Distance: 1.2 km
Date: February 17, 2024
Location: Florida
Up front: The driver’s seat is an open hatch on the front right because it’s British. When it rains, which it did, the driver’s compartment floods and the foam seat is soaked. The seat is not adjustable, so your foot won’t reach the throttle if you’re short. The only electronic amenities are the starter, lights, and plugin for the radio headset for communications.
The open driving position provides very little comfort, but excellent forward visibility, By the time I was done, I was covered in wet mud and was spitting out sand well into the evening.
In the back: A gunner and a commander sat inside the turret. There are two additional seats on the top so all three crew members can sit outside facing forwards when it’s safe. It’s also helpful for an instructor to sit on top right beside the driver for training.
It has a cargo capacity of 40 rounds of 105mm ammunition and is equipped with 1,200 rounds for the 7.62 machine gun mounted on the top of the turret as standard. The main gun can shoot up to eight rounds a minute, so it can burn through all its 105mm rounds in five minutes. It also has six smoke dischargers to obscure the vehicle in case of attack.
Driving: There is no steering wheel. The tracks are controlled by left and right handbrakes and is stopped by a locking button on the top. The brakes are heavy because they’re not powered, so if you don’t go fast enough, you can’t turn quick enough. It’s counterintuitive, but get easier with experience at slow speeds.
The throttle sits on a pivot, it accelerates on a forward pivot and decelerates on a backwards pivot. A gated automatic transmission provides selection to neutral, drive, and reverse gears. The straight-six 240 horsepower diesel engine can push the 17 ton machine to about 50km/h with an efficiency of 4mpg. The engine and the gearbox are both at the front so it gets noisy and stinky to drive.
The tracks can cross gaps of up to six feet wide, wade waters up to four feet deep and approach obstacles up to two feet high. Yes, it can crush cars.
