I was a mechanic on board a Bergepanzer between 1978-1980 in the Belgian army. During the NATO exercises, we were only 2 on board. I slept lying inside the tank and my fellow driver placed the boom of the crane approximately in the middle of the rear shelf and put a tarpaulin on top to make a camping tent. With the heat from the engine, it had heating for about 10 hours. In the morning, I turned on the main ignition and turned on the internal heating (which can be seen just behind where the orange pipe is attached). I waited 10 minutes in my sleeping bag and then I got out since it was around 20° Celsius. It was a very good machine, we did a lot of recovery of tanks stuck in the mud. It was the happiest time of my life.
@contributor721910 ай бұрын
These were my favourite toy during my RAEME career. As you say Jason, in my humble opinion the ARVMs were possibly the most versatile bit of kit we ever bought. The reccy mechs could do just about anything with one of these, and they are an absolute hotrod to drive. It was an unfathomable decision not to keep these in service. I think the one that was based at 'The Centre' is still a runner, though I'm not sure if that will continue once those displays all go to their new home. Of all the bits of kit I came across during my career, it's the ARVMs I miss the most. Great to see one being covered in detail.
@frostedbutts434010 ай бұрын
Huh, didn't realize there isn't a matching Abrams engineer vehicle
@contributor721910 ай бұрын
@@frostedbutts4340 There's the M88, which don't get me wrong is a great recovery vehicle in it's own right, but it just doesn't have the versatility of the Leopard ARVM. The crane on the ARVM capable of doing millimetre-precise lifting jobs. The ARVM also has a neat party trick, which is that it can change its own power pack. Jason is quite right, had we kept the Leo ARVMs alongside the M88s we got later, the ARVM's could have continued to work their magic.
@wekker09010 ай бұрын
Our crew would sleep on the dek in colder conditions, the residual heat of the engine would keep them nice and warm, a tarp was used as cover.
@gerardhogan310 ай бұрын
I was wondering that when I saw the flat surface on the rear!
@ennok423110 ай бұрын
In Canadian service, the engine sling was known as the 'back-deck finger pinching device' because you inevitably got a glove or a finger caught in it when you were trying to remove the back deck of a Leopard to get at the power pack.
@brianj.84110 ай бұрын
Well, there wasn't a turret-monster to do it. :)
@PropperNaughtyGeezer10 ай бұрын
I served one of these myself. When I was younger and fit through the hatch. An excellent device. Powerful, sensitive and relatively fast and you have space and a good heater. You can live there for weeks with the usual two-man crew. The second door contains external starting cables, Chainsaws, Motorflex, impact wrenches and a few other devices. That changes occasionally and an electric flame cutter/welding machine. As an experiment, we had an aircraft APU as a power generator. They won't have taken it over. It was louder than the tank. The gearbox shifter here is the new version. We still had the semi-automatic. It was more fun and more similar to that of the Panther or Tiger. He's a little thirsty. I once flushed 500 liters through the engine for a transfer from the Verden area to Bergen. About 40km as the crow flies. Well, I had a Marder on the trailing scissors. But it also ran 65 kmh in this combination.
@lysanderkrieg547410 ай бұрын
We should never have chosen 0/0 Abrams over the Leo 2. Didn't even trial the Abrams. And yes, totally agree, they are a good ARV.
@depleteduraniumcowboy351610 ай бұрын
Recovery vehicles are fascinating. Being able to have pack on the back is clever.
@laurisikio10 ай бұрын
Has anyone heard about the famous Packback leopard and its new popular dance?
@depleteduraniumcowboy351610 ай бұрын
@@laurisikio arguably the best reply to any of my comments ever. Someone must prompt an AI to come up with a picture of this.
@causewaykayak10 ай бұрын
Great production - nice to get the expert view. I suppose every army can say something about the 'logic' of military procurement 😊 AusArmour provides a global audience with a balanced diet of history and workshop. Great Job and Thanks !
