .U nder RAO C con rro l B vehj~le. to rage an d, is su es W e r egradmilly co ncen trated at Farnboreugh fi(:3!rAldershot .~v eh ides rem aln ed m r a time at V i ? o o l , w j ! c l t . T he RASe ,A ' ld'eput W!1S set up ill F ! ' : ; : l t l : t ~ t m ; ; ! ' r { i d d l e - s e x . Far:nborol1gh wralso th e si te of lhe M,er: : ; .bankal W ~r fa :re Expe rimen talE$~ ! l bH i ' l , hmen t (MWEE) whlch fro m. 1 92 8 to ok Olver the : 1 " 0Cl i f f C ompan y an d also carrled out A V eh icle l :1 i~ ls , 'thtll,1gs ome e xp er imen ts ocHmUled 81 W o(),~wiC cbmel : ; , ' 1 1 :Rov ing-ton, In 1934 MW 'E E became th{; ; . \otechanisaUDl ' l Ex-p er imen t al E s ,ta bl iS :hmen 't (MEE).

Tracked ' l rehk]e' trials een tred o n reliability o f en gw ~ ~an d traeks. MOM development work w as n ow done by th emanufacturers. In 1921Vick irs bad produced ~heprtm.lt}r.o f what was 't() b eccme [h e Yieke l S Med i uD l tank , Th i s w,inte productiona ~~~. ]a:~e;rand abeur H ID (t':liIWC! MJl r k s )were b tlJ U L The y b ecam e th esten dard tan k o f n " n e l lTC U J Ito the .beginning of rearmamenr inthe late 193f)~. \V e i g h . i oin th e devc.l.oped v er sio n s, a pp ro x:i ma .te ly 1 2 t 'QIlS and.wi ' t tspeed Ilf 16-mph, these mfiks were light Y~ii;rl 'i ahead of,tlllthat had been developed un t iJ ' ~ hc ;: p .A fm:llt-moulJ,tedalr-eeeled Arm5lrong S iddcley V B en gin e p ru ".ided p ow erS in d th e a rtn am en t " ,,'a :n t4 1 n un . (3 -p o u.u der ) gun with u ,p t J: s,i xm a ch in e g u u s m01J.O.led o r carried, T hese were the tanl'LI-s 'Cdn , aU the ' i: xpe :r l.men tal manoeuvres f' lhf.l late ]92 0san d early ]93{1B~wh ic :h w e rt to pU:;::dc rhetaoticians aaddccrr tn c w riters in lh ~ W ar 011'1ce whil~t en l igh ten ingBr i t a in ) : ) f lnu re enemles,

FoUo,wing 'OIl '[h e h eels o f th e Vickers Medium tank ca n,~ spawn in g o f one-man and ", 'O-m iii 1 1 ~tankettes' S ind .t n ! 1 ! i c h i n i l : g u n carriers, Iii n y f r{' J .mrhe des igns o f S i r J o b nD a rden .. who se ~ g,mp ali1 y wa s e v emu . al ly abso.rberl byVicke~. One of the twoimportant production designs 'i'l'3the series of 5-ton. Ligh t tanks an-ned o nLy with machineg t 1 D S J ideel together with - < lI L Q O u r . , e d .c a rs , f o r th e c o lo n ia lpollelng role. The s econd design, i l l , machine gu n . c ar r ie r :f (the In fmU 'Y , lcd to the Un i v er sa l C ' 3-l 'r i, efj used fo r manypurposes , :and inhu ge n umbers in 'W o r ld '\l 'ar II an dgen erally kn own as the 'Bren Carrier",, A rmO I l _U~edcars dJevdcp~d during the 1930s be,~anbymaJUng u se o f tbe: 6x4 driv e sy stem~ nd like th ose o fWO 'J

WHr I r et sl n ed machine gU_j l annamen t . :By 1939 th e f i rs lm odem des ign s witb 4 w heel. dr iv e an d heavier a rmsmen '


20/109

~,PIl~~u ' i; ld,~OITienEiving El iUddve line Co'Il1p


21/109

whilst one B'[ ]es;s:[ was fitrted with II ! b f l e a J s ; d Q w : n bodynd lasted In te tile Bate E)3,Os. . I I ' : l t 1 J ! d a ' i ;i 'b in th e lttat' wj'[n ~and operated jib w, io ,d l .AnotbtlJ"reuwery v ,ers~on was

byu;le MF. W!ri[Sl it 'WmS undgubted~y ill powerfulacser, the l ' e C l : l : n o l o g . y f'Ort:lledriven and steered axle was 1lI[attirne botlllUtreliable mcl expensive, so th e H ;one abeveand oae

'9. e ea tr al p iv o t: :a lu .cl wd to oe ac h !)fII.l'u~wo ~~h! lL ' l i~dside,embers. The rwe rear axles were shackled between I!]irnet of S I U . l l l l . g : s :so[ihlll;[m,ey l 'etEl]n!l;dlneir pOfli:~fgn f.~[~tiV'{l~one an!Jib ex.The ~s~~::mwas,aided by radius rods and

l :endency i i i ] , ath!i:rdiesigns fo r a wheel to liftc . i :os~-country , ~~uiE!!g a.less of ddv~ to rh~

: i i j ' l : . iU g ro u n dc il !: hr ou g h n o rmal d : i 1 i e r e [ u : : i a . 1 , a c ' D : i o . n "verniOIIU',) indu~g retl])~ery vel1iiCliIll~~had rwin re a r

e. e18 mel . high pr .~S! :3ureyres .T h..;M T A dv .i.so ry B oo rd 1 1 8 e d ; ]u;. powers to o l g a ! g ; U ; i s ejoindy wi:th d.\l iU:m Industry and 8ILI.o:ng its

