You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. The british army did have a very good working environment back in 2012. The new face of war in the 1990 s this british tank driver was a member of the 1st armoured division. Army drivers are trained to maintain, service and drive these. Vintage us army tank recognition blueprint aid design from the 1980s to help soldiers identify tanks and armored fighting vehicles both friendly and enemy on the battlefield with schematic style blueprints of the main battle tanks and other combat vehicles with statistics and description, ideal gift for model makers and collectors of historical and moden war machines and tank. The birmingham railway carriage and wagon company was the design parent of the british cromwell tank and the a34 cruiser tank comet. British tank crushes learner driver s car in germany. The fv432 can be converted for use in water, when it has a speed of 6kmh. A tank transporter is a combination of a heavy tractor unit and mating semitrailer, typically of the lowboy type, used for transporting tanks. The royal tank regiment rtr is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the british army in 1916 during the first world war. The corps saw much action at the battle of cambrai in. The 18yearold german motorist encountered a convoy of british military vehicles in the. The m48 patton medium tank was the most common united states tank to be used during the vietnam war. Desert ubacs new british army under body armour combat shirt.
The cromwell tank, officially tank, cruiser, mk viii, cromwell a27m, was one of the series of cruiser tanks fielded by britain in the second world war. Located in uvalde texas on the ox ranch we are the only place in the world where you can drive and shoot real tanks, artillery, and machine guns in one location. The first commander of the tank corps was hugh elles. It combines speed, momentum, firepower and reconnaissance capabilities with armoured fighting vehicles such as the challenger 2 main battle tank and jackal fighting vehicle. The us army was already using some loaned french army renault ft tanks as well as a few british mk. Centurion a41 main battle tank mbt military factory. The fv4034 challenger 2 mod designation cr2 is a third generation british main battle. Some also function as tank recovery vehicles, the tractors of which may be armored for protection in combat conditions. The royal corps of transport consisted of a number of different specialist trades. Combat trousers ripstop soldier 95 style woodland dpm camo trousers new.
Driver was the primary trade of the rct and as such private soldiers held the rank driver. Only five percent of challenger 2 components are interchangeable with its predecessor, which has had more than 150 major modifications including a completely new turret, l30 charm 120mm gun and second generation. Four ex british army comet tanks were delivered to the irish army in 1959 and a further four in 1960. Armoured fighting vehicles of the irish army wikipedia. British army cloth trade badges are embroidered onto different coloured backings depending on regimental tradition. These badges are also made in different materials depending on the pattern of. A new recruits diary on joining the army as a tank driver. You need to assume a platoon level ranks for four tanks. In service since 1998, the british army s challenger 2 main battle tank is reaching middle age, and the ministry of defence is looking to extend its life until 2025. The m1 armor crewman 19k is responsible for loading and firing guns, and operating armored equipment to destroy enemy positions. The four tcs would be slotted as a 1lt as the platoon leader, a sfc platoon sergeant, and two staff sergeants wingmen of the pl and psg. One of the biggest challenges in this respect was not being hit by bullets or rpgs. Tank driver in france, 1944 by raf cosford roadshow. In british army service, the centurion eventually gave way to the aforementioned chieftain main battle tank.
If you join as a junior soldier under 17 years 5 months, youll do a 49week basic military training course at harrogate. An army tank commander leads a crew of soldiers to operate a tank on the battlefield. They are trained in the art of information gathering by stealth, both from vehicles and on foot, providing information 24hours a day to commanders in all weather conditions. The cr2 is based on the challenger 1 tank, which served with distinction on operations in the gulf war and the balkans. My time at the royal tank regiment british army rtr. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the british armys 12th armoured. Tourists look on openmouthed as a 16tonne british army vehicle is taken for a drive round the streets of london twentyfoot long tank rolled past some of. Jun 02, 2015 british tank crushes german teenage learners car 18yearold german driver drove into a column of british tanks travelling through the small town of augustdorf, but escaped unharmed. Exemptions to driving rules for military drivers gov. Youll get to work in different roles including driver, gunner and loader. The light tanks were kept in use for training until around 1942.
