MAP CONTROLS: Use slider or mousewheel to zoom, and hold down left mouse button
to drag.
KEY: Location markers are coloured from Green meaning exact to Red meaning
gone or unknown (details here)
In the late 1970’s Krupp Maschinen GmbH, MaK and Eisenwerke Kaiserslautern (EWK) built prototypes for a new type of recovery vehicle following German Army requests in 1969 and 1973. These were based on the Leopard chassis and known as the Gepanzerte Pioneer Maschine (GPM) combat engineer vehicle. The GPM was designed specifically for preparing river crossing points and exits, as well as for recovering disabled and damage vehicles from water. On top of the hull, in place of the conventional turret, there were attached hydraulic arms for earth moving. The MaK Prototype 1 had a double-arm cantilever boom fitted with a single large shovel. The Eisenwerke Prototype 2 had two large telescopic booms, each ending in a shovel.
After evaluation of the prototypes in 1984, the one produced by Eisenwerke was reported to have been judged superior. However, no production order was placed for either vehicle, probably due to financial constraints. Instead, it has been proposed that examples of the standard German armoured engineer vehicle, the Bergepanzer (BPz), should be built with a telescopic arm excavator, which could also be used as a crane, in place of the standard jib.
1) BWB Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung, Koblenz, Germany
Click
here or on the image for this tank's profile page
|
Unique ID: |
323
|
|
Serial Number: |
|
|
Registration: |
|
|
Name: |
|
|
Other Identification: |
|
This GPM Prototype 1 is currently believed to be in storage.
|
2) BWB Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung, Koblenz, Germany
Click
here or on the image for this tank's profile page
|
Unique ID: |
324
|
|
Serial Number: |
|
|
Registration: |
|
|
Name: |
|
|
Other Identification: |
|
This GPM Prototype 2 is currently believed to be in storage.
|