importanlt. ac.h:ie\rieJlmen1i:S,were the lo w p:[iessure ~fi05S

OO l .l II tr y l y r~ and ~lau:r ~ [h e :S :d n a.tyre, Widt me W.arDt !! pa fr tn t :: o t (WU) rear b!:?":icnd the n ew l ow -p r es su reeress-ecuntry tyr~a the G-wheeler t....;8 th e equ .,d of COr lW-u ! -PQIi'HlfY ha~f-1;ro .~kii i J()c!:: :ptn ! i 'ery 50fl: mud o r sn ew, T hebogie design enabled, overall tr~cks 'or chain'S to be : l1x~~deffectivcly converd:qg h 1 : ' 0 a hIlLf~[[!lck if need be. Te meetthe requirements for this type ofve:hide a s ,p eciiicatiu ll W Ii s :: n : Ji edand t lr . ieW.a r Off ice .fl'ceJy surrendered Its patent'r i g l 'n : t : s f o r rhe WD bogie to mannfacturers co n t i:i!lC ':o o W I: : ) ; ~ l l : 1 P J y ~ e h k k : ' i l f u r rhe Army. TbeWD type 6"'~hee[er 'W~p e[f :e c[e db y lh e' . Il ll d. -1 93 0s . an d j!: " ,' as again . 'hopto 'd dl~'l tiltn1 l J imbus requ l r ed illw ar m igh t b e : p ro vided. in peacetime'lnrou:gi l a. su 'os. idy 'scheme as in W ~ddW::lf 1 . O n e s ch emc :hadri ll l re8 idy beentr i ed rO t 4"whee]er~m~hc 30l.cwt classbiwith om} , lim~'l(d sueeese ..A new ' iliu b s~dy sclreme based 0.1]liIe WD 6~wbeele:r w a s 1:;''I1eness s u c _ C - e 5 s f u ] . T he in dn ee-menr swe re : in s u :f il :c ie r. 1' lf o r c iv i li fi ll u J S e r i : , i v":h()~by the 193IIcould. buy n o JD i n al3 :m n pE ly lo ad 4X21 o :r :r ie s capable O 'ftaking netldy . L O Q per cent o ver lo ads , an d. w hich w~rc bothch eap ee an d. m or e economica l to run than th e heav y 'W Dtypes. Th e mi~i't~rya~dciviU~Ui req;u t1 'cm.en.H; were nolonger comp.adlde. This r t o . r ; p e c l o e : d the p l e n for srtand8Xdis!tien on 6x4 'v ch ic hlsoood, acc~Jy[ing rel .uctlUl.tly th.:iI:tfundswould not permit the outright. :pur&.a:se of all the Am1Y~s 'needs, the W;ar Off i~e d ,cvb~d aMW ]:i[~'n: the 6 x 4lorrk, ;swou ld be rile SU U l{hH 'dfmn'[~ l i l : levehicles supported in .reala r e a s by leas s o p h . i : !' li tl c 'B m ' : d I dvilian-pattern vehicle 'S.T h e , incre:~I'$mgn~oo f o ( ! : ' m J l i) c h ~ ] 1 i : : ;: . a d ( l [l b roughr requirem ~n ts fC lrerheeclasses o f velncles, light and he::tvy 1 :1 tiliries8 -C :W1 an d ] 5 ~I!::w ttrucks and b o th 6- an d UO~~111QITi~~,.l':r~~l~ePtI:eenducted Of.mBlHY dvililill'l vehides designed 1meet these new ;spe;cili~ations. Tile r'aiJ't!.r~ crt'the 6 x 4 , . [un'su.b!i ik ly i lichemc caused du:War O[fice l:of!:\Ulmine theOOn1 l : cmPOl ' 11 I1 ,} , mass-prodneed vehichl5 aVelilable in '~h;~3-:lclass. T rials in the 1930s led 1[0 , E l i new ca:te:go ry o :(WD .3.-4 % 2 truekwh ieh , wheafin ed whh smg]e~low-p:! '! . 'S!l~:r( lcross-CO,1!l!:r:IlfY' t y r . . ( ; l i 1 l~~$ deemed suitable f o r l in e s ofr o ! 1 ' ! 1 n ' U l l l l l C a t i O n (L ef C jU 'W lS po .n . T hes e v eh icles [lEld t h e.adv3:n:m,ge of: c h e a pm , : : s 5 : a ! o d ready ,~1l fa il i~ i ll il .Y f rom { ; i l ' ! ' ; h : : u ip iJ : lod. lU !C ll ic l[ ! ,Li nes . .:n d w~rejl,]st comi:nginto Army service aWo rE d W adI began , T his f inancia! expedic: 'n't was lElit.ertobe reg rcn :ed Dndmo~~m~nllfac~me:rs wereaskedte ~evd(l4 > x 4 3~uft ru!l!erg ye8ir o r S J , ' ' I b iter . E ".en so th ere were' I 1 i e V ' E ; renou gh of t h e s e m fully~qu.i;p tht;JH~:ld a r m l e s \ - ' 1 i t h p r o p L ' i lcross-eountryvehlcles.


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, 3Vehicles in the Inter-War Period

t er g ,f ' c h e : 'W 'o rldW ar I ro co v~ :ry " 'chide- def; l ,gn!l,ro,r atime, to deal withthe quite small

Q f N iT Yebid'G5, Pr l ID!l ; in ing inserv iee , i n t n l J ; l e~r.I.yAmer i can c. l1ass~ss oo n :gav e w a y ID ,B r itis b an d as th e' l 'hedt ':n were developed WIDe W~rc bui l r wbh~sndreeovery equlpmenr, The dummy axle orancel used in World War] was further developedm~were built incorporatlng [ibs, Daring rhis periedgantry breakdown bodies appeared. These een-

a ~ r r r o n l f : g . i r d e r nrunut~ir'![cgtii!!l w i ! 1 : _ hiI ~ r g u ' b O o d yokl:ng.like a , set. of reil!i.rOi:'~edI C ; S . ! . i { ' I ! PY rails . B eJQw thecross-members of thls SIT.IIJ I :tu :r e a lQng jmdi l1E1 :l ~ I '

f ined whlch eould b e' slid forward for u,:lIJ."emn~,m e dr .iv i_ [lg c ab , o r rearwardste suppor tvclRelos on suspended tow, Lifting WfL8 bJ" lii]oc.ker !3 ! h : l l : n d . -operared winch attached to the end ofeam, T hG :fn u tt o f the beam cou ld be un sh ip ped E!nd'[0 th e H oa r o if th e vehic: :]ewhich raised th e rear Il:IIid

rau f lev e], ~nOl l rd ingm ; e d;t;,rvic(,l'o bl ;:"usedas 9, crape.odles were built on both 30cwt sad 3~IQin

. T h e de:iign lasted w e n into the H)50@ : .i nArmya.I1:J~~tnn!YI(]])r.::odern chassis. The Roy.al N8ivy

a , f ; ; . B : 1 1 t r y - b o o . . i e d . re~lJve['yvehicle in Pil~6.'[0 1 :1h as sis fn r th es e v eh .i d~ s \V !. :l l- - r; l, il l Q lGs li . ca ses ,5-tcm,winches an d w ere rated in the 1930s asr !!akdo" '' 1 l!~eb 'i c:Les . P rcd I ],~d( l!= i-~Q;i'):):l~t[1 Wl.;IT: UDn dR ,e :tr ie 'V e r~ C r .m ;s k y I G L7 a n d tGL8and Guy

'7 . J -tan b: r~a . kJow 'igaR iDi . r@f l )1 . shQWmg th(l- i fl)r a m p 't j' ( J r l t lt u ii i ' f g 'c r . d W : l; fI 'n Y m : 1 . e .

FBAX chassis ..MoS'I:Qii : lntry lorzies w e r e used men . by meRA ;O C sin ce th e h igh lift capa'bm O' w as essential f O . 1 r .Avehicle t ': c D l g m e changee, The need f o r B , h~g~mountinapoimfor th e I b~m made the g~:i:l'~ryody much h:ighu ' rna:QiiD~noemal car,go bod:y on the SBmech a s s i s andtbus verydiflicu h . to conceal when ini!C,t ioiD.A D m.remative and L e s s well-knewn ecntemporary break-dOi\1ffi lorry was iii much sim;pler[y :pe ..Based on th e $'t;}JJldardC!itgo body c~mmj;)llo the < 6 x 4 rn.~e of 3~1:Ol1orries t:h~basic breakdown ]erl')" had E ll girder cran e o f lU i'!ed.height:bQJ~edlm the veldde d13~r5.is '(hrc!!J!gh[h~ fl~OT. I Tw as fi ned" r J I I , l i t b br;ucing struts iuilie;' rear. of tile vehicleaad eouldsupport abou t 2 1 < ' 2tons, e n O l ! g n L O li ftorwlil en d ~r:a n o t h e r3lQlltmcr.om suspended [ow. A 11at .u : : lJ-ope:r ,ared. ih-wm,ch wasfin ed, T his : ~tyl.~ I,}f reco very equ ip men t '\v a~ sometimesk:nOl'irn~.~:aW e a V : E : r crane. T . h ~ Wea . ..er M[]J['m.f3cmd~~ II.lIdE]lgineermg eo Ltd 'W,~S a 'i.lo'elI,Kno"*n]:l1I,lI]lde:r of gU


23/109

3~1P i ' i s : x 4 brea ,kd 'i1 'W i i l . lo r r) , r~h,o~iI lg .d,ratrr afj,j il

x4 chassis. The CD and then CDSW superseded theriginal D Type. One v.ersion (, f the CDSW' was 8 i light

lOf[')'. I I :had . iii 4-tUI:1, t :hasUsw]nch i l I . I 1 J d d10 rearbod.~consisted of eq:uipm~:I1.llockers ..A small Ajib Vi


24/109

i l 'for both r o l e s by 1936 w , n e n tht: last R6T was bulb.!! sr s 'G . Scammel l I:l11.d. N ephew beg:l lolllaj .A n extendin g section ,c ou ld . b e s lid au t ic Increase reach an dhe igh t fd .r u s ewhen towing~;u: lifting. A ba nd operatedwi .nc l l 'WBlS, u s ed fo r .l iftin g. Thi$ vers ion of th e breakdowntrnCUII; was We S V 2S . In both versions ~quipmem was


