Main Battle Tanks

Conqueror loaded on Antar Mk 2 – late 1950s

Courtesy of Richard Grevatte-Ball

Early petrol engine Centurion (1951 whilst based at Hobart Barracks, Detmold)

Courtesy of Mr P.A. Lockett

Chieftain ARV loading on to Semi-trailer – 1981

Courtesy of Richard Grevatte-Ball

Convoy of Chieftains loaded on Antar Mk3s

Courtesy of Richard Grevatte-Ball

A Sqn, 1 RTR’s first “Hildesheim” Chieftain (1984)

Courtesy of Tiny Hart

This picture taken in the late 1980s outside Stadium Barracks, shows a Stillbrew Chieftain MBT with the extra front armour on the turret in full Berlin livery

Courtesy of The 14th/20th Kings Hussars and its subscribers

Wheeled “A” vehicles (Cargo, Specialist and APC)

Cargo

The first of this category is here on the loosest of terms. It was classed as a cargo vehicle, but used for a variety of tasks (some of them possibly not official). That vehicle was the Alvis built Stalwart High Mobility Load Carrier 6×6, known to the most of those familiar with it as the “Stolly”

The CO of 4 Armoured Division Transport Regiment, Glamorgan Barracks in a Stalwart swimming the River Rhine

Courtesy of R F Grevatte-Ball

Stalwart HMLC 6×6

Stalwart with civilian plates – complete with tilt and ridge pole – and a Saladin (?) in cam paint behind

“Somewhere on Exercise Snow Queen”

Was this a Stalwart’s favourite parking place – Workshops?

Cutaway diagram of a Stalwart

Above cutaway drawing and four photographs courtesy of Paul Brown

The Stalwart (Stolly) first made its presence known some years before the Army took them on charge, about 6 or 7 years earlier I believe. Listed as FV620 series, and as an HMLC (High Mobility Load Carrier) supposedly capable of a 5 ton load there were a number of variants.

The two types I had dealings with were the 622 – a General Service Load Carrier, and the 623 fitted with the Atlas Crane. There was also a REME variant, the 624, although I never remember coming across one. Powered by an 8 cylinder B Series engine and 6×6, I personally liked driving them, and had the opportunity of a short flotation exercise while I was attached to the Artillery. They were prone to clutch problems though if not used for extended periods.

A Stalwart was responsible for the demolition of my VMB toolbox. On exercise, one developed a transmission fault on a fair slope. As many of us know, the hubs were epicyclic, and if they were to be towed for any distance, the sun wheel was removed from all hubs. A certain NCO (whose name I no longer remember) put me, and another, on the job of removing said sun wheels. The last sunwheel was proving hard to remove, and said NCO said something along the lines of “give it some welly”. Welly was applied, sunwheel came out with a bang, and Stolly moves off of its own accord down the slope – backwards – flattening my toolbox on the way. No one had realised that with no sunwheels the brakes foot or hand became useless. I was only out of trade training a few months and the change in VMBs also becoming Wheeled A trained was in its infancy.

Needless to say, it caused some banter to pass around for a couple of weeks. The farmer was quite happy, his rotting fence had to be replaced with a nice new one.

Paul Pearce-Smith

Specialist

Len “Ciphers” Payne is the “Full Screw” Crew Chief

Some beast!

Cut away view of the beast

Above is an AEC Armoured Command Vehicle Signals Centre as used by 6 Armoured Division Signals circa 1953/56, it weighed in at 21 tons and had a 6×6 axle base. Each brigade in the division had one as standard equipment. This particular unit was at HQ 20 Armoured Brigade at Münster and I was its crew chief for 2 years. It carried a crew of ten, crew chief (Sigs Office Supt), driver, switchboard op, ciphers (2), Sigcen (3), base lineman, Fuller phone/wireless operator, a bit crowded even for a pig of this size. It was a ‘beast’ but could lick along at 45/50 mph, it had to be fast to keep up with the rest of our armour (Centurions). Possibly Class A (Specialist), I don’t know of any outfit that had them, I never saw any at 7 Armoured or 11 Armoured Divs, that was the other two armoured divisions plus 2 Infantry Div that made up 1 Corps in the 1950s.

Photographs and text courtesy of Len Payne

APCs

Alvis Saracen 6×6 APC. This one was lovingly restored at Rochdale Barracks, Bielefeld and then shown on Hohne Ranges during a vehicle meet – 2006

A photo of 20 Armd Bde HQ & Sig Sqn, FV432 “swimming” the Weser circa 1976.
I’m not a big fan of today’s Health and Safety culture, however I’m inclined to think the life jackets were a matter of choice rather than the result of a written risk assessment

Courtesy of Mr Alan Clay

Tracked APC/Artillery/Engineers/Recce/Misc

Tracked Artillery

Going by the sign on the wall (top photo), it’s taken outside 58 Bty’s HQ, in Dempsey Bks, 12 Regiment RA, my old unit.
T & 9 Bty had tracked Rapier, below. I was trained on Towed in 9 Bty before they got Towed and whilst 12 Bty was being reformed with Towed along with 58 Bty. Our sister regiment at Napier Barracks; 22 AD Regt, 11 Bty were the first to take delivery of tracked after the Iranian Shah cancelled the order. 22 Regt mirrored ourselves kit for kit, Bty for Bty.

Courtesy of NJ Edwards

An 8″ M110 SP Gun of 34 (Seringapatam) Hvy Bty, 45 Fd Regt RA firing at Grafenwohr in 1977.
The limestone dust played havoc with everything and you can see the clouds rising from the gun chassis as it fires.

Courtesy of Morris Felton

Engineers

Churchill bridgelayer being loaded onto a 40 ton trailer to be pulled by a Diamond T tractor – pre 1955.
The trailer is marked 65 MSO and the location is probably Hohne as the Churchill belongs to 32 Armoured Engineer regiment

Courtesy of R F Grevatte-Ball

Recce

A Photo of A Tp, 10 (Assaye) AD Bty (part of 45 Regt RA) with their newly-delivered AFV CVR(T) SPARTAN in early 1978

10 Bty was the AD Bty of 45 Regt which comprised: HQ Bty, 10 AD Bty, 152 (Niagara) Med Bty, 170 (Imjin) Med Bty, 34 (Seringapatam) Hvy Bty plus a Wksps REME, Stores Sect RAOC and a US (Nuc) Det. 10 Bty had recently converted to Blowpipe (Blowjob, as it was often called), 152 and 170 Btys were equipped with M109 A2(later A3 with a 48 cal barrel) (Nuclear Capable) and 34 Bty with 8″ (Nuclear Capable).

Courtesy of Morris Felton

Half Tracks

B squadron fitters, 1 RTR, half track “Beadlebaum II”. 1951

Courtesy of Mr P.A. Lockett