@Curlyween10 ай бұрын
Love the Leopard vehicle series. I was able to visit the Deutsches Panzermuseum Munster in Germany last year and they have the full evolution of the Leopards from early prototype through to the latest Leopard 2. Very impressive. I was lucky enough to drive an Australian Army Leopard at Monegeetta Proving Ground back in the early 90's. Biggest thrill of my life!
@nauticalvideos250610 ай бұрын
These video's with Jason are great! Please keep them coming!
@wrecks0210 ай бұрын
I remember in about '97, 2 D9 cats got bogged doing reclamation work beside Tiger Brennan drive... the second got stuck trying to recover the first... At the time there was nothing 'yellow' in Darwin big enough to pull them out, so a phone call was made... ARVM went for a little drive, single pull (I think), both cats back on dry land...
@jdshqs10 ай бұрын
didnt they have to get them out again when that crane went awol into the drain next to tiger?
@wrecks0210 ай бұрын
nfi...Possibly after I left on posting... I was carting the ARVMs around the Territory because (apparently) I got on the right side of the wreckymechs... though I did have a few favourite crewies among the gun tanks...
@Slaktrax10 ай бұрын
Agreed Jason. They are a brilliant vehicle. Probably does a better job than the Abrams (which I don't rate at all) Australia should have gone to the Leo 2.
@micemb257010 ай бұрын
I definitely agree, the leopard 2s are a beast and would've been far simpler logistically following the leopard 1
@sunil_de685610 ай бұрын
Saw these in action during the flooding catastrophe in the summer of 2021 in Germany. For being a vehicle designed to revoer tanks they are surprisingly good at cleaning up destroyed houses
@georgesmith570810 ай бұрын
In 1985 in my town in Italy we had an exceptional snowfall, about two meters high in one single day. Very unusual as we are in the plain near Milan, were the average winter snow was no more than 30 to 40 centimeters each time. The local Army barracks Leopards RVs were used to clean the streets. I was a young boy. I still remember looking down at the tanks working in the snow from my window, during the night, after they woke me up with their engines roar. Their sound and their lights reflecting on the white snow in the dark.... something a young boy will never forget. Never. By the way, when I attended my military service ten years later....I met them again, and this time as part of the crew!
@TheVandalo7610 ай бұрын
meccanico carri 1995 132° reggimento carri ariete, caserma zappala..italia.. lo usavo tutti i giorni per estrarre il motore all leopard 1A2..bei ricordi... grande carro soccorso
@russwoodward825110 ай бұрын
I find the recovery vehicles the most fascinating type of armored vehicles. Thank you Jason and Aus Armour.
@luvtruckin10 ай бұрын
Jason it's so cool when you post a video I really enjoy your knowledge and presentation.
@simonrooney794210 ай бұрын
Entertainment and educational. Thanks Jason.
@ricksmith473610 ай бұрын
Listening to Jason describe these vehicles is like having a trainer go over it with you.... EXCELLENT job as always Jason
@danmeehan139010 ай бұрын
I served for 36 years in the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. I have required the use of the Leo ARV on several occasions, including a 2:1 pull on the winch. Our mechanics would put the power pack on the ground and use the back cover on the back deck as their sleeping quarters!
@0Turbox10 ай бұрын
Means it could lift whole turrets, damn impressive.
@alecfraser192810 ай бұрын
Most interesting Jason. Looks a very well designed piece of kit.
@AdamWeber-pi1gs10 ай бұрын
I have of course seen photographs of this monster, but many thanks for the video walkaround and your expert commentary.
@obsidianjane441310 ай бұрын
@8:45 Did they get M-88s as part of the M-1 Abrams buy? You guys should try to source an M-88 ARV since they are so similar but different approaches to the same problem.
@bobbroadhurst164810 ай бұрын
Awesome, really enjoyed that Jason
@jamesbelcher937410 ай бұрын
Can you please do a review on the “Yeramba self-propelled 25 Pounder Tank” it’s so rare, and there are no videos on KZbin anywhere about this rare Australian tank…
@jacobcox19810 ай бұрын
thank you for that great talk cheers mate
@nevillegoddard496610 ай бұрын
Excellent presentation! 😃👍!