25/109

in tw o tim b ~{[ [Qcken, o ne each . s ide u f the reeoveryAl'llCIi;: under the r i g h ! : l t a i l 1 , d . s ide '0,[ t b o , ca l, c 0 1 l r . d e d ; < i l : e e l

v ;'hkb . cou ld b e .t!l tted, oye r th e p l1 1 r(If rear w heels o n: lii~d~W cU.nver r . ' [ I : ! t~ ,"eb.i ld~~ff~tivah' inooE! h;dC~t r ; i l_ t :k

tr 'l!:'!i 'e: l"'S. ingve:rysoft gI'(11l1I.f1U. Counter.we:]gh ' ts . n n 'b r.~ ek ~in from onh~' l '~c l : ; ! t! l r : 'ie'.!:v~clo balance I :he load wil;e'n

- i i i vehicle ! i .u~pe:nd,edf rom, the jib.T~tl SC'-a!tlm,~I.~~ r ~~ for dwir tim e, mast'j;j:veveh i cl es ~rly aile foot wide,[ t1W1l the [then pezrnirted maxlmnm ~or3L vC'h.iC'lei' l~and ' W e i g h i r 1 , 1 , 'l ~ppmximEltdy 10 tOIlSaden .. Th e breB~d(}w:ll t ractor and gu n tractor 1 l ]ood .

X 20 '~yre$,.Unu : tu , :d ly f o r [h il's .p er ig d p r od n ctio nwere' diese l f il :l .g i ned .. The Ga~]]!:t 61 .W W~5

l I 1 , ' ; t d l ~tllllibli;8hed engine in (Comme' rda l l1 se an dts , :rd:m.ti.vdylnw ( lU l'pm a t r a r t S m i 5 l ' : l l O I n with .!lixr dg ea rs ,e na .M e d S C l'I nu n e[ls lJ ) m o ve pr od ig io tlls lo ad s,

I W i Jd e 'J : u lD k th e vehic le carried < Itinetlve round extension chamber g , i . v . L I l \ E l : rise to the namefec If ,Io t ''Scammell" M ,O rne'I' .n ame ar is in g .frOl'n. th e use ofiesel engine was 'the knoeker",By]940 th e Ma tild a lank was cow. imlg ] n l[O ser v ic e

B .b am 1 5 J t! 0I 1 .5 ~ twice the we:igh .l o f Vickersi .:mi lS o : f' th~ cEI:dy 19308. The wheeh:dbre~:kdow:nw,a&8It this 'lime! [ogCither 'whll (he- tirs. few tank

th e c I lI iy l 'J l iL e I l II I 'S f .rece,verm!!l u m : k s o e e d l i i l i g 'e 'L l i J J a nU5t ill ' r o w t 00 t h e s ~ i u a n d po,wer o f t i l e u C \ w

were m e'Vt:I 'Y Wlly jus t iJ ioo. So ,me or the ] , 7 0 0er b r,eak de'W I i n:1:i('(QnbUili]'t~vere 1'8.51Jed to the RAPd so me to o th er . i E m . p i f { : :lnrd~,It contemporary development was, the ABC M . o ;m . d o . i'

.aq ,op~d.pr imar i ly a s a g u n r r a c tOif'J \'!'BlS (0exten siv ely u sed in th e reco very ro ]e m illie .M iddle E a,:;]Le M , f lr t~ dQtwas o r ig in p ll y . : ! I dv, i li ru: t 4~w'h~i l ' :] t. ':dorry in th ecommercial ranse. An off-shoot of the :British .FWD

l ,m p r r Q . y ~ I ia r d .y .M.u :~or~t w ' E l i c h :had $pccit![i:sed in 'buj~dingeenversioas, W 8. ! !: !lbsGI,"'he.dby AEC ilo g,e cc llc r

the; FWD c~mpanYElll ' l id tile 4x 4 M . il I l ta d . o i W:iliS builtH a rd y d r: :v l( ')p b ~ ,c .om p onm ts ., D ' es pitt;; n o t b ein gp ted d l.u in g miimry cargo vehicle trials, i t W35S~lelo:t!l ' :dfot u s e ,~ S . i i I . n r a ' C l I : o r f o r the 6 - i[ J :[ ;: n R D W ] ' !: z e r an d-in ch A A gun. L ]l:::e: ls e S cammell, m ffit A E C i~ .:am do rser~~i~ e] e:!lgin,~d(!jtld were f itte d " v: i; [hI ' -WIl CbiilSS]~j

w in ch es . T he' M a t1 !do r used 13,50 x 1 0 CJ'08~H;('llll.try]:yrl.):~.~gi .v ing i t a n e l{ ce 'F~em off.;roadpcdorma:nce. This"mgether with th e w in ch , m ade it a mos t s u ]U ! i b~~vemdc- fo. rl iecQv( l! rY 'Wprk - S~)m~wha~ Sl t .aJn~e ly ] lilO ,of l icial recoveryverslou seems 1 i : O h~ve been buih fo r .A rm y 'Usc.A n ideal m e , n U l o f rOO(lV!!l:ry fro m the _ co stv:iewpo.ilU wasl: h~ dum l 1" 1 lYax le e r ambu lance . The51~'had appeared d 1 U i : r m ~Wo rM : \War Ma:nd.w~rli: developed in th e inter-war pct.iod.O n e w as a 'ililrm ,p leT b ar w ith , 'asmaU s o li d t;Yf ~d li N inwheeled bo gie on eachside whkh could bcflrted withtraeks, S im ilar b ogies w ere used ; cm. som~t ranspmn:ertraih:::rs;fo[mllch~ne gu n earriers , s eep age ; ; n . T he mo red~lb~lf~t't,:dJl,lI.ITUlly;axl,c w i t h a r ib an d h B . 1 ' 1 d . o p er a.te d w in c h )m en tio ned o np ElJ :e n 5 , w as ca rr ied 011 l ' -yop-nC:1 ;u l l; , !( i c. tyredwheels . T hi8 w a s , in u : s . e du.r ing the 19305 an d enab led an yg ,u lmbLc 'mwjng vehicle 1) 0 recover B c a :m i lD t y ! b y suspended~QW.

Dt.lJl ' l :r?!,Y 81ti'e 'Wilh.j.~band l ew . r l d r)p~rl?!l!ld r tL '1 " ,c .h a ! i1 ic }~ m ~h (! 't l 1 r J 1 l ' 19JOs .


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4Recove r y and the Firs t Tankn s porte rsc ov er y il l W 'o r Jd W 8I r h as b een describ ed in Pa r t 1 ,.w ere 'th en ti le ,o nly m ean s o f carry in g tanks OWlIn th e firs t f e w - yGa~ o f the .ioh::t-W,!;!if period]

wer-e ~aking place' in mot{lr transpurt ,x:i .c aUy , a s du : s ize an d power o f m oto r :~ urrie3tank w eigh ts redu ced, th e' 30-[01.\ h e av y u . li .i ,k s~I'W ar I giv in g way to ' !:he 1 2 . I Q D Vlcke r s Mediums. Inimproved s teel fo r track s ho es an d le!!sw cjgh t, th es .p eo o :) o ff er ed . h y the new des igns C!iI!U5ed excesslvear ..For a few 'y ears in stead o f looking to m e motorr y f ur tr an s p o rte es : a ,greal deal. of c : le l ii gne f fc r t waU ;) wn~~]-cuI 'J. ' l -l rac: ,k vC 'h i ch : . swh lch used 'Wh,eels

te gi c mo v es , and tracka fu r com bat. T he wheels werean d Io wered m ecltE ln k~ dly !iU 1dthe : I l . " c 5 u J t i n , g ccmph:x

ser'!l'eclunly to s , h o W ' (bIn an Ideal eolut inn isp : r , : : I c t i c a ] . , A d~IUdisad ' l . rantargeof ' l l~ .~w h e c l . . . c : w 1 : l ~n ce pt w all, that it was o~'no i 1 e l , p . in recovery, A . U1ni lOsic~ed engine, for e"":I:rnple) cO'l.ild.not be moved

