page_title: Armoured recovery vehicle
section_title: United Kingdom
hierarchical_section_title: Armoured recovery vehicle / List / United Kingdom
caption_attribution_description: IWM caption&#160;: THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944. A Sherman BARV tows a disabled Bedford articulated lorry and trailer off the beach.
context_page_description: An armoured recovery vehicle is typically a powerful tank or armoured personnel carrier chassis modified for use during combat for towing or repair of battle-damaged, stuck, and/or inoperable armoured fighting vehicles, such as tanks and armoured personnel carriers. Most ARVs have motorized tracks, like a tank or bulldozer, enabling the ARV to operate on uneven ground. The term "Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle" is also used.
  ARVs may have winches, jibs, cranes, and/or bulldozer blades to aid in tank recovery. Typically, any specialized lifting and recovery equipment replaces the turret and cannon found on a regular tank. ARVs may in some cases have electric generators, blowtorches, chainsaws and fuel pumps to help with recovery operations, or spare parts, to facilitate field repairs. Some ARVs have a spade component to anchor the vehicle when it is towing or lifting. Since most ARVs are based on tank or APC chassis, they have an armored crew cockpit and engine, which means that ARVs can be operated in combat conditions. Rarely, an ARV may be armed, such as some M32s, which have an 81 mm mortar for screening purposes, and the M88, which has a .50 cal heavy machine gun.
context_section_description: The British tested their first ARV designs in early 1942. The decision at the time was to focus on the Churchill infantry tank as the basis, but cruiser tank based ARVs were also produced. When the UK received supplies of US medium tanks - first the M3, then M4 Sherman, conversions were made of these to operate alongside and so simplify support.
  World War II
  Cavalier ARV
  Churchill ARV
  Crusader ARV
  Centaur Arv
  Cromwell ARV
  Grant ARV - two Marks, the first was a British conversion, the second was a US M31 TRV in British service
  Sherman III ARV I - Armoured Recovery Vehicle conversion of Sherman III (M4A2), similarly "Sherman V ARV Mark I" and "ARV Mark II"
  Sherman ARV II - conversion of Sherman V with dummy gun in fixed "turret", 7.5 ton jib at front, spade earth anchor at rear.
  Sherman II ARV Mk III was a M32B1 TRV (see US ARV).
  Modern
  Centurion ARV
  FV219 - on A45 "Universal tank" chassis
  FV 220 Conqueror ARV
  Chieftain FV4204 ARV/ARRV
  FV434 "Carrier, Maintenance, Full Tracked"]]
  M578
  Challenger Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle (CRARRV). The CRARRV has a large set of recovery and heavy repair tools including a man portable ultrathermic cutting system with an underwater cutting capability and a portable welding system.
  FV106 Samson - complement to the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) series of vehicles
  FV513 Warrior Recovery Vehicle - complement to the Warrior tracked armoured vehicles
  BARV (World War II to Modern)
  The BARV is a British military support vehicle, the name coming from "Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle", for working in shallow water. BARVs were used to free operational vehicles that were stuck, and to clear the beach of inoperable vehicles or landing craft, to make way for other forces. Various models were based on the M4A2 Sherman, Centurion and Leopard 1A5 ("Hippo") tank chassis. Australia converted a M3A5 Grant to a BARV configuration. The first BARV was a Sherman M4A2 tank which had been waterproofed and had the turret replaced by a tall armoured superstructure. Around 60 were deployed on the invasion beaches during the Battle of Normandy. The crew included a diver whose job was to go underwater to attach towing chains to stuck vehicles.
  Centurion tank.
caption: A Sherman tank-based Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle (BARV) tows two disabled vehicles on a beach.
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