@herosstratos10 ай бұрын
Armored recovery vehicles are always important force multipliers. When assessing the importance of this recovery vehicle with its special capabilities, one should also consider that the Leopard MBT and the Marder AIFV were specially developed so that they can be repaired quickly and easily.
@Max_Flashheart10 ай бұрын
Smart thinking and what a beast
@korbendallas7110 ай бұрын
Awesome thanks for the vid. Favourite piece of armour.
@glengrant388410 ай бұрын
FKN BRILLIANT JASON!!💥💪KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!💥👍👊💚💛
@nosnhoj9910 ай бұрын
Can you guys do a video on your shooting range?
@meddy83310 ай бұрын
We used the same system to check and adjust the track. We used a penny and Lincoln's nose was the mark for track tension. Memories. We had M88s in my day. Great stuff.
@herosstratos10 ай бұрын
Back in the day, it was the diameter of a cigarette ...
@meddy83310 ай бұрын
@@herosstratos I heard of using that as well. Good memory
@MGB-learning10 ай бұрын
Always an outstanding presentation by Jason!
@ottovonbismarck244310 ай бұрын
Fun fact: when the crane hydraulics have an internal leak, the fluid reaches a level of 3,5 cm inside the (really comfortable) crew compartment and it takes one recruit and the TC half a day to clean. This gets ridiculous when your own tank workshop can fix any tank/APC/IFV/truck except the own recovery tank.
@danmeehan139010 ай бұрын
The LEO 1 ARVs were great pieces of kit
@davedickinson8222 ай бұрын
Small interesting snippet. Mercedes hub caps fitted inside the final drive hubs. Seen on a demonstration by the the local Panzer battalion at 7 Armd Wksp REME Fallingbostel early 80s.
@patchmack446910 ай бұрын
Big fan of the ARV, and pleased you have one to give us a walk round - personally i now favour the ARV3 the Kodiak, fantastic system and has way more functionality than it first appears - something i would very much like to get my hands on and use in a civil mode with out all the military equipment - the adverts suggest some roles of use and comes as a perfect platform although my only concerns are weight and performance over inaccessible terrain - nuff said, all very cryptic haha - but when your in need of a descent engineering tool, the ARVs have strength in bucket loads
@smalcolmbrown10 ай бұрын
Thanks :)
@michaelscaplis10 ай бұрын
Interesting the gear shifter and direction switch is different than on the Belgian Bergepanzer 2. I can confirm that it’s a lovely vehicle to drive.
@Daniel-S1Ай бұрын
Thanks.
@davidkimmel421610 ай бұрын
Very interesting. Thank you
@54mgtf2210 ай бұрын
Very interesting 👍
@drmarkintexas-40010 ай бұрын
🎖️🏆🤗⭐🙏 Thank you for sharing
@ianbell561110 ай бұрын
Very good. Another great video. Cheers
@andrewfieldhouse364110 ай бұрын
Hi Jason, great video on a great track. I more than concur with your thoughts on keeping the ARVMs in service and to thnk some were used as range targets. Unbelievable!
@AndrewC.McPherson-xf5zw5 ай бұрын
Super cool.
@johnnewman36610 ай бұрын
Jason, mate, yet another very informative video, thumbs up! Any progress getting the broken (stuck in workshop) Leo 1 up and running soonish? Still hard to obtain parts? And one last question, does the Oz Army still have any ‘stored’ bits that could get the Leo 1 running, sooner than later? Cheers,
@jasonbelgrave283110 ай бұрын
Hopefully the parts we need will arrive in the next week or two. I'm also keen to get this vehicle back up and running as its a crowd favourite at AusArmourFest.
@johnnewman36610 ай бұрын
Mate, that’s good news, she’s been sitting, forlorn, in the background of the workshop for far too long. Cheers,
@jamessuman215110 ай бұрын
Be cool to see an "Aus armour games" episode with the recovery vehicle, split the team into crews of two, have a driving course challenge, lift some things challenge, winch something out challenge, tow something challenge, do some pioneering challenge, stuff like that
@danpatterson800910 ай бұрын
That looks like something straight out of The Road Warrior.
