FV 430 SERIES AFV

Shelldrake wrote:

I remember doing a Bridge crossing on the Weser (as you do). The REs had these amphibious things all lined up across the river, they broke up, and we were transported across individually. It was a bit like 20 Govan Ferries.

As part of an ex we had to do a night river crossing.

There was a delay, the HOLDFAST chappies couldn't get a pin to fit properly somewhere.

The Sqn Leader comes up to me in my 432 and says "the REs think it's OK now but can't be certain. I'm not risking a tank so I'm sending you over first !"

Nice to feel bloody wanted.

We were expendable, Brum.

But you are still here.

Gordon. wrote:

But you are still here.

Survival instinct.

Shelldrake wrote:

Gordon. wrote:

But you are still here.

Survival instinct.

Just thinking,
in view of the latest wave of revelations coming in from the Emerald Isle . . . .
is your avatar of a drink-sodden Irish priest, extending a rigid digit, ENTIRELY appropriate, Badgie ?

Not sure what you mean Brum, not keeping up to date with events out here?

Your Avatars boss is in the mire..

Never mind the EME kipping down in the 1/4 ton trailer, spare a thought for the poor young CFN Clerk, fresh off his BIII course at Gosport who had to double as EME's radio operator in the back of the Champ (C19 + C42 setc) with no radio training bar about 5 mins with some trooper from 16/5 QRL, the final insult was to be "requested" to sleep in the back of the Champ - my back can still feel it.
Anyone out there remember Sid Ashcroft? a Nashie REME Clerk who I took over from in 1960, he was actually a Nuclear Scientist from Harwell in civvy street who refused to do the OCTU commissioning course and became a clerk.
Said EME, then a Capt. eventually made Maj. Gen. His successor at 16/5 QRL made Brigadier I believe.

brum wrote:

Shelldrake wrote:

Gordon. wrote:

But you are still here.

Survival instinct.

Just thinking,
in view of the latest wave of revelations coming in from the Emerald Isle . . . .
is your avatar of a drink-sodden Irish priest, extending a rigid digit, ENTIRELY appropriate, Badgie ?

I bow to your superior knowledge.

malaboman wrote:

Never mind the EME kipping down in the 1/4 ton trailer, spare a thought for the poor young CFN Clerk, fresh off his BIII course at Gosport who had to double as EME's radio operator in the back of the Champ (C19 + C42 setc) with no radio training bar about 5 mins with some trooper from 16/5 QRL, the final insult was to be "requested" to sleep in the back of the Champ - my back can still feel it.
Anyone out there remember Sid Ashcroft? a Nashie REME Clerk who I took over from in 1960, he was actually a Nuclear Scientist from Harwell in civvy street who refused to do the OCTU commissioning course and became a clerk.
Said EME, then a Capt. eventually made Maj. Gen. His successor at 16/5 QRL made Brigadier I believe.

Round pegs in square holes. When I was a young Clerk I got 28 days detention, this sort of behaviour was frowned upon by the Chief Clerk, Adjutant et al so I was banished to the MI room. I was expected to be the MI Room Clerk and do Duty Medics for which I was obviously not qualified, I did a duty every three days, issuing Paracetamol, Mist Mag Tricel (me neither) and bandaging peoples wounds - I was like a young Dr Findlay. In those days Condoms were issued to "Livers-In" but not Pads, money being short, they always called in of an evening, and were given a slack handfull (so to speak). As the duty was normally very boring and I was very bored I would sit with a pin and put a tiny prick (no pun intended) in each Condom. I would like to think that I was partly reponsible for the population explosion in Lippstadt in the early 60s.

And not just by dishing out dodgy condoms, either, i reckon.

Sometime late 60's the two Saracen Command Posts of Recce Troop, 4 Sqn, 7 Sigs. were replaced by a couple of 432's.
I remember working late for days fitting them out with the kit from the Saracens. The Techy chaps had already fitted a scrolling map board ( which never scrolled), boom mikes which were operated by foot switches ( Landrover dip switches) and a huge basket on top for all our kit. Also fitted was the large 'pull out' tent at the rear.
When we signed for the wagons, we found we had also signed for a room full of kit which never ever got used but seemed to go AWOL on a regular basis.

I never had any incidents or breakdowns with the old Saracens but did manage to bottom one out on a huge tree stump which I didn't see due to the fact that it was 2am and the stump was covered in moss. However, must confess to running into the Saracen in front and managed to completely close up the big tow hook and buggering my fording plate runners. What a clang!

