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Canadian Forces Armour
— Armoured Recovery Vehicle 3 (Büffel) |
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ARV 3 (Armoured Recovery Vehicle) Büffel
The CF's standard heavy armoured recovery vehicle is the Taurus based on the Leopard
1 hull. With the introduction of an even heavier Leopard 2 tank, a newer, more powerful ARV was also required. Just as MaK had based
the Taurus on the Leopard 1 chassis, Rheinmetall evolved its Bergepanzer 3 from the
Leopard 2. The crew is housed in a armoured casement to port. To starboard is a 270° traverse crane.
The rear engine deck (right) also holds tools and a spare powerplant cradle to facilitate in-field engine
changes for the Leopard 2A6M.
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ARV 3, Büffel, Bergepanzer 3, or What You Will – A Strong Arm to Aid the
Leopard 2s
The CF refers to Büffels as ARV 3s – the name 'Buffalo' having been applied to
Bison MRVs. Two ARV 3s deployed to Afghanistan in 2007 with the Leopard 2s. These Büffels
were from Bundeswehr stocks [1] but upgraded for the Afghan mission. Rheinmetall applied
IED add- on armour to the hull sides and bottom (as per the Leopard 2 A6M), partial slat armour
'cage' and dozer blade extensions to cover the 'cage' width. That wider blade is seen in
Afghanistan but the slat armour (which must make crane use very awkward) is usually not
mounted.
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Rheinmetall Landsysteme [2]
ARV 3 Büffel Specifications
| Crew: |
3 (driver, vehicle commander, assistant) |
| Armament: |
1 x 7.62mm MG3, 16 70mm grenade launchers |
| Size: |
L x 9.07m (hull), W x 3.54m, H x 2.7m (overall) |
| Weight: |
54,000 kg (combat, less add-on/bar armour) |
Powerplant:
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47.6L 1500 hp V-12 multi-fuel MTU
MB 873
Ka 501 turbo-diesel, Renk HSWL 354 trans. |
| Speed/range |
68 km/h / 650 km (road) & 325 km (off-road) |
| Capabilities: |
Tow 62,000 kg, winch pull 35-t [3], hoist 30-t |
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For unsticking tanks, ARV 3s have Rotzler main winches with 180m of 33mm cable. The main winch can pull up to
35 tonnes – double that weight if a pulley tackle is used. There is also an auxiliary winch with 280m
of 7mm cable. When winching heavier vehicles, lowering the bulldozer blade adds to the ARV 3's stability
and holding power. The mounting point for the crane is directly beside the crew
casement – limiting traverse but giving an excellent view from the hatches. This hydraulic crane's jib has
an electronic momentum limiter [4] and can hoist 30 tonnes. Using its crane, an ARV 3 can change Leopard 2 A6M
powerpacks in about 35 minutes. It can also exchange 2 A6M turrets in the field.
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[1] There appears to have been no public notice that the two ARV 3s have been purchased as Urgent Operational
Requirements. With the upgrades needed, a UOR purchase makes sense but, in contrast with past practice on the Afghan
mission, the ARV 3 buy was kept quiet. Our thanks to Sgt Patrick Vigneault for providing clarification of the exact
nature of the procurement of the Canadian Forces' two ARV 3s.
[2] MaK Systemgesellschaft mbH was the main contractor for the Bpz 3 but Krauss-Maffei Wegmann also built the
Büffel. MaK had been part of the Krupp Group until 1991 when the MaK vehicle division
was bought by Rheinmetall AG, becoming Rheinmetall Landsysteme.
[3] The Rotzler Treibmatic TR 650/3 winch has a single pull rating of 35 tonnes, a double-pull rating
– with a snatch block – of 70 tonnes.
[4] This electronic load momentum limiter computes jib elevation, vehicle tilt, load mass, etc., to
prevent the crane from being overloaded.
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