.1 tth e u se ef annther vehlcle. Between 192:6.a.nd]931s ,p J:o du ced v ark ms w heel-cu re-track des ign s tn elu d-i al il to f t he ir current mediumtank.etimc train:ing took place . 0 . 1 1 . 'Well-defined training


27/109

semi- tra i le rs were ~ 1 I ia i1 a b ]ew i th th i s wh e el . ,ElITllr lgem.en.'[.Onew ..s a low-leader and the oilier a flat-decked '~ [8I tfQnnIt"itratlc:r.Whid1 01 these twowas used is not recorded. ThetrW s v t:h id.e w as: flotcQ:n~ideted iW, ; 0 l I1 bu t was better thanlh~a.n .c~ent AEC , B y this time evensume cfthe World W,lWI 'h eav y m n .k s s ti ll in , u se had been transported bS C : i . V i l a B I lcomractors using commercial a rt ic u la te d l ew - Io e de rs ofsome 25 tons capacity.The W ar Office was still mere concemed with thereeovery problem m an w ith strategic movemenr. To savemoney ' some 'in h ou oo " ideas w ere tried out , ; tlmswhilemodern artieulsted lorries were bei Ilgtested two, wry odd~QmpcL i ng designs o f t: il n k r ec o ee rv lfr3!i!ler, taller-m ade fo r[be Vick,en; Medium Tank, were built as prutorypes, Bothused fo u r L rOC li o. ne ng in e type :\ned whec 1s ' ti ll ite SouthemComm:mdpatte'll1. thetrailer f rn .me s u p p o n e d dlC:weigh t ofme tan~ f rom beneath while.in th e A1de r s h o l r aW:Fn acranked frame over the tank hull supponed a net of steelcables on which the tan k w as carr ied. Both d'~!iigns werearehalc, lm p ractlcal an d even unsafe when mo vin g, D C 1 iP i~ c[hi s ; o 1 1 i c i 8 i I rep orts in 1 '93 10an d n)':u S1Jgges tl t: :d l hM theSouthern Command pattern \-';'asthe beuer of th e lWO DIIdmigbt h~v"e been U d O P I C d but.fartwo more promismg

Sm--I.tr.lflm C07lmW'Ut pcJil!em !~ k rctoWiry l r t J i l l f f , pl~OjogrnplliJ,d i l .1J P Z 9 .

deve lopments . O ne 'o f fude w as th e S camm ell P ioneer tiillfi~transporter whichwas under developmen; inthis periodan d the cn her w as m e p oss ib iH ty o f 'c~:rrying tanks on heavy6 -.w h ee le d c omme rcial lorr ies,Drawings of Iimuch D e ller an d p rgv 10 mdy unknown

d es ig n p ro d.l ;J !.ced i n th e Ordnance WQ'r l~!Jhop 8 1 t Aldersbol if1928 cam e to light in 19'94 in th e RE.iVff i .Mu s e um . Theseshow IHI. ,s.... .heeled recovery tracrerwith a built-in jib and.1 1 m g-wh~eled. transporter nuiltt of mere eonvcntionald~ ig fD . , v e ry ad van ced fo r irs tim e, in cerp oratln gpneumatic-ryrod wheels. The fact t.ll!:ll it was not producedmaywellstem from the 1ikcly cost at fI time of cons iderab l teco n om i-es in W l lr Ofike budge ts , and th e concurrentem t::l"g eficeof tbe S c.am mell P io neer tracto r, T here is n omdi~j ' l . [ iol l , , i i lelher 1 J 1 e lADe drawings were !lo kly 8m ilitary des ign s tu dy 'O rif a v e h ic le manufacturer w : . a ! : l~n\ 'olvtr l . . Bt"lLn A EC an d Gu.y MobU:'l, were fit th i s limedev do pin g 8 -w bet:1 ed eI'OS!! cOl : l r .nuyvohlde:s .The develcpmem of [he S c . . a m m g l l Pioneer has been

described on pElge 17',To l . ' :a rryEanl(8 th e tractor was f inedwith ~ lUl.llt~~b[ean d : ! i i , &:emi- u:ai h :J 'wh .H s , dcUlCh"b l l. '! r ea rbogie, mounted o m f ou r large pncumar ic - ty redwnee l s , O Jone of these vehic ies was built , ~tD rUJmb~r R2.2 S09

J " " l J f ; 1 OTU l ' i lW l S ; : :m~ 112n - 'lM fpnk ! l 'mM"j; 'vrUr c(;Ittjling (J, i W ' , , '! i iW f l .D I ' G g m i trrtilit:')! !T :u .cmr , rimilQl]r lQ ! o n e l{1 j~ n 1lI). (/if icd ~ . ~ tanRNC{!very f!~hidt.


28/109

ln rcgistnn iOIl MV5364). Delivered in 1931~it wasph,ed innumerous sima.ta.cl.f.IiUtrulJghm,Jlt I5Qutbemin th e m:i .d-193Ds. nwas ope.r8ited bythe RAO" ~as a h;oovery vehicle ~c)r"lJ!S~when tanks er

x ~t;;Ic~'edvehicles eeuld 00, be r e w e d , The I rae tor'shp ro vldcd a m.~[ll'l8 of ' t:ms rr ic :. k ing ' vehic les an d I .(} ad~ n gwith m in im um ~ ffQ rt0[1the part -af th e crew, exceptfbr .r ~mov in g i iI :r :L d_f'pJ~cing th e re"r bogi,c. IJt\-.ing~h~

j S ic k s w a s atedleu s busines, l'his first'ta n k tr l: li n s :p o r [~ r t ;. p c:m . . 1 0 1 of itstime a s a u , , :~ iJ .1 l . in gfor ' O[dr:!oitt~ Corps o,fficer~ and mechanic'S.ild qfthe rot: : : i irllu 'tmCfilprognuIlme h'l1931 Scammeljs

produceaau pdau:d~ra[l$pQ1"ter, The illirsif these useda longer wheel-base version of 'l heg-U'"f1 irudor ehassis forthe I!tllctOr bur still used the

Jsemi - tra ile r wHh d~ ti '!c .hab le rear bogie. The need f T h rr semi-trailer was soon recognitled and ~he secondo f 2 0-u :rn ner, H J~ :c;h e 30 \. [j otl ll cl ' " iucorpoultl:d IIfi.,'(cdls.of a Leyland Hippo 6X4Jo,rry l~ok p ]O I ce ov er $'omt:r(lm ] 9$ ,Ian d, w hile its u se us. J . l . tank U: ' l I1i li :- i ipOner SOOIl

a , S I ! . . a I 1 k , s heavier than the Vickers Meci[ l Im wereit W3IS lob(\co!Ji!1I! the Anny~sfiirst heavy carglJC arder; an d V~cke.rs lig iu m ,n k :;;HId :m(!dline-gl!]1J115, ; J :nd 'Other light tr ack ed v eh icles developed by the

'. 1Giffar


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nnnued in us-c for a, t ime ~l sr that war and for the nextyeaes the prob lem of tank recovery, 0[,more

what eqlLl ipment it required, was to exercisein tnt: Waf" Office, lhc RTC :and RAOC. TrackedWi:!f.e still seen as [he best means of reeoVering t; ln' l iks

a point where tbey n.lIi~b[be rep .S !i red or '1l '8iI1S,ported toorkshops. One scheme W 8 i S to convert : : F l ! :I r v i : v in , g j ustWorld W ' a ; r . J M~di\!lmC tanks. but this fell through.[lolher idea, apparently tried j useda modified ~MecljlUm

11 eked artillery tractor, A Ransomes and] Rapier\\"a.S :f]u)edand ahand-operated winch bur r~po:n~ of

tr ials w er e somewhat n.ega'Livc and n o ,en e'r gy s eem s tove been applh:d to solving the apparently minor diflll,t;;u!e:s,described. His doubtful wh l!l'h e :r fu nds wou l d havee u granted IlIJlYWiJJ! for rIl'[;W dragons for this :roJe. Theehicle was unarmoured so would have give-n no p:ro~ec'rril::u]Jits crew.In the 1 9-.30 sd. R TC company en [he N m :tbWc s l FrontierIndia did cnnverta Vickera I i ghD . '[;1]']1