The m1 armor crewman is responsible for operating armored equipment such as the m1a2 abrams to destroy enemy positions. Nato has released a video unpacking the kit carried by the british army kings royal hussars, but what to do tankers carry on patrol. Military trade, qualification and occupation badges. The corps was created by combining cavalry units and the royal tank. Jun 02, 2015 berlin, germany a young driver had a lucky escape when her toyota car was partially crushed by a tank. An american army light tank platoon consisted of five vehicles that were a combination of machine gun only and 37 mm cannon gun tanks. May 14, 2019 glider elements added another tactical advantage in that they could deliver heavier payloads namely jeeps, supplies and artillery but still there was no better solution in dealing with the new generation of enemy tank. Jun 05, 20 to help them carry out their duties british military personnel and visiting members of the armed forces have a number of driving exemptions. Challenger 2 cr2 is the british armys main battle tank. Instead, the commander used a series of kicks to relay instructions to the driver seated below him. We enjoyed all of the time that we spent driving the tanks, firing the machine guns and especially for all the time everybody spent answering our questions and telling us all the stories.
Jun 23, 2015 challenger 2 driver training toby davison. If you join as a regular soldier over 17 years 1 month, youll do the regular 14week adult basic training. A talented exarmy tank driver has taken to advertising himself on twitter in. Some also function as tank recovery vehicles, the tractors of which may be armored for protection in combat conditions used on the road, tank transporters limit the wear on tracks and drive trains of tracked vehicles. As well as providing a physical advantage, the royal tank regiment plays an important psychological role. Tanks have heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield manoeuvrability provided by tracks and a powerful engine. Heavy equipment transportermulti combination up to 110 tonnes to carry the abrams main battle tank a driver driver specialist dvr spec is a soldier who operates and manages army vehicles in combat support and combat service support roles, by day and by night, on all forms of roads including off road as required, carrying a variety of. The driver is responsible for controlling the tank when travelling and, most importantly, for manoeuvring during battle.
It includes small arms, combat vehicles, aircraft, watercraft, artillery and transport vehicles. Tankdriving grounds of the 51st and 56th army training regiments. India, iraq, israel, kuwait, new zealand all retired their world war 2era centurions with other comparable modern types. Teen drivers car crushed by british tank in augustdorf, germany. The ministry of defence say that they will keep a number of tanks in storage and will be able to regenerate if needed. News uk home news british army reduced to one single tank regiment. British women in wwii by world of tanks military history. But the budget cuts, redundancy brackets along with the hit the economy is currently taking, the british army is at an all time low. There are a total of 14 korean war tanks 19501953 entries in the military factory. The boxer armoured vehicle and the british army think defence. The main battle tank thus took on the role the british had once called the universal tank, exemplified by the centurion, filling almost all battlefield roles. The tank crews are a unique part of the british army and they have a certain style, often coming across as elitist, eccentric or a walking pamphlet.
To help them carry out their duties british military personnel and visiting members of the armed forces have a number of driving exemptions. Great bunch of lads from tank drivers to tank commanders. Be part of a fourman crew who live, work and fight from the british army s most impressive armoured vehicle take on the only role in the british army that allows you to become a tank driver enjoy a varied role and opportunities to travel. An order for a further 259 tanks and 9 driver trainers worth. Watch all the action of a british army armoured vehicle driver training day.
This is a list of equipment of the british army currently in use. What was it like to be a tank driver in the british army in. Army tank commanders belong to the royal armoured corp. They also wanted to buy a platform armored fighting vehicle. The bradley fighting vehicle brings infantry squads to the fight and helps protect them against armored opponents. The driver is the most important role of the crew, if the driver goes wrong way, the enemy round pierces your weak armor, ripping your crew bits by bits inside and your tanks engine begins to aflame, burning inside. Typical main battle tanks were as well armed as any other vehicle on the battlefield, highly mobile, and well armoured. British army reduced to one single tank regiment the. While the british tanks had crews of up to 12, this one was controlled by a driver sitting in the front and the turret by the commandergunner directly behind him.
British tank crushes german teenage learners car telegraph. British army leave tank fest in convoy tank fest 2016 duration. The wwi tank that helped change warfare forever bbc future. The driver of the tank, a 24yearold british serviceman, wasnt able to bring his challenger 2 tank to a stop in time. My time at the royal tank regiment british army rtr challenger 2 average joe airsoft. Exarmy tank driver, 42, with 26 different driving licences is turned. Modern tanks are versatile mobile land weapon system.
