Panzerserra Bunker- Military Scale Models in 1/35 scale: setembro 2025

Churchill ARV Mk.I (Armoured Recovery Vehicle) - case report

Royal Engineers, atteeeention !!!

The main character of this report is a stripped-down, simple, robust, and effective engineering vehicle, based on the Churchill Infantry Tank. Used by the British and their allies as an armored towing vehicle and workshop on the battlefields of Europe in WWII, this unpretentious machine contributed enormously and anonymously to the Allied victory. Meet the incredible and irreplaceable Churchill ARV Mk.I.

Bird view of a Churchill ARV Mk.I,
causing trouble at Aborfield, late April 1943.
A little joke, modifying the excellent IWM-H 29358 photo

History

The Churchill ARV (Armored Recovery Vehicle) was a British armored recovery vehicle developed during World War II, based on the rugged and reliable chassis of the Churchill infantry tank. Its primary function was to recover damaged or bogged-down tanks and other vehicles on the battlefield, often under fire. Its main feature was the absence of the standard main gun turret, the opening of which was closed by an armored plate with two flat hatches in the Mk.I version and by a box-shaped superstructure with an internal winch in the Mk.II version.

Churchill ARV Mk I towing a tracked trailer
with a Churchill Mk.II across a field.

Another angle of view of the same scene depicted above.
Somewhere in the UK - 1943.

The Churchills ARV retained the heavy armor of the Churchill tank, providing a high degree of protection for its crew. This was a crucial feature, as recovery operations often took place in exposed forward areas under enemy fire. The vehicle's crew, typically consisting of a commander, a driver, and several engineers, was trained to perform complex recovery and repair tasks in challenging conditions. The Churchills ARV played a vital role in keeping Allied armored forces operational, ensuring that valuable tanks were not abandoned on the battlefield. Two main models were produced: the simpler and earlier Mark I and the later and more sophisticated version, Mark II. The most widely used version was the Churchill ARV Mark I.

Churchill ARV Mark I

The Churchill ARV Mark I, which appeared in 1942, was a simple conversion of an existing Churchill Mk.I or Mk.II tank chassis (early versions). Its main features include:

Turretless design: The main gun turret was removed to create more space for recovery equipment.

Churchill ARV Mk.I showing the absence of the armed turret,
with the porthole protected by a steel plate with two flat hatches.
UK. - 23 April 1943
font: IWM (H 29319)

Simple A-frame jib: The vehicle was equipped with a demountable A-frame jib that could be attached to the front or rear. This jib, with a lifting capacity of about 7.5 tons, was used for lighter-duty lifts, such as engine swaps. It did not have a powered winch line and relied on manual block and tackle systems.

In preparation for raising the jib, a crew member begins
removing the boom of its attachment in the side of a Churchill ARV Mk.I
UK. - 23 April 1943 - font: IWM (H 29322)

With both booms installed, the crew of the Churchill ARV Mk.I
prepare to erect the jib on the tank's bow.
UK. - 23 April 1943 - font: IWM (H 29330)

Fixing block and tackle in the jib of
Churchill ARV Mk.I . UK - 23 April 1943
font: IWM (H 29331)

The fully assembled jib at the bow of the Churchill ARV Mk.I,
with its tackle and blocks.

Towing capability: The Churchill ARV Mark I was primarily a "tug," using its powerful engine to tow other vehicles with a detachable drawbar.

Crewmen removing the Hollibone drawbar from the
transport position (just below the air filter) on the side
of the Churchill ARV Mk.I, to be attached to the rear of the vehicle.
UK.- 23 April 1943
font: IWM (H 29324)

Crewman testing the release pin on the rear drawbar gear.
of the Churchill ARV Mk.I .
Notice the ejectable cylindrical fuel tank, just above
UK. - 23 April 1943.
font: IWM (H 29315)

Armament: A mount for twin .303 Bren light machine guns (with circular magazines) was often installed on the tank floor, emerging in the center of the turret opening, on a small structure with a seat for the gunner, allowing anti-aircraft and anti-personnel use. The most of the vehicles kept the hull's Besa 7,92mm medium machine gun, in the bow of the vehicle.