30/109


31/109

Chapter 1'The Outbre ak o f War: The, C arnpa lq n in' F . ' ' , . ' md B I . . nd - t L . . ' ~ran'ce an se q iu rn an c I I ~ s eqaciesB r iU ti n ' . . r ea rmamen t in the 1930 . responded :[0 a r ec og-n i sed threat from a rearming G erm an y, h C '!.1 ~tthe emphas i son defensive equipmern, Bruain m ild.F ran ce h ad enteredinto a Ueaty (.0 d efl ,:.n d P o lan d ifh were attacked, Ge-fIl.i1illI~rb:i l l IOemoastrsted its exp "i (u i o :[ li s[ p l an s hy annexingAustriiil followed b)' pan of Czechos lovak ia , lh~ luuer'P ,ro l i l'oki .ml ;the [ourney 01M r 'Ch:ambel ' la ; in , IlbeB:rilishPr ime l\Hfilster, to Municb in 1935. He returned h,3ivingI ,1 . l cg o l l il te d a r : 'CC~S.gVi11gs c t t l c . o o C ' f . U which effectlvely g a v eway to AdDlE Hider" bu t the rnll i tary s lm atian in B ritain .d!iC!.lrII.with rearmament only iu st under 'W: iI IY ~ : r e S i U y gave the:'P rim e M i n is .L C r J in le (;h u iice . H i tle r indicate.d th at G e rm an yw as n ow sati:s ,fie.d h ut few in nri~aiL'l.desp ite p ass io nare h oiP ~and a loathing for WlU, ~:ptcted ti l r . J . ~ peace could bemaim..m o o .In !..h eev en t o f a War Bdtain h ad a .gr eed tu send toFrance an ~['IC 'dHjO'na:ry f or ce w :h i!. !bwo u ld ,C mprise, as inW'or[d W at I~ th e handfu l o f R e-gu lar A n u .y div is :io 1l!il..1]01requi red to ~(Xl l jc)ehe E mp jre~ . 1 h~ T.J\. would form afoUow=1l l ]pe lemeat fOT th e R ~g u llll.r8 . T he I :' TA infamrydiv i.s io n s w ere, th eo retically ~organised just asthe sar eg u. la r o n es , Bifid entirely dependent OJ] motor transport, btltduring a period.when Regular Army raodernisetlon waseXp!!i~t,tdto rak etiH 1 94 0., equipmcnr Of [h e T Awaswoeful ly inadequate: then In the 'Mun i c b ' crisis. Icwasdecided 1 1 . 1 duuble the sue' 'O f the TA [00 26 divfsions. This~Ilm.lkco f t he pen " ca, !J t' i~dun . b .tt ag il la b 1e 1Dgislic pF(l b lEm~.hfunpowe:r was itr.tilabJc but pr,edQu~ HuJc elst'.The A:I l l lY's M"r s. t rengfh 'bad I n cr ea se d s is fo ld be tween],936 an d 19 3 1 9 '' b ' U ' ~ th ls s till Iell sho rt o f t h e R.eguJ .~i . [A.rmy' : s

D e ed s , F ~cl!lcl w hit [h e. T A expan s iop , Further o rders w ereplaced for new vehictes from manufacturecs including those.inCanada, but the short-term answer had to be impre ss -mwt. The.aistin;gpb.ll~ were scrapped for the cemman-deer ing o r a s elected ~ o f gOQd cr.md:ition cargo vel! idesequ. t1Ung (0 accep ted A .rm y 'I,l 'cblde load CBijpaici ' l ies: instead,fro Il .!1S ep eem b er 1 9'39.. th ere cam e im o m ilitary u se a h ugev arieqr o f v eh ld e.s b y s ize, age an d manu facture wllli :hrep resen ted a lQgi!;l'~kni .ghtmare" By F eb ru .ru :y 1 94 0 s om e3 5~OOOV '-ehL l es h ad b een commandeered. The pr-ovis .iO' .D ofs p e c . i . a l . . i : s t veh icles su ch as recovery tr ac ro rs w as , I cs ''iIeasy buts ome ' c~'l l . ian eq ll i v il ]~n t . s , we re requi 'Si t ionoo"

Wb~l l l he W,IU bcpn " h e i nde_pend.1enl ly g'ov'r::mcd coun -rides gflh,e ,Empjr.e had all fo llowed B rit= in 's deelaration ofwar o n G erman y , E v en S o u th . M [ica~ whose ]oyal ry w"U~

tbougjn suspect by some, quickly came [Q Britain's aid. Ttmore dos-cly eentrolled Empire CO 'U Il itr ie s !i lULh as India. arlcthe smaller celenies perharpl !! inev i tabLy J offered support.Whi l s t this prO\ ' id .ed a h u ge ;P lJ ten l.i~ jreservoi r o f m an -power few of the countries WCK s u f fi ci en t ly . indu s tr ia li s edm l" lqU:ip armies with .o ut help fro m .B rin n-n , hElm p'l~i:'iSedthen to' equip its own .A lter M . r W in s'm n C hu rch il l succeeded M r Nevj"J]cC h ,lI ulO e rla 1n a s P rim e- A i lw :s te r the eppositlon partiesjo ined in. 1 : ' 1 ~NEltio!l.a1 GoveTnJJ ] . e IU~ So thou d:IJ;~prosec l Jdon Ithe WUl: mighllake prec~d(;.Ilce cv:er part Y comicitlf,ati.ons.The new leader h~d laueched the-hrndshiv proiecrwheaFi~t Lord o f rhe Admiralty .i n \\tro,-rld W ar J and ~Ot.lt.illll&W take i i i , J iv cly Im er es r in m i[iu lI :} ' e qu ipmen t,A s th e REF mov ed '[n Fran ce E ln d lo o k u p po s itiu n s .In 11North n ea rth e B ! ;;!I,g ianb o rd er, F ra nc e mablllsed its large!~il.rlil.ntryarmy f in d t ru s te d Ii) th e ~l:ren~tbo f in; fixeddefence, the Magino( Line, ciespjJC"the fact th~.t this was iIt h .c time inoomplete" G a'p s in th e line in clu ded th e A rden narea wh ich . was left p oo r l " g uarded sin ce [h e terrain wascon1 il id er et ll u l15u it abk : f o r armoured fo rces . a deeislea oftlFrench High Conunand that was ' C { ' I pruve disasucus.

Fo r sb e months there was relativ ely [iu .l~ actlo n an d fearf instant ae:riliilbombardment of cities, polson gu attacksan d massed ran k assau lts o :n t i l l , , ! allied arm ies all su b s .i ded ,T h ls r es p,iu e enabled factories il l [.h e U K tn P -MUCC{;ol1s:ide:n'b~e nnmbe r s of v eh icl .. . an d so 'Some o f th e lesssuit ..bk Impressed transport was replaced, Production oft : o . l ! 1 k s j s p e c i : d . i : : > l . v eh icles an d w e a p o n s i nvolved morecompJe~ . i. .ndus t ri i! !i l p ro cesses ~ Ild so :Iagged 'b eh in d. M an yth e new TA div is io n s sen t to France w ere, fo r this r ea son .little m o r e than I : 1 c i t l e . . . .rmed lab ou r farce, D e sp itiO !!this,wh~l I the G-e rmans eventuelly attacked in the sp r i ng of 19throup ' Ihe Ardelllles, haying fi: r5t lured the B r l L i ; : ; h A rm ;and s om e F ren ch forces north i.o w B elgiu m, th ese Il l-equ ip ped T A dlv is io n!!; w ere sco n in rh c fro nt l in e an d5urr~recl acco rdin gly , T he Germsn 'bl l i rzkriog: ' or l lgluniDwar was f i l . b l y demonstrared in 11 drive to Lh eF r e n c h t:O:iiS'[wh ich was ItO i solare all L l l e f m : - o e l 4 to th e north. T he o n lyhk u p in the plan was when the one nril i&h A . n -n i ' t an kbrigade in France, iIsmall fo.rm;~tion , f M.\l,lJ]da i I l f a . f ' I . t r y'[1i l1lJ&~~~ boughl time : in a coumer-anack near Arras andcaused 89mi': alarm Q the: German High Cemmaad . ThemVl.dne-ri! lhUi:ty o fu he::;e tan ks to nO . r n 1 9 1 1 an ri . ta n k weap t l'r .was soon ended. by me bigh VeJOci ly 8 .8 mm P iA gnas u~c l


