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Sorry for late entry - been away - but, at the risk of more contention, I
cannot let Robin's remark that these vehicles 'float very well' to pass
unchallenged any more than somebody saying that DUKWs are 'dangerous'.
After all, one of you gullible people might go out to buy one to use on
water where it bears more resemblance to a brick than a boat. On snow or
mud they are unbeatable and they have all rubber tracks. However a few
years back we managed to get hold of two, one damaged but complete and one
undamaged but gutted - from which we conjured an order from a millionaire to
build a 'hunting wagon'. These were the early model equipped with the six
cyl Ford petrol engine. Since he intended to use the thing on his Scottish
moor and to cross the odd loch, the order included a test of its amphibious
capabilities. So, on the appointed day, his Representative arrived in suit,
tie and brown brogues for the test. I had not had time to try it on water
myself but that's never stopped me in the past so undaunted, we went to the
local River Medway. I sat the Representative beside me, engaged low gear,
and descended bravely into the river which was moving at about 2 knots.
First thing I discovered quickly was that it sits quite low in the water.
So low in fact that the first third of the doors in both pods are below the
waterline. Now the whole body is made of light fibreglass and the doors
distort easily so that keeping the door seals watertight must be a
nightmare. Second thing, water started to fountain into our pod thro the
doors rather like a scene from Das Boot! Third thing, I couldn't
find/didn't have a bilge pump. So there we were in this motorised ping pong
ball being carried downstream at 2 knots away from the slipway! No problem,
I engaged second gear, turned the steering hard right and gunned the motor.
That's when I discovered the fourth thing - in water it has the pulling
power of an elastic band. The snowcat just about held enough speed to keep
itself stationery in the middle of the river and it had the steering
qualities and manoeverability of a floating log. At this point my passenger,
the Representative, made his own discovery - an escape hatch in the roof!
Amazing how observant you become in moments of high drama. Although I was
obviously a lot older than him, we didn't have one of those 'age before
beauty' abandon ship discussions. He pulled rank and I was treated to the
sight of his ass disappearing rapidly through the rather small hatch.
However he obviously didn't want to ruin his expensive suit by taking it for
a swim so he sat on the roof like a beached whale for the remainder of the
journey ready to dive off if the worst happened. I worked my way through
the gears, thrashing the engine and the little tracks whizzed round and
round. Slowly, ever so slowly, we inched our way back on to dry land. I
fully expected an immediate cancellation of the order but had planned my
move. As soon as we landed, I wiped the sweat off my brow, pummeled a bit
of blood into my whitened cheeks and said boldly to the Representative 'goes
well, doesn't it?' I truly believe he was so ashamed by his act of
cowardice that he never mentioned the episode to anyone! I have the photos
to prove it! So remember it's called a Snowcat and not a Watercat and likes
water about as much as cats do.
Finally, to promote further controversy, having made my nomination for
Scandinavian contender for 'Brick of the Century' - I would like to propose
the American contender - the Gama Goat and the British offering - the
Stalwart. No doubt you lot can think of more.
Cheers. Mike S.
----- Original Message -----
From: Robin Craig
To: Military Vehicles List
Sent: 25 April 2000 02:16
Subject: [MV] BV 206 Oversnow vehicle
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From the list I see someone is posting that a cargo carrier 1 1/2 ton
tracked is for sale with an M series number, those of us in the real world
call it a BV 206 made by Hagglunds. It is a great piece of kit and is
undervalue probably in the sunny US lower states. They are made from a GRP
cab and both units drive. The in line six from Mercedes is a quite reliable
powerplant. These machines *float very well* and propel themselves by the
tracks, they are great over snow which is their real territory.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon May 01 2000 - 05:30:07 PDT