Armoured vehicle driver training training army jobs youtube. British tank crushes german teenage learners car 18yearold german driver drove into a column of british tanks travelling through the small town of augustdorf, but escaped unharmed. Out on operation, the driver didnt have access to the tools, personnel or parts necessary to remedy damage taken during battle. In swiss army service, the tank was eventually given up for good for the newer german leopard 2 series. See what its like to drive a tank and hear from our tank crewmen.
Rachael and i wanted to thank you and everybody else for their hospitality on saturday during the drive a tank event. I type a was used in north west europe during 1945. The fv 430 family of armoured vehicles entered service with the british army in the 1960s, but regular maintenance and improvements including a new power train have enabled this old workhorse to remain in service into the 21st century. Entries are listed below in alphanumeric order 1toz. The royal logistics corps the biggest corps in the british army. A powerful engine, heavy armour, and massive firepower. As the allies make their final push in the european theatre, a battlehardened army sergeant named wardaddy brad pitt commands a sherman tank and her fiveman crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Our fv101 scorpion light tank is our newest addition, having previously served in the british army as an armored reconnaissance tank. Us army best tank crew competition sullivan cup youtube. This is how hitlers panzerfaust became a world war ii tank. This is a list of regiments within the british army s royal armoured corps during world war ii on the creation of the corps in 1939, just before the outbreak of world war ii, it comprised those regular cavalry and territorial army yeomanry regiments that had been mechanised, together with the royal tank regiment. I was a lorry driver in civvy street before i joined, which enabled me to become a military driver more quickly than most of my colleagues as there was no licence acquisition involved.
British army tank commander stuart hills experienced the panzerfausts power during the initial battles in northern belgium that preceded operation market garden. Your little gunners seat or drivers cab will become your home for weeks on end. The challenger 2 is the third vehicle of this name, the first being the a30 challenger, a world war ii design using the cromwell tank chassis with a 17pounder gun. In 1914, a british army colonel named ernest swinton and william hankey, secretary of. It consists of 77 headquarters squadron, 8 fuel squadron, 91 supply squadron based in aldershot and 19 tank transporter squadron based in bulford. The british developed the tank in response to the trench warfare of world war i. Our driver stops and instantly the rear is a mass of.
It was first deployed in 1918, used in action during the closing months of world war i, and in the allied intervention in the russian civil war on the white russian side, and by the red army, after they were captured. The contribution by civilian men and women to the british war effort was acknowledged with the use of the term home front to describe the battles that were being fought on a domestic level with rationing, recycling, and war work, such as in munitions factories and farms, which allowed more young men to join the military. Find the perfect gulf war british army 1991 stock photo. Apr 08, 2011 this entry was posted on october 4, 2009 at 12. The noise inside a running tank was so loud the commander could not communicate with the driver. Bae systems bid provides glimpse into the future of. The north carolina army national guard tank crew placed 1st. List of royal armoured corps regiments in world war ii. It was up to the driver to, using whatever he had available to him, keep the tank running. Flag images indicative of country of origin and not necessarily the primary operator.
I was in my last year in school and knew i needed to apply for a job for when i left school. Borglum and his father decided it would be fun to start collecting british army vehicles. A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle designed for frontline combat. What is it like being a tank crewman in the british army. Driver responsible for general duties and driver tasks. The comet was armed with a 77 mm hv gun and 2 besa 7. Equipped with challenger 2 or main battle tanks, these. Since the end of the cold war, the british army has been deployed to a number of conflict zones, often as part of an. Highlights from the 2016 sullivan cup best tank crew competition, held at ft. Black overall tank regiment coverall genuine army issue boilersuit, used graded stock. The royal armoured corp is the modern day version of the cavalry who would have ridden into battle on horseback.