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: l i . f S i t t im1;l~g~ini!i[ tanks,th e German advance began Bl "hOli li l hm~uh i' dispatchedthe !s '1 A n tl ou rtd D i v is ice, Ill-equipped, ~dyand wirheut mest of hs supporting Arms . it went

tio n Lm :m ed iately o n a rr iv al a nd w as d t't~ i:m i!lted. N o n ea . ll i edarrmies: l BrJiLish t Fren ch o r B c::lgianwas abl.c[o:l:'th e German ensJ ,mght . . In g e I I I C ' l ' D l d ' u : : yall fnslJffi.d.{\ndy l t E ! l i n t e d : : . l e d o r fq1J .l i: ipped.fora modern

movement. This, f or B : ri ,ta iu ; w~~inexcusable afterU' .i ai s f}:f mebile fo rces which had lQkcn p]1I01;:. in 'thean d 1 930 s an dw lth t h e - country 's earHev l , eB" lI in t :i i l .lkB'l iRed on i tsexpC:'. l '1eOJ;;:e']11 the Spanish Civ i l W,~r,u sed Its i1Ilready ~ ,~ge[J :c l . ~u) 'tmyIA.:i :rforucoope:r: i l-b r~ k u p m !'lln ya]lied fOi ITi l iU: io ;ns which 80f ' )J1 becamen l sed as [hey '> l.'i~ hdf~ to [h e coast. T he rescuefro m D u nk irk b r clUgh !: om near.l) \ ' 400 .000 t roops

rtually all their v~hid!:5; heavyweapons .and equip-abaeidoned ..much stilt in tact. M o ~f> th en passedrman use.

hnieal support (0 l:he REF had remained disjollItOO.:part to tne pre"'wBf or:!:!;]jlI:s~tion., wH h r1\;pl}]rmeil distributed among many eorps.and regjmcn~~.i;gh th e RAO C t oOk . m3]') jy moibi~el;1t(li,[k:shopJ'l [:0an d $ 1 ; ; 1 1 ; 1 ] ] it bas e Q[gau ]&3 lt io u l i l i d s t a t i ; t : : wl,); ,rksbops

t T l ' ir s hastily recrulted men had little exp erien ce o fequ ip men t, ev en tholiJJghmosl: we re f i[ re a: dy !lki]]camen , T h e dilu tien n f tile T A r es ulted jIll extr-eme

of w~lrk.. ,b[)p and remvery equipment, P'ol l ! ' n~ i~]the e rg an - i9 P li (m we re soon identified and

j nd~p~:nc l i ; n t reco very u nits w ere esrablisaed,ebrua:ry 1940 the \V!i[ Office setup iii Tank .Repe~ri :cuv c:zy C u mmin ee: wh ose ch airm en was tbe D irec::tn rance Services (Eilgillie~Iing)(OOS{E)) ..The vital.

rrtanceof th e iog ist lcsupPOtt C or itlitecn:ilnised annresblst being reeognieed. The 'Cilmm.iul;c was It o

the need Iorrt:oovery equipment and to set up.;))The pr'eci:pjIo11s departure f r: IJm France and the

ntratien on an.t ijmr' li ls ' loll, meaenres w h 1 , c : h fol.low!::dd d O l Y this preiect,R egu lar d i v l 5 < i O ' , o s ;jlf.ld1 : . U ! 1 k b r i g a d i ; s ; : I n : d tb~kwTA ilivIsio[ui1l1ild,. between (bern"

ttl F ran ce an d.l e-ft th J;!!'"em C ' b ulk o f~ b,'i ,; A rmy'~vehicles. These.Includedthefirst Iew production20~tQn tank rmn :spo i te r .s and :heavy breBikdowl'l~Jm.1;; iof the !!!l1rv:i.v.ing AECR6T breakdowns~hn n dred s 0[3':[0:1.1 g8IIITry lorries an d RASe b reak-

] o rr leSE lI ld . 50fflt': 30cwt MOl 'r i~ C ommercials , In, m 81 JiYeffh e n ew C ran es H gh t reco very uaners andtr.aii~r::;; pli!J;iiia numbe'r of imp:re~soo

recovery veb ic les ;and Iraik:r:~ we.re lost. The : f i no tUSi :nd Whi 'l il fl hntit!!ii bad b~enf(l(;:eoivoo ~l lJdCon , v r ; : n e d tQD s p on el l 's b efo re tl I .e el'ld. o f m e ,Cam,l;i!i ldgn im d so mesu ggest (luu a . few h~d been :issued '~,uBEF ullin;;:.fauds not k n own . . On,e ScammeU b1'c~kdowTl.t r a~R_o rby dlie Germ illillt l a t [hitl~ime wa:s :recaptu,red ,llIboY,[

yealrs hner.in N cwl:b Afrjc~. M:w.y of tnt re8l1ir1.amenil:

pt : npd t i !m:ksblooded in this campaign d id l ittl eb u rdCW9 , l l S i l T~~~ t h~ : i rl 1 l ; ' ; f t ( - c ~ iveaess Ulid tmn:: liabiLiry; . p ru~ducts as they We're m:hasty an du nderfu nded d;ev eJ .o 'pmen1 i :and, iL l -dermed o :p en l 'ti omd pn il osO 'p h y,S O O ! l 1 L after the C V ' E 1 C l i J J 8 . t 1 0 n France sued fo r p e a c e a n d . W ;[ ' L 3

partitioned ~ the north being~It:c; :tJ]; :!:II l>cl by Giilrm:;Lfifl1irc(,:$whi[,~[h:~ south remained undcrGermaa dom.i.oaLion"(',:Q,DtrQlIecl by a pr{HJerm:;m govc:ml l len t led by Man;hioVl}li,eti1lil1in th e o ld (own pfVichy, Add.il1g lnsult [0 i.nj.'Il:ry IJ U S I as Franee was am th e pomt of surrender ba]y declaredwar o n th e allies and! anacked southern France , Mooreabt:mii1i.g to Br.. i l8ID was tb!! :llim8lti(}[' l in .A fr ic a wher e large'] [ t t 1 . l i. : a n f o r c e s in the c o l o n i e s ofLibya.j E t h i , g , p , i O l . ! 3 ! n dSomalH! i .nd tllre".ne.f.I.ed. B:r i t i~h : pO!,!,\l~ssio]ls an d the S uezCana], Adding to t11.e .gl1I,vit}, of t o is S it ll M 1 !I U QI l W 1 l 8 the l~u~gean d m odern Italian lIi!lLVY w'hj.c:~b - p e r s e d : athreat to Mr u :t; a. and[0 p8s.ajJ,e uU1}llJIghth:e ~kditea,ml'le:an.In Br lt; JJ in th e reeq'U;ippi~fot 'Home Defence' 0 : rheretu rn ed B E F an d_ those n ew ~ fOm:le:r TA~ d ]: v :i si o o 'Swhich