@fredrikgustafsson8Ай бұрын
I picked up one of these in poland that whent to a museum in austrailia i droped it in gothenburg maybe it was this one it shiped whitout tracks...
@MikeDudley-b4b10 ай бұрын
Excellent.
@rudivandoornegat23716 ай бұрын
I think it is never shown in these kind of tour videos of armoured vehicles how the seats work, while for me I'm so interested how a driver, commander, etc. can sit with his head out of the hatch or completely inside.
@jumi934210 ай бұрын
I wish I had insisted on getting on a tank when I joined the army, still regretting it 12 years later
@juannixs152410 ай бұрын
When Restoring the Super Heavy German E-100 Hull? Like finding it in Scrapyard
@SteamCrane10 ай бұрын
How does this compare with the US M88 series? That might be an interesting video. Unfortunate that joint developments never work out.
@chrisperrien705510 ай бұрын
Scary how much that looks like an M88.
@alfredpedneau959810 ай бұрын
Do yall have a Dragon Wagon ???
@IntrospectorGeneral10 ай бұрын
No M-25 in the display collection.
@Cadfael00710 ай бұрын
The Bergepanzer based on the Leopard is called "Büffel" (buffalo) in Germany.
@chkoehler887910 ай бұрын
Only the Bergepanzer 3 is called Büffel and based of the Leopard 2. This is a Bergepanzer 2 or Standard and based of the Leopard 1
@AndrewC.McPherson-xf5zw5 ай бұрын
Look at the shackle sizes
@ricksmith473610 ай бұрын
is this the vehicle that I see you move vehicles around with?
@agn8559 ай бұрын
It is.
@yattaran148410 ай бұрын
Thank you for posting !. Shortage of those vehicle made German forces to abandon precious Panzers at the front in World War 2.
@tedstrikertwa80010 ай бұрын
That's fckn cool 👍
@Rogster55910 ай бұрын
Is this the same system as the bridge transport tank or are they a completely different configuration
@dawshill140010 ай бұрын
Same system; Kampfpanzer Leopard 1, Bergepanzer 1 Standard (Bueffel), Pionierpanzer 1 (Biber), FlakPanzer (Gepard) and Brueckenlegepanzer.
@marcbrasse74710 ай бұрын
Real world Thunderbird rescue vehicle!
@AndrewC.McPherson-xf5zw5 ай бұрын
After a maul both sides could find themselves trying to recover kit. Makes for interesting night.
@steven956210 ай бұрын
Have you got a chieftain tank
@RoFKillaBacon10 ай бұрын
who makes those blue pants beau is always wearing
@AndrewC.McPherson-xf5zw5 ай бұрын
Wow
@stanislavczebinski99410 ай бұрын
According to the manufacturer, these things had enough battery power to remove it's own engine and lift a replacement in. AFAIK, nobody has ever tested that in reality. If you want to give it a go - would surely make a great youtube video!! Greetings from Germany!!
@contributor721910 ай бұрын
There's no need to do it with battery power to run the hydraulics, you can use extended lines to run the power pack you are removing while you are removing it, or run the vehicle from the power pack you are installing. It's been done many, many times.
@banditbandit770510 ай бұрын
Leopard 2 Abrams?
@davidbarnsley848610 ай бұрын
Why we didn’t just go leopard 2 I just don’t know Defence is its own worst enemy most of the time
@Ganiscol10 ай бұрын
When the Abrams is chosen over the Leopard 2, it is usually because the US government sweetened the deal to the point most wont say no...
@alexanderzink987710 ай бұрын
Dieser Berge Panzer ist halt durchdacht und vielseitig wie ein schweizer Taschenmesser, nicht umsonst ist dieser Panzer bei anderen Nationen recht beliebt.
@poppyrider554110 ай бұрын
Some more wide shots to get a sense of scale would be appreciated.