Mariya vasilyevna oktyabrskaya was born into a peasant family on the crimean. The 10 regular and 4 reserve regiments are descendants of the famous cavalry regiments who rode into battle on horseback and of the royal tank regiment, who manned the very first tanks during the great war world war 1. Only five percent of challenger 2 components are interchangeable with its predecessor, which has had more than 150 major modifications including a completely new turret, l30 charm 120mm gun and second generation chobham armour. John smith, extank crewman, challenger 2, british army. Tanks and fighting vehicles the heavyweight champions of the battlefield. Armoured regiments are responsible for what the british army call shock attack on the battlefield. As part of the tank and armor unit, they are ready to defend our country anywhere in the world. The british army were pioneers in tank combat but by 1939 it could be argued they were behind the times in terms of strategy and tactics, their methods based on the trench warfare of world war i. Basically, your weak armored tank is going up against germanys tanks that were engineered to become your worst enemy beside japanese suicide attackers rolling under your tank and priming the explosives. The royal armoured corps rac provides the armour capability of the british army.
Browse army roles find your perfect fit british army jobs. Ex army tank driver, 42, with 26 different driving licences is turned down from 790 jobs carl bear randelleyre, 42, served with the armed forces for 23 years he can drive tanks, cranes, trucks. The tank entered service with the british army in 1998, with the last delivered in 2002. Modern tanks are versatile mobile land weapon system platforms that have a mounted largecalibre cannon called tank gun in a rotating gun turret supp. The british army entered world war ii with an array of poor designs and hobbled by poor doctrine. Then youll begin the specialist training you need to become a driver. This wasnt as easy as it sounds, given that the gear setup of a tank in the 1940s was more akin to that of tractor than an automobile. As a tank crewman youll drive and operate this amazing vehicle as part of a fourstrong team. Take your next step towards joining the british army. Browse army roles, soldier, officer and reservist through the role finder to find your perfect fit. The design was somewhat similar in concept to multiturreted breakthrough tanks developed in europe in the 1920s and throughout the 1930s, such as the 1925 british vickers a1e1 independent or the soviet t35 of the early 1930s, albeit on a much more powerful scale. As a result of this, when the second world war began in september 1939, the vast majority of the tanks available to the british army were mk vis there were 1,002 mk vi light tanks. Severe budget cutbacks were to severely harm the service lives of.
She was the first female tanker to be awarded the hero of the soviet union award. Therefore the british army began looking into a modern airtransportable vehicle in the 1950s which lead to the fv4401. Theres a small community of collectors in the united states, so the men didnt. Tax paying money is being wasted on useless advertisements for the british army. A british army tank driver descends from a challengers 2 tank of the 5th battalion the rifles after the tank and other heavy vehicles arrived by ship at paldiski, estonia. A tank commander and his driver sit in their ft17 light tank with the hatches open. The scorpion saw combat in the falklands and gulf wars. Eventually you can even qualify to command your own tank. This british light tank was designed to be fast and nimble and with a top speed of 51 mph. This is the 3rd comet to come off the production line photo. Tank crews in wwii who did what in a tank military history.
The army relies on a wide range of vehicles to transport soldiers as well as supplies like fuel, ammunition, rations and spare parts. The british mark v tank was an upgraded version of the mark iv tank. British tank crushes learner drivers car in germany bbc. The british army is the principal land warfare force of the united kingdom, a part of british armed forces. This is a quick introduction on how i joined the army and chose the regiment of my choice. The fv4034 challenger 2 mod designation cr2 is a third generation british main battle tank mbt in service with the armies of the united kingdom and oman. What was it like to be a tank driver in the british army. Army puts boots on the ground, we back them up with treads. Named after the english civil war leader oliver cromwell, the cromwell was the first tank put into service by the british to combine high speed from a powerful and reliable engine the rollsroyce meteor, and reasonable armour. Soldiers are commonly assigned to an armored unit in support of army missions as a loader or driver for an m1 abrams tank.
Each member of the crew contributes to the commanders situational awareness. Reconnaissance troops are an essential element in the gathering of battlefield intelligence. A british army tank driver descends from a challengers 2. As the war progressed and further horsed regiments were mechanised, they joined. Yet they were cheap enough to be built in large numbers. Armoured vehicle driver training training army jobs. They are a mainstay of modern 20th and 21st century ground forces and a key part of combined arms combat. Miniarts 5th scale wwi era british military lorry btype miniart continues to build on their wwi and typeb series lines with this a new truck from. The m1 armor crewman is responsible for operating armored. The second was the persian gulf war era challenger 1, which was the british army s main battle tank mbt from the early 1980s to the mid1990s. The regiments of the royal armoured corps form the core of the british armys mounted close combat capability. Military proficiency, trade, occupation and qualification embroidered cloth patches for sale.
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