had remained in th e' U K n ow became v ital. O f th e manypri ' l!:ri .l ics th~caSl~st tom eet was the res ro retio n o f m ob ilityto lh e .A rm y. S hill -w ork in g in, t h e ' Il lo t o ![ indl.stry~despirethe s e t b a c k s o .f e :m . 'm Y ai r raidsEind th e l[1 ~'S f rnmf,l[lWCr ~othe armed furc:cst gradually replaced lost uanspon but theSho r t le.rm aJ lsw~ ]' w as an tn h '!!f r ou n d! of impfe$sm.c: :n[ andlocal purchasing of vehicles ..M~Ulybuses were acquired Ill:th is t ime 3S t roop ~tansJmrls. The nre~ofpt{ld:uA;:tiOti of n eWv ( ih jc lc s wa s hamper ed by; the lack o f standardisationb etween m an nfacm rers, E ven lti:lC l im r;::IIUQW\i;d th e d es ig nQ f ~ la! ld : trd . ! ;} 'pes[0be bulllby differ . .ent fu :msl l : l l s wou ldh av e b een clifficu l t to all:hieve in th e face u r eemmeeeislrivIDllry an d tr~di'LlOQS ev,c:tl i n w ar time. There WlllRf.IIOshorn-term an swer . Ito th e s low nn e of p.roduc[lon oh[lIJ ik:iJ .a n d : s~ e c: ia l v eh i cl es suchas tan k tran sp erters an d recoveryvd.lid~~.Hero r e the w~upl"e'p~l'atorywork had begu Il. to enabk theCanadian motor iodusuyrru build roili.tary whidcs;~ , ~ r . 1 L i C u . -. L a r . l y trucks whhm the B , r i t i : s h Army load: cap::liclty classes~:rJ;d'wi~h ~ i;'lf lilin eOm :m .Qn fe at u re s . imc :h . ul lf ig body st 'yJes tm.dlyre sizes. Working d!Jsdy with rbeCanadian DefenceDep:artm!';lEl~'~.motor tlnns produced drt:~gns ~Ilr.;l.range ufmilitarytrucks 'will,ellwere to be built joiIll]y by the localbranches oifFord O l n , c l Gi;lI:u,;T


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2 The Campaigns in North andt A f e . " . ' . . . . . d C - . n t e ' : - ' - "- . . - , ~ . E ' II. -. .": t- . , - r IC .a , a n . . ' " Q ln .emlporary = , q u , lp m e ln - .a n d P a :a D i; , X ; l :l];!,l


35/109

[rom m-e :p~aoe l ' l l - e ; r ' e [hey eemeta grid, there W a'S ,21need tot::aI T}' th es e w biC b co uld . Il,O[ 00 J!.'OWI.:.~,~ in ;;m y case a di(fj,cuLI.task with tracked vehicles, The usual means of lowing rankswas by steel wire ropes (cables) orby chaius. Steering anunpo 'e:red tt ' li flk wllUeundertow was sometimes virtuallyimpossible; Ropes and chains broke and some lucklessC I > 0 ' 1 O l 1 ' m a r . ! had to dismount and cr y '[(I reconnectthe vehicles,'a feat of some heroism when under fire, D~pite theseprob!eiiJs many suecessf 1 L 1 I ]recoverles W C I " e made.

Im p r r u s w n o f t l i e " lE G M ( 1 . i ( 1 i l . f J r, n o . i i ' f i > & i ,t o 'r :~ ry f i. t: :n iu ub) l.l'rd Hlt.


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to that Oil the FWD R6T, Some Canudian Ford F604x'4 lorries were also modified.into recovery vehicles.L of C R,eco,,crl- ' Section was e qu ip pe d sole lylocal purchase, In!39 B rigadie'l' V I. W " RiehanlsofOrdmtI!ce S erv ices at Headquarters .Middle Eas t

dlseevered ,: ' I fleet o f U S ManlKIiII He:ITi l lg ' lon.l fi el d ] c (r n 1 ! :5 b - e l o rl ,g i n g to ' ,th~SQ 1 i . 1 J t hMedit '!l!rranea.1lmpany , T h es e ..v cr e purchased, stripped oftheir

and converted to r ~ co v c ry ,, "e :h id rs ,. N e ar lyl~ter the ji b from ene ofthese was transferredtaC M tltado r wh ich had b een found abandoned in the

69 I nJamry Bng-..de Wod ..~,bQP.The shorE~ o fvehicles for use intheCanal Zone W O U i equ~d]~te. Some obso1e leMon: i s CC.llllmercJalLead:~r lerrlesl Iv :e :: r '~ ,edo breakdown vehicles and also someets , A s the build-up of eq l' ii p :m.~n l :p . r og l "! t! s sedsome

tador modified in w .armol~i'[~ breaidOWl1 vc! i ide a!'4; ? $ ' RA,OC ~~~194.1.

more :S dtigh 6 X 4gaJ.nry bodied 3.~tQI l im.en. and an llCl"e8Smgn um ber o f S cam mells arrived.The firs~..new design recovery '1 leh id es 1 0 reach the 8th

Army were based on Canadian d v i l i a . . . . n p8!ttem trucks wilhminor modifICations. These were' the .FOM Em9ST andC b eV 'ro ~et 1 S,~ 3X 2, B u 'tb carr ied R oL In ..:..$ : l'l!(:n,,~ry~:uip-went ln n h . t ' l d rJioxnal;i:l j chassis windt. .DlW.':'jngilie- 1910s thee v ' I ; , ' i ' C J I : p a o d m g u se .o f [ IIOLOrvehic les in t h e ' 1 1 1S A . . 1 J J , l a , w l I , e dth ou san ds o f g ar.age:.; o r . ~!r.ISstatio'!ls' l !nOSt of whleh p u t' [Og~ t lt er . o rn e form of breakdown vehicle. ODIe garag,eproprietor, Brnesr Holme , built tile nllt 'twin 'boom.l~re~):er' with two ,wi.f.ig.i:llg j.ibs w bieb., linked. together,could Jift heBIvyvehicles a the rear or ~~ing]y,nligh'lc-r'vehicle I I ! . ' ! : 0 ' . i ' l i . ' I J ( l r side. Slmllar desigas wen! produced b y GarWood Industries a:l'Iium~lDy US and Csnadian ret.'tIY'~ryv eh icles w ere I.~ be .fil[o odw .itb th ]s fo rm o f UniJliI l l p.r.The gantrybooy) seen mo~dy0J1 the L e j 1 J a n d :&ell:nevcr6x4 chassis at 'lhi~time, 1 i I i ' ~ S adopted by otherBmplre

armies. The A ustralians u sed av er-MO ll. o f i ' l : O E I I 3-00[14v .Th~e~em FQrdJ Chev!olc'[ an d! In rem atio nel ch ass is , a,s ,wdl,as o n so me 6-w hcded. chas . s, is . . I n .1 94 1. an oth er A E CMaladO. ' f V'3]wmt W,ElS produced in th e Can ru lone w rk-8 ,ho :ps . This w as filed with ,~!!l arm, ured r C a l b . , Canadian-bY-il l steel truek 'body and girder crane. It is recorded itluuth e Bri.lish Orc ll' llm : t!c coft 'i i;;e rw l th t he F ree F renoh Rri.!; !:ad l.!:rcqu~tit,rd: 'm:3't this ' I I e h : i . c l . e be iSEmed [0 Jriswo(rbho.p butWIU i refused it,Tbe U S dt:v c]o pm r:n t o f the Holt U8C[O.l" b e f o re W o . r. 1dWar ~(led to iii range of tracked trectors a"...ailabl'l! fFilm.va_r~ousmn.nuf3cru: l."er:s and in man y sizes, Th.ey wereintend,~d :t:oragrieuhural and construction sitewnrk and. inn940~8Qm~ uU,'erp:i1ln.r. iDS tractors of massive proportionsand eenslderable power were purchased for m e RE. InN oeth Afri.ca, where the l imiul l ions of wheeled . r e~ovC : tyVcll~cl ,e s 'we])e soon ebeieus, some DBs 'w.e'r,ejsn~e.dtoEAOC(E) fo r tank recovery. Later, smaller D7 a n d . D4u aerers ~ ~ usedin th i s , rale, together w.lin the Inter-W ltio os l T D 1 R an d o th er. m ak es, T he Ja.i:gcr tracto rs Wer~v 'e ry C! l] J1I ,'b. ie re co ve ry IU c .b i les once fitted \vith ii,nim bE,winches. The Caterpillar versions remained in U se long atl(lTm e war, The tractor's drawback was lack of speed 00 that itcould onJ .y be moved. to tecovery sires on a trailer ,A, 6~ tcomm, r; ;r ci .! i!Hyd~s i g lJ . .ed .Ame r ic 31 :I t ra il er s we r e used. m.enthe rracror had winched o r p u lled a vehicle c r u i i J . I L d t y om-asolid ground ~ S ieCOnQ] \eCC lvc ry traercr !O rt r~nS:(XI:rt ,cl i 'wasDI!OOed [0.move it, as the: first usually pulled the D8;5 , owntrailer. Despite this, and [he oilier severe lim]'EiilnIilD s lDredwitb.wheeledl ' l . ;oovc;ry ehicJ.es -n o armou r protection - th ett':Jctors were unrivalled for tank recovery in soft ground,T he C in e:rp il lar D 8 weigb ed abo u t 17 '(ons. Dlfferemwin l,~ were.finedsome I 'UlVj~" lgcapacities o'up to 45 U)f!S.

