Thread: CVR (T) or (W) Which was the Best and Why?

Originally Posted by 105AVRE

Originally Posted by GrumpyOldMan

Originally Posted by Pielover

Scimitar for me! I didn't work on Scorpion too long before they withdrew it from service so didn't do much with the 76mm. Enjoyed converting to 30mm even though it has the most confusing and drawn out component names in the world - "rack catch plunger release catch cam" anyone?

Ahhh........happy days! Allegedly the longest part name in the British Army
.........but I worked mainly on Scorp, so I have a lastig love/hate relationship for the beast: no sooner do you list a list of krap things - then up pops a list of (fairly) good things..........a good gun to work with, as long as you had you had a good gunner: the ammo was blah!...........firing HESH at Castlemartin in a strong L to R wind and first lay had to be at least 50m outside the extreme left of arc..........feckin' wind BLEW the bleddy thing back in :D
But it was a child of its times........the engine was pants, no power traverse but it was fast, agile, low profile and ideally suited to pairs work......I loved it!

That's not very long... how about screw retaining intermediate firing needle withdrawl lever? the smallest part of a cent 105 breech block!!

wasn't there the "release catch cam lever plunger" too ?

Paveway you got it wrong it was the "Ratch Catch Catcher Release Catch Cam"

They were all bo**ocks, bring back the Saladin!

Originally Posted by GrumpyOldMan

...firing HESH at Castlemartin in a strong L to R wind and first lay had to be at least 50m outside the extreme left of arc..........feckin' wind BLEW the bleddy thing back in :D

Slightly off topic but it could be worse. I once backed a Command Troop Mk 1 Ferret onto the firing point to have a go with the Three Oh. Must be the only weapon in the world that will fire out of arc on both sides at the same time.
And John Wayne reckoned he could fire one from each hip?!?!?

Originally Posted by ugly

I was a rarden Gunner in fox back when Airportable Inf Bns had them for recce plns. Better than walking perhaps, good pose value till it broke down. I suspect we never got the best REME being inf and MT wouldnt even train us to drive it so we were knackered in the field OP role. Pose value when awaiting the wrecker (happened far too often) 0,. Luckily my 00GM94 ran like a dream. Ex RTR lad as driver me as gunner and commander when someone could be bothered. Good gun but no room for a real gat on board, poxy small metal gun in the turret! A bit weird firing at Warcop when chieftan next door lets fly.

I never served on Fox. Only two memories.

1. Having returned from Omagh, there was a lot of conversion training going on. A mate was driving a Fox up a particularly steep slope when he hit a false neutral. Commander knew what was happening and over the Larkspur IC implored him not to hit the break so that it would roll backwards down the hill and come to a halt. Sadly, he hit the pressel too late and the driver heard "HIT THE BRAKE" which he did. The commander ducked down inside, the other trainee, in the turret, only got half out ...

2. While our squadron was in Cyprus, "A" Squadron took their Foxes up north (KAPE tour?). Story was that the REEMs spent the whole day hopping from one broken down Fox to the next all the way up the A1. Then they eventually got to Fenham Barracks. The SSM legged it straight into the cludgie for a wazz. The officer in charge complimented them all on getting there, "now why don't you all go home for the weekend and see your families. Take your Foxes with you if you want." SSM came out of cludgie doing up flies and all he saw was a dust cloud and a young officer all on his own. According to the write-up in the regimental newspaper, the pair of them spent the entire weekend scouring the council estates of north-east England rounding up CVR(W)s.

Originally Posted by 105AVRE

ck in :D

That's not very long... how about screw retaining intermediate firing needle withdrawl lever? the smallest part of a cent 105 breech block!!

Rack catch plunger release catch cam screw retaining.

Oh the joys of working on Fox.
Only one set of batteries (vehicle and turret for the use of), loads of slave starts required after all night Op's;
Fuel pump located next to the one set of batteries under the turret. Head down approach only real option when working on either;
And the gerabox / Fluid Flywheel;
Gear box lubrication by splash feed, so lots of bands sticking together after static running on a slope (necessary coz there was only one set of batteries);
Points ignition system (later changed to electronic), only reachable at arms length so a joy to set up;
Top heavy, lots of roll-overs;
Have I mentioned the one set of batteries?
Having said that, great fun to drive, especially on straight roads. Bl**dy quick.
Aslo had CVR(T) (Spartan only) in the Sqn. Much easier to work on and great fun to crew, though probably better off road so you weren't deafened with the noise from the tracks doing 65mph on the motor way.
CVR(T) for me.

