BARV

Originally based on the Churchill tank, the availability of Sherman Tanks in large numbers from the U.S. led to the development of the BARV. Initial test platforms were based on the M4A3, but the more powerful diesel engines and the easier waterproofing capabilities of the M4A2's welded hull, made this version more suitable for the BARV version.

The British REME Experimental Beach Recovery Section developed the design that led to the attachment of a boat shaped superstructure to the top of a turretless Sherman, which allowed operations in up to 9 feet of water. No winch was provided as it was deemed impractical to waterproof such an addition. The vehicle's operation in deep water included one crewman being equipped for shallow water diving, whereby drowned vehicles were hooked up and towed ashore.

Approximately 50 to 60 vehicles were ready for operations on D-Day and these, along with REME personnel, were among the first to land on the beaches of Normandy. The BARVs were quite successful in performing their designated role of removing wrecks and broken-down vehicles from the path of incoming traffic, and also pushing stranded landing craft back into the water. BARVs were also used in operations crossing the Rhine River into Germany, and remained in service as training vehicles until replaced by Centurion BARVs in the 1960s.

THE KIT: The model is based on Resicast's well-moulded BARV, which is a full resin and photo etch kit. Instructions are decent and appropriate water slide decals are included. Copies these days are best found through the usual suppliers, as the kit seems to still be available, retailing at about $110 to $140 USD, depending on the Euro exchange.

Assembly is straight forward with the majority of the parts fitting together nicely, with the exception of the upper wave (deflection) boards, which are of a very thin resin material. Extra copies are supplied and careful heating/cooling and refitting will solve the problem. The resin kit-supplied tracks were replaced with the excellent three bar British beach tracks from RHPS, and the bogie/roadwheel suspension parts were replaced with appropriate items from DML/Dragon.

The well thought out assembly stages lead to a rather straightforward build, however the etched part assemblies are of an advanced nature, and their folding and placement requires a bit of experience working with etched parts. The stowage items were cobbled together from the spares box with some being scratch built along with many of the smaller details seen in the photos.

Finishing the kit consisted of a base coat of Floquil Weathered Black followed by an appropriate over spray of Humbrol colours to approximate the Royal Navy Sea Gray, which is correct for many of these vehicles. Markings came from Accurate Armour decal sheets along with D-Day stencils from Archer dry transfers. Once sealed with acrylic flat the vehicle was given an overall wash with diluted black and raw/burnt umber oils, followed by several drybrushings with the base colour, lightened with artists' oils. A final over spray of Humbrol flat finished up the unusual colouring of the vehicle.

References are slight, with a couple of grainy pictures in the Squadron Sherman book being of use, and a Google search offers up occasional bits of useful information, especially the site of the REME Museum of Technology's historical vehicle collection pages.