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More Tracked Vehicles of the Army Including Weapons

Tracked vehicles have been part of the British Military inventory for nearly 100 years.

Over the years, with advancements in technology and automotive power, tracked vehicles such as the British Mark 1 have progressed quickly – from a 28 ton, 4 mph leviathans of the battlefield with a crew of 8 to the 62 tonne Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank capable of nearly 40 mph crewed by 4 soldiers. These battlefield giants are the largest vehicle in the tracked inventory – but they are not the only ones.

Click here to find the first article of TRACKED VEHICLES OF THE ARMY.

In this article you will find more Tracked Vehicles of the Army including weapons:

FV430 Series

Manufactured by GKN Sankey and introduced into service in 1962 the 430 Series of Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFV’s) was to prove to be the ‘workhorse’ of the British Army for nearly 30 years. It has proved to be an excellent multi-use vehicle but its main function was to transport the infantry soldier around the battlefield.

As an Armoured Fighting Vehicle the 432 has been equipped with a variety of weapons allowing it to provide a range of offensive and defensive capabilities. This weaponry, past a present, gave the vehicle a certain versatility and includes:

L6 WOMBAT 120mm Recoilless Anti-Tank Rifle. The L6 WOMBAT was fitted into and fired from the roof hatch of the 432.

L14A1 84mm Infantry Gun. This weapon, fired from the roof hatch, was better known as the Carl Gustav or ‘Charlie G’.

L16 81mm Mortar. Normally fitted to the floor of the 432 it was fired through the roof hatch.

L37A1 General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG). The GPMG was mounted in a Peak Engineering Turret. This turret replaced the roof hatch.

L21A1 30mm Rarden Cannon. The Rarden Canon was fitted to a few of the FV432’s constituting part of the former Berlin Brigade.

ZB 298 Radar. Supplied by Marconi Avionics the ZB 298 was a man portable battlefield surveillance system capable of being fitted into the 432. It could detect personnel at a range of approximately 5 km and vehicles out to 10 km.

Milan Anti-Tank Missile Systems. FV432 could transport two MILAN Anti-Tank Missile Teams. The missile teams would dismount from the vehicle to bring the missile into action.

Approximately 2,500 of these vehicles were in use in the 1980’s and quite a few are still in service – mainly used by supporting arms than front line infantry. There have been numerous variants of the FV430 Series of Armoured Fighting Vehicles including:

Command and Control Vehicles. Used at Division, Brigade and Regimental levels as Command and Control Vehicles. When deployed into the field, mainly at Division and Brigade Headquarter levels, it was quite common to see four FV436’s reversed up to each other in the shape of a cross and interlinked with canvas penthouses. It was from these vehicles that Divisional and Brigade Commanders and their staff would ‘fight’ the battle.

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Ambulance. Equipped with 4 stretchers and lifesaving equipment the FV432 Armoured Ambulance, crewed by members of the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) or Regimental Medical Teams, would collect battlefield casualties and transfer them to the nearest medical facility.

Maintenance Carrier. The FV434 Maintenance Carrier was crewed by members of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME). Mainly used to change major components in the field the vehicle was capable of carrying a Chieftain MBT powerpack. There was a crane with a lifting capacity of over 3,000 kg fitted to the right hand side of the vehicle and was unique in that the suspension could be locked when the crane was being used.

Communications Vehicle. Fitted with a plethora of communications equipment the FV439 Communications Vehicle was used extensively by members of the Royal Signals at Division and Brigade levels.

Recovery Vehicles. Crewed by members of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) the VF432 Recovery Vehicle was fitted with an internal winch driven from the main engine. A folding spade anchor was available to provide stability when winching.

Battery Command Vehicle. Many variants of the FV432 have been used by the Royal Artillery. Used as Battery Command Posts – fitted with both the FACE (Forward Artillery Computing Equipment) and BATES (Battlefield Artillery Engagement System), the vehicles have also been used as Cymbeline Mortar Locating Radar Posts and ZB 298 Observation Post Vehicles.

FV432 – Royal Engineer Variant.

The Royal Engineers variant of the FV432 has been used to lay the L10 Ranger Anti-Personnel Mine and was capable of towing the ‘layer’ for the L9 Anti-Tank Bar Mine and the Giant Viper Mine Clearance System.

FV430 Mk3 Bulldog

The Bulldog is a modified FV430 introduced into service in December 2006 and is designed to meet an urgent operational requirement for extra armoured vehicles on current operations in Afghanistan, and previously Iraq. Modification of the first 50 vehicles, between January and October 2006, was carried out by BAE Systems Land Systems at the ABRO facility in Dorset at a cost of some £85 million. It is anticipated that approximately 100 of the Bulldog FV430 variant will be modified to the same specification.

Fitted with a new Rolls Royce K60 engine Bulldog will be capable of travelling at road speeds of up to 72kph (45mph) and have a much improved cross-country performance. Appliqué reactive armour capable of resisting small arms fire, RPG-7 rockets – much favoured by insurgents in Afghanistan – and artillery fire will be fitted giving Bulldog similar levels of protection as Warrior. Also fitted will be an internally controlled 7.62mm machine gun and air conditioning providing the crew and troops with an improved level of comfort.

The vehicle will have a crew of two, Driver and Commander, and be capable of carrying 10 infantry, or equivalent, soldiers.

Small Arms Weapons of the Army

Support Weapons Of The Army

Grenades of the Army

Personal Equipment Of The Army

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