Not a cvr,but the vehicle I had most fun in was Saracen,six wheels under power,the front four turning.I was in surveilance troop with ZB298,another heap of Hi-tech-shite,it never worked when you needed it,and when it did work,nobody knew how to deploy you.

Which of course was great;Just imagine,a troop full of senior troopers and p*ss-heads,lead by a dick-head,who,was later passed on to 1RTR,sorry Aghart,but true.We spent our exercises recceing all the Gasthauses in the area,getting the 25 metre extension out,and setting up OPs in the bar.

Unfortunatly,just as I went to SEND,the OC was driving past the Gasthof,and wondering why the signal was so strong,when we were supposed to be 30 kms away....whooops!

But a great vehicle,normally for 8 grunts,but we had only 3,a bit like being on holiday,a real ´Gin-Palace`on wheels.

Midnight..........making the best of it!

But you had to be very careful with a Saracen because the Forward-Reverse Selector worked the wrong way round compared to Saladins & Ferrets, caused a lot of accidents!

Originally Posted by Paymaster

But you had to be very careful with a Saracen because the Forward-Reverse Selector worked the wrong way round compared to Saladins & Ferrets, caused a lot of accidents!

Presumably because the engine and gearbox were at the front?

TBH I cannot remember the transfer lever on a Saracen, so I bow to your superior memory.

I can´t remember one either,it was a pre -select gearbox.The GCP? was a B*st*rd though,if you didn´t get that right,it kicked back,and left a nasty bruise on the shin.I had a left leg thicker than my right,after pumping those gear box bands up.

Shin kicking,rut-running,out of date and overweight,loved it!

Ps.I drove,Chiefy´s,Scorpian,Ferret, Fox and Saracen,but wasn´t allowed to drive my 45 ps Opel Kadett,didn´t have a license! :P

Originally Posted by midnight

I can´t remember one either,it was a pre -select gearbox.The GCP? was a B*st*rd though,if you didn´t get that right,it kicked back,and left a nasty bruise on the shin.I had a left leg thicker than my right,after pumping those gear box bands up.

Shin kicking,rut-running,out of date and overweight,loved it!

Funnily enough I recently made the exact same comment to a guy contemplating buying a Saracen to restore:

http://www.hmvf.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=454&start=8

Originally Posted by Paymaster

Paveway you got it wrong it was the "Ratch Catch Catcher Release Catch Cam"

They were all bo**ocks, bring back the Saladin!

Rack Catch Plunger Release Catch Cam

Fox............ah yes, excellent for trapping your feet, loosing your finger when the dvrs hatch catch broke, smashed in the face by the dvr sight for the same reason and falling over on corners. No engine decks to sleep on at the front and sloped for falling off at the back. Oh yeah f*** all stowage. But quite quiet. Or you can use it as a REME test bed to train all new VM's on the art of upside down, bent arm, bloody fingers, lost spanner maint because they always broke down.

They also had a funny positioned steering wheel like the Ferret........................now thats a fantastic Recce vehicle. Bring em back please. More Weak tea and biscuits please Nursey!!!!!!

I remember learning to take the breech out of the 76 in JLR RAC. It took two bods. One had to remove the retaining block and screw under the gun while the other bloke used a 2. 2/6 spanner ( also great for getting tins out of the BV) to wind down the breech using the big nut on the commanders side. But, to do this you had to insert a drift, to push in a plunger/stud affair and control the breech drop using the said spanner.

What a surprise I gave my crew buddie when I pressed the plunger in as he got the screw out without the spanner to control the drop. The breech hit him the face with the full force of gravity and springs......................Ouchhh!

Originally Posted by AlienFTM

Originally Posted by midnight

I can´t remember one either,it was a pre -select gearbox.The GCP? was a B*st*rd though,if you didn´t get that right,it kicked back,and left a nasty bruise on the shin.I had a left leg thicker than my right,after pumping those gear box bands up.

Shin kicking,rut-running,out of date and overweight,loved it!

Funnily enough I recently made the exact same comment to a guy contemplating buying a Saracen to restore:

http://www.hmvf.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=454&start=8

The man must be a hero, a fool,or know nothing about Saracen;I have personally witnessed,a 6´2inch,Geordie VM,weep,literally,trying to work out the Planets and Moons,in the wheel hubs,not for the faint hearted.

Tell him to buy a new Mini!

I know this thread is about CVR!! but clearly sometimes the army goes in reverse. Wouldn't we have been a whole lot better off if we had just kept Ferret, Saladin & Saracen and kept CVR/T & W on the drawing board.

In my opinion Fox was crap, CVR/T was not not much better, and Ferret, Saladin & Saracen were better than their replacements.