By comparison, the 432's didn't fare so well. In the space of 1 year, I had two fires ( 1 engine, 1 electrical), lost track pins more than a few times ( tearing up the metal side skirt in the process), chucked a few rubber road pads at following vehicles and ended up in a river ( minus a track) when the steering unit ran out of oil due to a leak.
Once caused a huge pile up when the throttle linkage parted company and I rolled to a stop half way round a bend. Within a few minutes, there was a hell of a tail back of civvy cars so I ran out with the warning triangles and tried to get some traffic control going. Politzie turned up and just as I was explaining what happened, a big Opel came screaming round the bend at a hell of a rate. Realising he was not going to stop and not wanting to go into the ditch, he tried to thread his way in between the lines of traffic, tyres smoking. He never quite made it and hit every car for about 30 yards finally crashing into a Glaziers van with a huge pane of plate glass attached to the side.
The Politzie went absolutely berserk at the guy, jumping up and down with rage and gesticulating in the direction of the warning triangle. Nobody got injured but the road looked like a scrap yard with bits of cars everywhere, covered in shards of glass.
Within a few minutes the linkage was reconnected and we took off as quick as you like leaving two very harassed politzie to sort out the aftermath.

Never a dull moment with the 432's. Still preferred the old Saracens in terms of fun factor.

Nick

Looks as if your unit was inflicted with the original petrol fuelled version. In later years the Diesel (multifuel) variety was much more reliable.

Yep!..our early 432's were indeed the Petrol Bombs which I did my driver training in but by around 1968 we had the multifuelled version. Bloody thing still went on fire and it didn't float too well either.

JPW wrote:

Nick

Looks as if your unit was inflicted with the original petrol fuelled version. In later years the Diesel (multifuel) variety was much more reliable.

I agree, sounds like the Mk1 (B80 engine).
About '66, I was on the second FV432 course to go from our regt to Bovvy. When I got back to Munster I took a brand-new Mk2 on flick, I think there was 18 miles on the clock. Absolute bliss !
In later years, QOH saddled me with a scabby old Mk1, it was an underpowered heap of junk but I don't remember any of them catching fire. Stacking the cam nets next to a red hot exhaust was never a good idea though !

I can remember doing my `A` Mechs course in the late 70`s and asking why we weren`t being shown all about the FV 432`s that were there and being told that you don`t need to know about them as by the time you finish the course they will have been phased out.

Still being used now i believe.
40 years is a long time to phase some thing out.

Had to learn all about them `on the job` so to speak, as the first armoured vehicle i came across was an FV 434.
This is your `Barra` i was told, look after it.

brum wrote:

JPW wrote:

Nick

Looks as if your unit was inflicted with the original petrol fuelled version. In later years the Diesel (multifuel) variety was much more reliable.

I agree, sounds like the Mk1 (B80 engine).
About '66, I was on the second FV432 course to go from our regt to Bovvy. When I got back to Munster I took a brand-new Mk2 on flick, I think there was 18 miles on the clock. Absolute bliss !
In later years, QOH saddled me with a scabby old Mk1, it was an underpowered heap of junk but I don't remember any of them catching fire. Stacking the cam nets next to a red hot exhaust was never a good idea though !

Yep!.. The mk1 was a bit dodgy but the later ones were a big improvement. Most of the fires originated in the radio wiring apart from one where some oil had sprayed onto something very hot in the engine bay.. I remember collecting one from the workshops after a major refit. I got about 20k down the road when the thing filled up with acrid white smoke. I pulled over, looked behind and , through the thick smoke, I saw what looked like the fuse of a firework running round the bulkhead. By the time I found a spanner and disconnected the batteries, most of the armoured loom was destroyed and anything flammable in its way had been incinerated. I had just finished chucking up over the track when a GB registered car full of tourists pulled up behind me and a very posh sounding fella asked how to get to Paderborn ... totally ignoring the black, tear streaked face, red eyes, burn marks on my shirt ,half my breakfast down my front and smoke billowing out of the wagon. I promptly gave him directions but it wasn't to Paderborn.

Can't remember who my sky pilot was but he did the sensible thing and was out of there like a scalded cat.

Too many daft ( mis) adventures during my time with the 432's. Almost fried, almost drowned and everything in between. By comparison, my time with the Saracens was quite sedate with nothing more than a skinned thumb from the handbrake and a sprained ankle from a false neutral. Did go through a few left boots though.

[quote="Nick642"][quote="brum"][quote="JPW"]Nick

Yep!.. The mk1 was a bit dodgy but the later ones were a big improvement. Most of the fires originated in the radio wiring apart from one where some oil had sprayed onto something very hot in the engine bay.. I remember collecting one from the workshops after a major refit. I got about 20k down the road when the thing filled up with acrid white smoke. I pulled over, looked behind and , through the thick smoke, I saw what looked like the fuse of a firework running round the bulkhead. By the time I found a spanner and disconnected the batteries, most of the armoured loom was destroyed and anything flammable in its way had been incinerated. I had just finished chucking up over the track when a GB registered car full of tourists pulled up behind me and a very posh sounding fella asked how to get to Paderborn ... totally ignoring the black, tear streaked face, red eyes, burn marks on my shirt ,half my breakfast down my front and smoke billowing out of the wagon. I promptly gave him directions but it wasn't to Paderborn.

WOW ! One would think that at some stage in the proceedings you describe, a fuse would have blown !
Clearly, you had a dodgy old batch of FV432.

