FV 434

FV434 ARMOURED REPAIR VEHICLE

Used by the R.E.M.E. (Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers) since the 1960’s the FV434 is part of the FV430 family and is still in service today but will soon to be phased out.

Its primary role is the repair of damaged and disabled fighting vehicles as its 3 ton Hiab crane makes it capable of changing the power packs of Centurion and Chieftain tanks as well as other vehicles in the FV430 series.

The Hiab crane is situated on the right side of the vehicle and has a lifting capacity of 3050 Kgs at 2.26 meters and 1250 Kgs at 3.96 meters but it is not capable of lifting the current Challenger 2 MBT Power Pack (Hence, the reason for its replacement)

In addition to the crane, the FV434 is fitted with a fold-away work bench to the rear of the vehicle and a full tool kit is carried. Like its personnel carrier version (FV432), it is capable of amphibious operation with the aid of a floatation screen. Once in the water, it is propelled by its tracks at up to 5.6 km/h. the flotation screens were removed from service in the 1970’s.

It has a crew of 4: commander, driver and two fitters.

ARMAMENT

7.62mm GPMG (General Purpose Machine Gun) and smoke dischargers fitted to the front armour.

ENGINE

The FV434 is fitted with a Rolls Royce K60, 6 cylinder, 6.57 litres, water cooled diesel engine producing 240bhp at 3750rpm coupled to a TX-200-4A automatic transmission with six forward and one reverse gears, giving the vehicle a top speed of 32mph on the road

Suspension

Torsion Bar Type suspension

The suspension is of the torsion type and consists of five pairs of road wheels each side with the drive sprocket at the front and idler at the rear. There are two track return rollers. The first and fifth road wheel stations are provided with hydraulic shock absorbers which are normally locked when the crane is being used.