Cockpit of a Churchill ARV Mk.I tank, showing the (unmanned)
mount for the two .303 Bren machine guns. UK. - 23 April 1943.
font: IWM (H 29356)

Cockpit of a Churchill ARV Mk.I tank, showing the gunner seated in the
mount for the two .303 Bren machine guns. UK. - 23 April 1943.
font: IWM (H 29354)

Close-up of a crewman acting as a welder, showing the
bench vise fitted to the bow of a Churchill ARV Mk.
Note the Besa machine gun with its canvas cover, just behind the crewman.
UK. - 23 April 1943. font: IWM (H 29321)

Churchill ARV Mark II

Introduced in 1944, the Churchill ARV Mk.II was a Churchill Mk.III or Mk.IV tank was a more specialized and capable recovery vehicle. Its design incorporated a range of purpose-built recovery tools. The key differences from the Mark I are:

Fixed superstructure: The Mark II featured a large, fixed, box-like superstructure in place of the turret. This provided a protected working area for the crew and housed the new recovery equipment.
Powerful winch and jibs: A major upgrade was the installation of a powerful 25-ton capacity winch, which could be used to pull vehicles from a static position. It also had a permanent A-frame jib at the rear with a 15-ton capacity for heavy pulls and a longer, higher front jib for lifting equipment like engines.
Earth spade: To anchor the vehicle during heavy pulls, a large earth spade was mounted on the rear hull that could be lowered to the ground.
Dummy gun: A dummy gun barrel was normally attached to the superstructure to make the vehicle appear as a standard tank, discouraging enemy soldiers from targeting what they might perceive as a more vulnerable, unarmed vehicle.

At the front it was fitted with the same front hoisting arm as the Mk.I, which could be raised and had a lifting capacity of 7.5 tonnes, while at the rear it had a shovel and a fixed crane arm rated for 15 tonnes. In order for the winch cable to be used at the front of the vehicle, the cable had to be threaded around a series of pulleys. With a permanent crew of only three men, it had enough space to also carry the crew of the tank being recovered. Armament was a single Besa 7,92mm medium machine gun in the front of the hull, with some crews being able to add various types of machine guns near the superstructure hatches, like .303 Bren light machine guns, .303 Vickers K or .50 M2 Browning heavy machine guns.

The most widely used version was the Churchill ARV Mark I, which saw operational use on the Italian and French fronts, being used intensively until the end of WWII.

Churchill ARV Mk.I recovers a Churchill Mk.IV tank
of the North Irish Horse - 21st Tank Brigade, that had slid down a steep bank,
in the Alfonsini sector near Mezzano, Italy - 21 March 1945.
font: IWM (NA 23278)

Churchill ARV Mk.I from the 3rd Scots Guards, make their way
from Le Bas-Perrier to Chênedollé along a narrow bocage lane - France
font: IWM reel - A70 123-5

REME crew of a Churchill ARV Mk.I repair a
knocked-out Churchill tank belonging to the
107th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (King's Own)
during the fighting for the Orne bridge-head.
font: IWM reel A70 124-6

Engineers from a Churchill ARV Mk.I performing a track repair in
a Churchill Mk.VI tank from 34th Tank Brigade.
Villers Bocage area - France - 4 August 1944.
This photo and vehicle inspired the AFV Club box art for the
1/35 Churchill Mk. VI kit (AF35S52). See below:
font: IWM (B 8578)

AFV Club box art for the
1/35 Churchill Mk. VI kit (AF35S52). Compare with the photo above...
It's a pity they didn't add the ARV Mk.I in the background...