1:17 ball mount MG! ..... for sure a German design, and .... that MG3 was never mounted.
@kirankrishnars908910 ай бұрын
❤❤
@Joeschmo77610 ай бұрын
I love bergepanzers
@AndrewC.McPherson-xf5zw5 ай бұрын
Lets push up some dirt. Make a mound to hide behind.
@Rusty_Gold8510 ай бұрын
Its needed for the Woolworths CEO multi million dollar lump sum payout
@HK9410 ай бұрын
👍
@ianatkinson846410 ай бұрын
😎👍
@bardapenes829910 ай бұрын
The Norwegian army that Tank
@bebo480710 ай бұрын
Why did Australia have a vehicle for recovering alcoholics? Why were alcoholics allowed in the navy?
@paninaro-zq9hx10 ай бұрын
I have watched a lot of videos with this fellow talking, he is a mathematician but doesn't know it.
@ronsteelable940510 ай бұрын
1410 Liters with a range of 800 to 900 km gives this thing a fuel mileage of 1.3 to 1.5 mpg. Oof
@SteamCrane10 ай бұрын
If you state it in terms of ton-miles, it isn't so bad.
@66kbm10 ай бұрын
Unfortunately Jason, as much as you and the other operators of this machine loved it and saw its extended life at no extra cost to the Military Budget, that's not how both Govt and Politics work.
@ABrit-bt6ce10 ай бұрын
Neat toy. Aren't all the cheap spares in or heading to Ukraine.
@simonmarsden6610 ай бұрын
Are you ex RAEME Jason?
@jasonbelgrave283110 ай бұрын
Not ex RAEME, but ex RAAC... the RAEME guys were worth their weight in gold who operated these vehicles. Day or Night they kept the Regt running.
@simonmarsden6610 ай бұрын
@@jasonbelgrave2831 I loved my time with the RAC (ex REME), and my son did 15 yrs in Cav. These vids are the closest I get to a tank now 🤣
@rambletonne10 ай бұрын
as a faithfuil satrapy I believe Australia should throw cash at the US whenever possible and irregardless of consequence. Thank you for the video.
@brothermaynard320010 ай бұрын
Better value than all the foreign aid we give. At least the US is useful. Unlike every other nation that doesn't speak English, eats insects, cats, dogs, or bats, and doesn't have flushing toilets. Where are you from? 😅
@rambletonne10 ай бұрын
@@brothermaynard3200 Sydney. My comment was citical of how we use our defence spend more then whether we should spend it at all. If i had my way we'd still be making cars in Victoria and Adelaide with Fed Gov subsidies as part of our secutity spending. Foreign aid serves a different purpose entirely.
@brothermaynard320010 ай бұрын
@@rambletonne No argument there. But while Australia needs to increase self-sufficiency as part of irs security, and ensure defence spending is well suited to its strategic circumstances, it still needs as much access to American military technology as it can get. That said, Australia can't expect others to respect it until it respects itself. We don't need a spirit of submission and appeasement - be that to the US or any other nation.
Jason just bloody well stop using your experience and make practical decisions, e.g. keep those in service when Abrams came into service. Army never makes poor decisions that waste tax payer funds
@AndrewC.McPherson-xf5zw5 ай бұрын
Unresl
@tanthaman10 ай бұрын
This guy has a weird voice
@brothermaynard320010 ай бұрын
Not as weird as your lineage.. Incest a problem was it? 😂
@brothermaynard320010 ай бұрын
You have weird ancestry. The problem is what? PS. Incest a problem was it?
@SteamCrane10 ай бұрын
It's Aussie regional, I'm getting used to it. There is so much good knowledge conveyed that a voice doesn't matter.
@simperous430810 ай бұрын
Can’t you find someone who speaks better English to narrate this? “To be able to necessitate recovery”… 😂😂
@brothermaynard320010 ай бұрын
Skilled player of the pink oboe are you? 😅 I bet you just love playing with it all night long...
@graemewatkins553510 ай бұрын
We’re here for the tanks bro, not English lessons. You’re on the wrong site for Shakespeare recitals