Armored recovery vehicle 1

Armored recovery vehicle 1
M88 A1 in the Munster tank museum
General properties
crew	4 (commander, driver, two pioneers)
length	8.45 m
width	3.60 m
height	3.07 m
Dimensions	50.8 tons
Armor and armament
Armor	approx. 35 mm
Main armament	no
Secondary armament	MG3 machine gun (deck structure)
agility
drive	M 88: Continental 12 cylinder air-cooled gasoline engine AV-1790-5B with magneto ignition - 1050 PS with turbocharger M88 A1: MTU MB 838 12-cylinder air-cooled exhaust gas - turbo diesel 640 PS or 1014 PS
suspension	Torsion bar / swing arm
Top speed	approx. 50 km / h
Power / weight	12.6 hp / ton or 20.0 hp / ton
Range	approx. 550 km (road)

The Bergepanzer 1 (original type designation of the US Army : M88 Recovery Vehicle) was the second armored recovery vehicle of the Bundeswehr . His job was to recover damaged equipment and tow it for repairs, as well as to do crane work when installing and removing engines or similar. It was the successor to the M 74 armored recovery vehicle, which, based on the Sherman tank, was no longer able to cope with the requirements following the introduction of the M48 battle tank (Kpz.) .

history

The vehicle was developed by Bowen-McLaughlin-York Inc. from 1958 onwards. A few parts such as the gearbox , motor, rollers and support rollers of the M48 A2 battle tank were used, although the hull itself is not identical to that of the M48.

The tub is made of cast steel and is equipped on each side with six rollers, three support rollers and three shock absorbers (two on the first two, one on the last roller), torsion bar suspension with swing arms and truncated cone springs. The chain is longer and wider than the Kpz M48.

The original engine (before the conversion to diesel ) was a 12 cylinder gasoline engine with magneto ignition , a displacement of 29.36 liters and 850 hp, which was brought to 1050 hp by a turbocharger . The vehicle is equipped with three fuel tanks that together hold around 1700 liters of gasoline . (In difficult terrain, with an M48 in tow, that was just enough for a distance of between 50 and 100 kilometers.)

The device is equipped with a main and an auxiliary hydraulic system. The auxiliary hydraulics can be operated with the auxiliary motor on the rear left, which is also used to charge the batteries and supply power to the heater and the starter (the crane boom can be raised with this.) The auxiliary motor can (theoretically) be started by hand with a starter pull ( Lawnmower principle), so that the vehicle can theoretically never break down due to empty batteries.

Leveling work with the dozer blade is difficult to carry out because the hydraulic system cannot be controlled precisely enough. In any case, the shield is only intended for support during crane work and as a spur when pulling winches.

The crane arm cannot be swiveled so that the entire vehicle has to be turned, which is extremely demanding on the driver with the spongy transmission .

The recovery winch and the crane winch have no forced unwinding, i.e. H. the crane winch is unwound automatically due to the weight of the hook block, the main winch rope must be kept under tension by suitable means from outside. The main winch drum, which is arranged horizontally and transversely to the direction of travel, has no rope tensioning device and only inadequate rope guidance.

Due to the generously dimensioned interior and the heating, which can be described as luxurious, the vehicle was popular with the crews.

After manufacturing around 1000 vehicles of this type, production was discontinued in 1964.

From 1962 the Bundeswehr procured 125 pieces. From 1985, instead of the petrol engine, the vehicles were given a diesel drive (M88 A1) and a more powerful recovery winch.

equipment

• Bow winch max. Pulling force 45 t
• Crane system (A mast) max. Hook force 25 t
• Support shield

Armament

• 1 machine gun
  • in caliber 12.7 mm ( Browning M2 ) or
  • MG3 in caliber 7.62 × 51 mm
• Smoke throwing system

literature

• Stefan Marx: The armored recovery vehicles of the Bundeswehr and the German recovery technology , Tankograd military vehicles special No. 5005, Tankograd Publishing (2004)
• FM by Senger and Etterlin: Tanks of the World 1983 . Arms and Armor Press, London ISBN 0-85368-585-1

Web links

Commons : Bergepanzer 1  - Collection of images, videos and audio files