A Churchill ARV Mk I crew works on a disabled
Churchill Mk.IV tank. Normandy, France -14 August 1944
font: IWM (B 9162)

Infantry of the 15th (Scottish) Division lead German prisoners to the rear,
past a fully loaded Churchill ARV Mk.I.
Somewhere in Germany - 10 February, 1945.
font: IWM (B 14404)

Churchill ARVs Mk.I of 34th Army Tank Brigade head a
column of other vehicles moving into Kranenburg, near Cleve in Germany.
11 February 1945. font: IWM (B 14450)

Although simple and less protected than the later Mk II version, it was available in sufficient numbers at the right time, providing invaluable support and vehicle recovery services during combat, and was much loved by the Armored Corps soldiers. The simple, crude, robust, and valiant Churchill ARV Mk. I was one of the silent fighters of WWII, being one of the key players in the Allied victory on the European front.

Specs

Churchill Armored Recovery Vehicle (ARV) Mk.I
Type	Recovery tank
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1942–1952 (British Empire)
Used by	British Army
Wars	Second World War Korean War
Production history
Designed	1942 (Mk.I)
Manufacturer	Vauxhall Motors and others
Produced	1942 - 1944
Based on	Churchill tank Mk.I - Mk.II
Variants	Churchill ARV Mk.I Churchill ARV Mk.II
Specifications
Mass	33 ton - Mk.I
Length	7.44 m
Width	3.25 m
Height	1.92 m
Crew	3 (commander, driver, co-driver/hull gunner)

Armour	25 to 102 mm
Main armament	2 Bren .303 light machine guns (Mk.I)
Sec. armament	one hull 7.92mm Besa machine gun
Engine	Bedford 12-cylinder, 4 stroke, water-cooled, horizontally opposed, L-head petrol engine 350 hp @ 2,200 rpm
Transmission	Merritt-Brown 4-speed constant-mesh epicyclic gearbox
Suspension	Coiled spring
Fuel capacity	682 liters
Operational range	120–210 km
Maximum speed	24 km/h
Steering system	Triple differential steering gearbox

The kits:

I consider this project a dual project, as I built the Mk. I and Mk. II versions of the Churchill ARV in parallel, using as host vehicles two excellent AFV Club Churchill Mk. IIIs (#35153) and the Accurate Armor Churchill ARV Mk. I (C-064) and Accurate Armor Churchill ARV Mk. II (C-065) resin conversion kits. Up until the basic chassis construction phase, you'll see photos of the two models being built in parallel, but when the kit construction differs between the Mk. I and Mk. II models, I'll focus in this report on the Mk. I version, which features a more detailed and exposed interior.

The next report will be on the Mk. II version. But back to the kits building, here are our protagonists:

Kojak with all the kits for this and the next saga:
Accurate (Mk.I and Mk.II) and AFV Club stuff.

I didn't think it necessary to show the construction of the suspension wheels again, as previous reports on the numerous versions already cover these steps. If you want to refresh your memory, just browse through the previous articles on the various Churchill versions I've built.I didn't think it necessary to show the construction of the suspension wheels again, as previous reports on the numerous versions already cover these steps. If you want to refresh your memory, just browse through the previous articles on the various Churchill versions I've built.

Churchill sponsons with suspensions already built (external view)

Churchill sponsons with suspensions already built (internal view)
Note the wear on the top of the suspension arms to increase the space
for gluing the metal "floor" (supplied by the Accurate kit, in PE)

Metal "floor" glued with superglue to the inside of the right sponson

Gluing resin details to the right sponson floor and vertical walls of the tank hull.
These gray resin parts are part of the Accurate kit.

My Accurate kit arrived crippled, missing several parts.
Shelves and tool cabinet was one of them. I had to build them from scratch
using thin strips of plastic and patience.

Shelves and tool cabinet on the left side was also missing...
more scratch work to fix that...

Building the tank chassis floor in resin, using jigs
to keep everything square.

Just handling the parts during construction caused
the control levers to break (red arrow).
I replaced these fragile parts with round-headed clothes pins (blue).
They turned out perfectly...

I was truly unlucky with this Accurate kit... I discovered, to my dismay, that the two air filters exposed inside the firewall were also missing from the kit. Since these parts are clearly visible through the turret hole, I made the two filters using Plastruct cylindrical parts and a few random plastic scraps to simulate the filter details as best as possible.

