Churchill AVRE (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers)
Churchill AVRE with fascine on tilt-forward cradle. This particular example is a post-WW2 AVRE on the MK VII chassis.The Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers was a Churchill III or IV equipped with the Petard, a 290 mm Spigot mortar, throwing the 40 lb (18 kg) "Flying dustbin" with its 28-pound high-explosive warhead; a weapon designed for the quick levelling of fortifications, which was developed by MD1. The petard was reloaded by traversing the turret to the co-driver's hatch. The co-driver then opens the petard barrel and pushes the petard round into the barrel and then closes it. The co-driver's hands are briefly exposed during the process. The AVRE was designed after the Canadian defeat at Dieppe, and could also be equipped with numerous other attachments, such as mine flails, fascine rollers, explosive placers etc. The crew of six were drawn from the Royal Engineers, except for the driver who came from the Royal Armoured Corps. One of the RE crew was a demolitions NCO sapper responsible for priming the "Flying dustbin" and who led the crew when they dismounted from the tank to place demolition charges ("Wade" charges).
By the invasion of France in June 1944, 180 AVREs had been converted. A further 574 followed.[26]
Equipped with numerous other attachments, such as
mine flails,
anti-mine ploughs, mine rollers,
fascine rollers,
demolition charges to destroy reinforced concrete walls.
Small Box Girder bridge,
Canadian Indestructible Roller Device (CIRD),
Bobbin's
Churchill AVRE with fascine on tilt-forward cradle. This particular example is a post-WW2 AVRE on the MK VII chassis.The Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers was a Churchill III or IV equipped with the Petard, a 290 mm Spigot mortar, throwing the 40 lb (18 kg) "Flying dustbin" with its 28-pound high-explosive warhead; a weapon designed for the quick levelling of fortifications, which was developed by MD1. The petard was reloaded by traversing the turret to the co-driver's hatch. The co-driver then opens the petard barrel and pushes the petard round into the barrel and then closes it. The co-driver's hands are briefly exposed during the process. The AVRE was designed after the Canadian defeat at Dieppe, and could also be equipped with numerous other attachments, such as mine flails, fascine rollers, explosive placers etc. The crew of six were drawn from the Royal Engineers, except for the driver who came from the Royal Armoured Corps. One of the RE crew was a demolitions NCO sapper responsible for priming the "Flying dustbin" and who led the crew when they dismounted from the tank to place demolition charges ("Wade" charges).
By the invasion of France in June 1944, 180 AVREs had been converted. A further 574 followed.[26]
Equipped with numerous other attachments, such as
mine flails,
anti-mine ploughs, mine rollers,
fascine rollers,
demolition charges to destroy reinforced concrete walls.
Small Box Girder bridge,
Canadian Indestructible Roller Device (CIRD),
Bobbin's