[quote="brum"][quote="Nick642"][quote="brum"]

JPW wrote:

Nick

Yep!.. The mk1 was a bit dodgy but the later ones were a big improvement. Most of the fires originated in the radio wiring apart from one where some oil had sprayed onto something very hot in the engine bay.. I remember collecting one from the workshops after a major refit. I got about 20k down the road when the thing filled up with acrid white smoke. I pulled over, looked behind and , through the thick smoke, I saw what looked like the fuse of a firework running round the bulkhead. By the time I found a spanner and disconnected the batteries, most of the armoured loom was destroyed and anything flammable in its way had been incinerated. I had just finished chucking up over the track when a GB registered car full of tourists pulled up behind me and a very posh sounding fella asked how to get to Paderborn ... totally ignoring the black, tear streaked face, red eyes, burn marks on my shirt ,half my breakfast down my front and smoke billowing out of the wagon. I promptly gave him directions but it wasn't to Paderborn.

WOW ! One would think that at some stage in the proceedings you describe, a fuse would have blown !
Clearly, you had a dodgy old batch of FV432.

Never got to use them much, but I thought 432's were great cabbies.

[quote="Nick642"][quote="brum"]

JPW wrote:

Nick

By comparison, my time with the Saracens was quite sedate with nothing more than a skinned thumb from the handbrake and a sprained ankle from a false neutral. Did go through a few left boots though.

I had my share of breakdowns in the Saracen.
I had a fluid coupling leak, once. BLUEBELL told me to keep it topped up, (Now THERE's an exercise in frustration !), but driving back from an exercise to Munster I got the shout that white smoke was coming from the engine compartment but to keep going because everybody wanted to get back to camp. I snatched a look over my shoulder and everybody had their gas masks on, a comical sight.
Needless to say, the coupling caught fire. But that's another story, one thing though, anyone remember the old "Pyrene" fire extinguishers ? Breathing the fumes from them that day nearly got me killed !

@Brum:

We had strict orders NEVER to use the 'Carbon Tet' fire extinguishers in a vehicle unless we wanted to die a horrible death.

Didn't the coupling have a sort of 'fishy' smell when it overheated ... or was that just my socks?

Just found this post and it has made me think. On my 434 I always kipped in that comfy space behind the engine. Only 434's had this. You could lay the drivers seat flat and with the commanders seat cushion make a warm, dry place to while away the hours with reading light and everything. We had a WO 11 called Ron Messenger at N battery, 2 fd who had an awning made up for the back of his 432 where he placed his bed in summer or kipped in the back if it was a bit chilly. Regardless of where he slept he would appear, first thing wearing pajamas, dressing gown and slippers looking refreshed and well groomed while we clambered out of various cramped spaces looking bedraggled.

I remember once, on excersise near Hameln ,chasing a 432 downstream trying to get the driver to catch a rope, as he had stalled the thing, before he encountered the weir. Oh! what fun. Not half as much fun as the German night club nearby though!!!

My main memory of 430 series were fixing the interminable hatch securing handles, shorting spanners out on the batteries, doing an injector change,( our workshop door had numerous dents where guys would chuck hammers to vent their frustration with the leak off pipe washers!) Oh! and the habit they had of destroying themselves when the hydraulic governor leaked all the oil out. I had to chop the pipes of a few to get them to stop. Don't get me started about the bloody shock absorber bushes and how the rubber "welded" itself to the mounting spigots. I could go on but let it be duly noted that they were a vast improvement on the Humber pigs they replaced.

Quick one about Stalwarts. What was the huge design flaw they had? First correct answer will receive a tin of sausage and beans warmed up down the exhaust pipe of an Abbot.

Happy days.

Would it be transmission wind up by any chance Steve.

Never mind all that crap, tell us about the German Night Club! Design fault with the Stalwart had to be the engine access under the deck plates - especially if you were carrying 4 pallets of 105mm ammo and no HIAB. Where do I collect my Rats?

Dunno if this is a repeat but....


FV431 Armoured load carrier - one prototype produced
FV432 Armoured Personnel Carrier
FV433 Field Artillery, Self-Propelled "Abbot" - 105 mm self propelled gun built by Vickers.
FV434 "Carrier, Maintenance, Full Tracked" - REME Maintenance carrier with hydraulically driven crane
FV435 Wavell communications vehicle
FV436 Command and control - some fitted with Green Archer radar, later Cymbeline radar.
FV437 Pathfinder vehicle - based on FV432 with integral buoyancy and other waterjets - prototyped only.
FV438 Swingfire - Guided missile launcher.
FV439 Signals vehicle - Many variants.
FV430 Mk3 Bulldog - Upgraded troop carrier that began serving in Iraq in December 2006.

There were different support weapon fit outs but I dont think these got seperate FV id's (correct me if thats wrong)

81mm Mortar Carrier
WOMBAT 120mm RCL
There was also a bar that could be fitted across the deck hatch to mount a Charlie G (apparently never saw one)

There Drop Shorts has them to move various bits of kit round - BATES, FACE, Cymberline Mortar Location Radar and Ground Survelance Radar

The Basic Battle Taxi had variants with a GPMG Turret and some (very few) with 30mm Raden Cannon (werent these deployed in Berlin???)