You might be wondering: why not order the parts from Accurate? Honestly, I lacked the patience to wait for communications, shipping, the incredible efficiency of two postal services, etc. I decided to make a scratch, spend an hour of my life having fun (and cursing Accurate with the vocabulary of a merchant seaman...) but I solved the problem in record time.

New air filters (white plastic) in position...

The tank floor, almost ready...

I continued building the ARV Mk. I chassis, using Accurate resin parts (gray) over AFV Club plastic parts (green). The track covers arrived warped and twisted, but with boiling water and flat surfaces, everything worked out. Fitting and gluing these parts onto the sponsons was a bit tricky, but everything turned out well. I used superglue to glue the steel plate covering the turret hole in place. It fit like a glove...

Track covers and crew hatches in place...

Using AFV Club parts, I glued the tank's floor and rear armor together. Once dry, I fitted these parts between the sponsons and did a dry-run to test the fit and squareness of the subassemblies. Everything was perfect.

Dry-run of the chassis building...
The excellent vinyl tracks from AFV Clube were installed at this stage.

Before gluing the vehicle's interior, it's necessary to paint all its details. My intention is to glue the upper deck, with the interior only visible through the double hatch in the turret hole. I don't like making "detachable" kits. The hatch hole is more than enough to view the tank's internal details. First step: priming.

White primer for painting the interior details of the tank.

While the interior primer paint dries, I'll install the vehicle's two large external air filters. They're modified versions of the early Churchill Mk. I, II, and III filters.

Preparing to install the vehicle's two large external air filters.
It's necessary to remove the horizontal bar just below the rectangular hole,
on the sides of the sponsons. Note that on the left side of the
photo, the plastic bar has been removed, but on the right side, it hasn't.

External air filters (early version) in place

Right sponson - internal view
Notice the floor, glued in position, in the right sponson.
The internal walls were painted silver aluminum,
like the English did with the inside of their tanks.
The guns are .303 Lee Enfields

Left sponson - internal view
Notice the weathering and
other details, painted with brush.

The tank floor, under weathering action.
right view

The tank floor, under weathering action.
left view

Front armor, with the rear of the Besa 7,92mm machine gun visible,
oxy-acetylene welding cylinders, rifle and other details that
will be added to the model

Gluing the tank's detailed resin floor to the model's lower armor.
Clamps are essential to prevent warping.

Closing the tank chassis, gluing the left sponson to the right sponson
and floor assembly. The elastic bands hold everything in place.
Be very careful not to cause any deviations during this gluing step.
Left view

Closing the tank chassis, gluing the left sponson to the right sponson
and floor assembly. The elastic bands hold everything in place.
Right view

Note the "full" soldered oxygen cylinder stored
next to the hull machine gunner's post.

Gluing the upper deck of the tank, testing the positioning
of the oxy-acetylene equipment

Our girl, completely "closed" and with all the subassemblies glued
and aligned in their places. Simply beautiful!!!
Left view

Our girl, completely "closed".
Right view

The interior details are visible through the main hatch
and the driver and gunner hatches, which will be built open...

The right and left jib boom was in plastic, square rods, supplied
by Accurate and are cut to the correct size, according to the assembly instructions.
The boom in his place, supported by hooks under the armored skirt of the right sponson.

The left boom in his place, supported by hooks under
armored skirt of the sponson.

Continuing construction, the armament system assembly is quite delicate.
The bracket that holds the two Brens in parallel arrived with a broken pin.
I replaced the entire resin pin by a copper metal wire, which is stronger and more reliable.

Another improvement I made was replacing the resin machine gun elevation springs (which were poorly cast) with metal springs, which I obtained by cutting the handles of acupuncture needles. A real improvement in the model's detail...

Springs in resin (red) and the metal ones,
made with acupuncture needle handles (blue)

The twin .303 Brens, glued in position...

The machine gun system fits into a dedicated recess in the tank floor. To allow for the movement and fitting and removing of this delicate detail, I drilled a hole in the model's floor so that the machine gun mount can be fitted and removed from its position, thus preventing handling and transportation accidents.

