FV180 Combat Engineer Tractor

The FV180 Combat Engineer Tractor (CET) is a multi-purpose armoured tracked vehicle for the British Royal Engineers. It was built to clear obstacles, dig fire positions, create obstacles and recover vehicles in difficult ground. Two commercial firms, GKN and Vickers, failed to produce acceptable designs, so work began in the early 1960s at the Military Engineering Experimental Establishment (MEXE) at Christchurch. Unlike earlier AVREs, which were converted tanks, the CET was designed from scratch for the engineer role. The American Universal Engineer Tractor provided some inspiration, but the CET was the first of its type to enter service.

Design

The two crew sit side by side in a double cockpit on the left. Each has a duplicate set of driving controls and a reversible seat, so in normal use the driver faces forward and the bucket operator faces rearward. The Rolls-Royce C6TCR turbo-diesel of 320 bhp sits beside them behind a fireproof bulkhead and drives through front sprockets. The aluminium hull has NBC protection. A rocket-propelled earth anchor with 100 m of cable is carried on the roof. Fired across soft ground or up a steep river bank, it lets the vehicle winch itself out. The CET can also tow a Giant Viper mine-clearing trailer.

With buoyancy aids fitted between the bucket and the hull, the CET swims, driven by two waterjets at about 8 km/h. On land it reaches 56 km/h and has a range of about 480 km. It weighs 17,010 kg and is 7.54 m long overall.

Service

Two test rigs and seven prototypes preceded production in the 1970s. According to the German source, 141 vehicles were delivered to the Close Support and General Support Engineer Regiments, and further examples went to Singapore. One CET is displayed at the Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham, Kent.