Af i le :r t he Getman A :rm y b ecame . i .nvoh.1\~d.n th e c u n p r u g I ls ome n8 !l f I 1'a c kswere captured. The :Iarger versions ofdl,~'I'I'l!l:'eexne_melypl' ..crical reeovery vchides:!Ind. were usedwhen ev er p o ss lb le.Tenk recovery, , a s in F !Canc~,remained the province 9unarmoured wheeled recovery tractors and lorries (tn(;!


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Gffl'!UI.ll F {).m o J'8 -t(m h aif n 'ra ck I 1 S e d b y RAOC 6 1 " 9 a: l'u;lIkr { 'C~~/ jK: la_. CnBlllicr rm:k (m Ifni!.

1]fe Ca ' k : p11wrDR traaer .wwmg a Fe l km l20 -l lm la'j'~,1J!ampUll(;f. l~homgrap, ";NJ a fT e r tlurwcu IIIMalaya. TkesfjClr~ tWo, fJf~h~'m!.hicl~ ! ) ' l J ' t ! 5 , f ,t p W J . l s d t~I'\lo,#j Africa 1rJ 194211/3 .

dis ,tiD ctio ll w e" o ne o f s ize) : I ! , n d [be few wincl : i ."eqrnppedScmnm:e:Il11' ,anspo:rters until, toe DS uaete [5:were isseed,&f-Iy .imprnvisarionled to disab]ed ranks b in g carried ong[OS~~y ove r loaded 7V;l t o ,n J jl ll h t recovery u ,aH er s ~Oilcemmercisl trailers, on heavy l o r r i e s of. b r . : : ' i n g towed ' ! b y anyvehicleheavy enough [I) taekle the job.

ScammiiU tmn.sporle[ production remained nnaUy in -.adequare tomeet n eed s, B y f\prl l l941 oniy : I l fooen of theJO-hm ' ' o ' ' < l l ! f i a O : t bad been built.and many of these remained inrh e UK for trials, and training ..L~:;l'i,~iU1500 were to bep r oduCA!d I n , to ro lb :y th e end o f the war. Fuethee suppJi ies '0r h e A> ' l[ lc ka nd \Vhi l: e "UIUUlportCrs erdered in 1940 becam ea:vmlElbl~ W h . e I l .B l ! " i lI l L n took over the French coetracts after,the~ fall o f iF I1U lOf ! . J \1 .a n y o f these v ei li ck lS ' W ~ : i" fir G q ui.l 'cd :intheIlK f O o t l iOm . ~,H : Jd cn iC ~fo rce s a nd . in a ny c as e it took 'timeto 'build the I ln ll l: s !l?orre: r bodies aad to ship C'Qmp]e[edvchides 00 the M.iddle EElsl. 01 ' three .~vaiJablenypes MackEXBX) W h ite, M o d'lll]9'10 ,m d 'Wh.i.l:e Rl'hXn. l] i} om:y th e L au erwas reaff ii llysulredtn recovery . E l l S it alone was ~5ttcdwith 3.Mach. The metbod !ldoptoo for loa,ding disabled tanks 0[1~I !the l\b.k , and : \V ll l: te wa s fora cable ' t o O be anaehed to,e:!),n

Mack EXBX J & - lcn : ! t t. a n sp rl Y le r : 'u.; ';rJ~M i i1 l i li n e l n J a m r y TankMurk .III. l11is lrant[)(jtl!lr ~IjSi tile 'b.ee.~~il1'e5'j~ ld . l ' j i ! " r(mwstdpl '@ c.ed ~'n. la l t .1r , n o d e u by Hmpk dqw .d ' ! ab lc ron !py, NrJi.iJi Afti'll!N ooc mw r 19 41 .

T h e w r , ' l ( . h equ ipped W 1 J . i t eRi4X I l I lMm:p -O~ w i t h V'atm! l : rJ I ! lU I : r .i A fir~d 'with !land , . l I i t . . Jds ,

side of the front of the tank. The cables were tun up overguides 01[" pul1-ys Oil the ~~idef the transporter and artmd'[0 two l ar ri es ~uujoned to the fro nt o f it. When the lorr ic:diro'l!',e fo rn rru n 'th e nm'lli: WB:5i drawn up on to the 1:ransporlJThe process took , t ; I t 1,~~stMtcl , ' !nmiumes, was wasteful ofequipment and very difficult on uneven t er r ai n .Nene theless, these me thods wert: .ncc~ssary ill the absence ofs uffici,'~ nt p 'I l.r ,p o!le--ib uill r t:co very tr an sp or ter s. iu e:r ; in L Ir C E l m p B I : i g n Jwben h e a v i e r 't(a:osportenl beeame i :l i\r ai la ,b h :.s om e M i ;1 c'k san d W h ites were r e b o d ied as ca rg cv eh icle s,A c .OO5 . t : l11 [ i lway line J ead iu g fr om th e: C a na l Z,Q,I l~ to I: l19yp~ibl:n ~OW[lof Mellla ,Matruh was used to move [levi' alater ~recondkioned tanks f u n ' i ' O i I : r d tlO [be border defencesrea, as the eadiee esperience o[ the W,eslern Desert For ta:n rl th e exten slv e u 3h llin g u ndertaken b ~f.Q r:ewc-..anock cthe Italians had shown up the problem of rap id u "ack weain t h C l l desert. Wben me battles moved further west, beyctLu : :railway, the W ~i -Offi~ w a s ,~dv[scd by HeadquartereMjddi]e E~st Command of the need for lrall!iip;1!mte.r~ :for '[1&b'3!;i:giC movemen [ of wnks.EBfJier i n S e p tember .' R940, three months after Dunk i :


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o f u sin g transporters to s a V a . ' : track w e a r and driverw as dis cu ss ed in I::h eW ; a:r O f .lk :~ . . t \ ; $ o J resulttheMode '! 9200 'W'as~e:ned in . dlis role ]n Britain hut waiile red uf l .su imblc . .N' otlliJlg: mnch WM achieved d a , e mm . id : e Il i t if y io g Itn e e d f o r U I U l l iP Q r1 rC : J r,~u r . ! ' I 1 l ' i l ! ~Kr n .i I.way, s d id notreach semetank 1 . 1 1 : J 1 , t locations an d

EI1 'e~s .LEL[er.YOS w as as ked to I P ro cll l~fyt ti'~n~p6rte[~OInd t h J i i i ;W i j S given8Q1me wg~ncye'deman~s f~r these vehicles ,c~m~f r - . o ;m [h e ,M i dd Je

L e th e W ar O ffice Bi nd M O S procedures creaked i I i 'COhe. i m m e d i a t e MiddJ~ Ea:S'l requirements w e r e m e l tin g o ut M m ;;k ,~t~to116>t4.MmieL NR ]ordesj

A m l S '. r h : : " : QcU!IlID(;!',n:;iid l v p r . ; : ! ' : i purchased p r e v i o m 1 yvehicles and held In Ordnance depees, The M~ck$ned wl'th 5JmpiL:l'~ranSPIJn:i;lF b odies w hh de~Bcha:bler am p s. Being s m~ lle I' th an tb e _

Breakdown - British Recovery Vechicles

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