The machine gun mount hole.
Internal view

The machine gun mount hole.
External view

The .303 Bren machine gun Pugh mount, with new springs (blue arrow)
and new rotation pin, made with a Plastruct cylindrical rod (red).

And the Pugh mont installed in its place, reversibly.
Hurrah!!

The rotation pin, emerging from the hull floor...

Gluing the twin .303 Bren into their Pugh mount.
Note the delicate metal sight ring, supplied by Accurate, glued in place.

Adding details to the tank...

The absence of the turret gives the vehicle an elusive and aggressive appearance...

Preparing the ejectable fuel tank...

The various accessories and tools on the upper deck
follow a loose order. One example is the extra suspension bogies,
which I chose to install at the rear of the tank.

Notice a set of hollibone drawbar
in the rear armour of the tank, just
above of fuel tank.

The extra oil cans and suspension bogies are surplus
Churchill parts from the AFV Club.

The kit looks very interesting with the details
installed in their positions...

Notice another set of hollibone drawbar
in the left armour of the tank, just
below of air filter.

Front deck...

Front deck in close up...

Rear view...

Tools and steel ropes, under preparation...

Steel rope made in brass (Accurate) installed around turret neck.

The tackle of the jib in his place, at rear deck.

Close up view of the two lids hatch, in the middle of the tank.
Notice the details...Man, this is going to be a lot of work to paint...

The Accurate tools, tarp, and track link package came with injection problems on the shovel handles. I decided to replace the handles with Plastruct rods of the appropriate diameter.

Shovel handles with injection flaws

Cutting off the shovel handles...

Making new handles with Plastruct rods

New tools in place...

Much better...

The vise installed in the bow of the tank...

Steel ropes under construction. Gravity is your ally!!!

Steel ropes in position...

Notice all details in this girl...
The kit is awesome...

Front view

Front right view

Rear view

Right side view

Left side view

And now, let's move on to the markings and painting stage. I love this phase because I always try to place my models in real Units and Theaters of Operations. And this one was no different: I used some of the excellent decals provided by Accurate Armor and, after extensive historical research, placed our model in the REME Workshop of the 30th Armored Brigade, 79th Armored Division (Hobart's Funnies), serving on the northwest European front in November 1944. The vehicle was painted entirely in S.C.C. 2 Brown, with a silver interior. I made a marking and painting reference guide to make the job easier.

Panzerserra Color & Markings guide

After painting the vehicle with two thin coats of gray primer, I painted the entire tank in brown. I chose the color Desert Tan (FS 30279), da AK Interactive - Air Series, to closely match the S.C.C. 2 Brown.

Desert Tan (FS 30279), da AK Interactive - Air Series,
to reproduce the S.C.C. 2 Brown.
left side view

Desert Tan (FS 30279), da AK Interactive - Air Series,
to reproduce the S.C.C. 2 Brown.
right side view

I darkened and lightened the base color with brownish paints of darker and lighter tones, respectively, and characterized the model with tonal variations.

Tonal variations - left view

Tonal variations - right view

After the paint coats were completely dry, I applied two very thin coats of gloss varnish to the areas that would receive the markings. After the varnish was completely dry, I very carefully applied the decals, characterizing our vehicle. I used the Accurate decals and some more from my scrap decal box.

Markings in place - left view

Markings in place - front view

Markings in place - right view

Markings in place - rear view

After the decals were completely dry, I sealed everything with another thin layer of glossy varnish and, once dry, two thin layers of matte varnish, harmonizing and sealing all the work with the markings.

Matt varnish - left view

Matt varnish - front left view
Notice the tracks, in gun metal

Gun metal in the tools and hooks of the upper deck

I began painting (with a brush and a steady hand) the large wooden blocks and planks installed on the tank's chassis. Tonal variations were used to create a more realistic painting.

Painting blocks, wooden planks and other details.
A soft brush, patience, and a steady hand...

Left view

And after a moderate weathering of the entire model, we can say that this hard-working girl is ready. I present to you a Churchill ARV Mk.I. belonging to REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) Workshop of the 30th Armored Brigade, 79th Armored Division (Hobart's Funnies), serving on the northwest European front, in November 1944.