| Bergepanzer 2 | |
| Type: | ARV |
| Origin: | West Germany |
| Is Vehicle: | yes |
| Service: | 1966–present |
| Used By: | See Operators |
| Designer: |  Porsche Jung Jungenthal Atlas-MaK Maschinenbau Luther-Werke |
| Design Date: | 1960s |
| Manufacturer: | Atlas-MaK Maschinenbau OTO Melara[1] |
| Unit Cost: | (1966) |
| Production Date: | 1966–1978 |
| Number: | 742 |
| Variants: | See Variants |
| Mass: | 39.8NaN 2A2: 40.6NaN |
| Length: | 7.68m (25.2feet) |
| Width: | 3.25m (10.66feet) |
| Height: | 2.69m (08.83feet) (crane boom retracted) |
| Crew: | 4 |
| Armour: | Steel: 10–40 mm RHAe |
| Primary Armament: | 2×7.62 mm MG3 |
| Secondary Armament: | Smoke discharger |
| Engine: | MTU MB 838 CaM 500, 10-cylinder, 37.4 litres, multi-fuel engine |
| Engine Power: | 830PS (2.86 kNm, 610 kW) |
| Pw Ratio: | 20.9PS/t 2A2: 20.4PS/t |
| Transmission: | ZF Friedrichshafen 4 HP-250 |
| Suspension: | Torsion bar suspension |
| Fuel Capacity: | 1550l 2A1: 1410l |
| Vehicle Range: | 850km (530miles) |
| Speed: | 62km/h |
The Bergepanzer 2 is an armored recovery vehicle based on the Leopard 1 main battle tank, developed in the 1960s and manufactured by Atlas-MaK Maschinenbau for the West German army. It first entered service in 1966 and replaced the earlier Bergepanzer 1. Various versions have served in the armed forces of Germany and other countries. It was later succeeded by the Bergepanzer 3 "Büffel".
The West German rearmament from the mid-1950s led to the initial equipping of the Bundeswehr with U.S. armored vehicles. In addition to M47 and M48 Patton main battle tanks, M74 armored recovery vehicles were introduced, which, from 1962, were replaced by the M88 Recovery Vehicle, designated "Bergepanzer 1".[2]
The Leopard 1 was designed from the outset as a family of vehicles. This was intended to significantly reduce the cost of operating, maintaining and repairing the tracked vehicles, since the personnel for many areas only required one-off training and the assemblies could be easily replaced.
Right after the Leopard, the armored recovery vehicle 2 was tackled. "Its main task is to recover or, as far as possible, repair on the spot tanks that have broken down on the battlefield due to enemy action or technical damage."[3]
On September 9, 1966, the first Bergepanzer Standard rolled off the production line at MaK Kiel.[3]
FFG offers the WiSENT in 3 different variants, the WiSENT 1 ARV, the WiSENT 1 AEV and the WiSENT 1 Mine Clearing.[4]
| Description | Bergepanzer 2 | Bergepanzer 2A1/Pionierpanzer 1 | Bergepanzer 2A2 | Bergepanzer "Wisent" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type: | Armored recovery vehicle with self-supporting hull, turretless superstructure and crane boom | ||||||||||
| Crew: | 4 | ||||||||||
| Engine: | MTU MB 838 CaM 500, 10-cylinder, 37.4 litres, multi-fuel engine | ||||||||||
| Displacement: | 37.400 cm³ | ||||||||||
| Power output: | 610 kW (830 PS) | 706 kW (960 PS) 3300 Nm at 1600 min−1 | |||||||||
| Cooling: | Thermostatically controlled axial fan | ||||||||||
| Transmission: | ZF 4 HP-250 planetary gearbox with four forward and two reverse gears | ||||||||||
| Suspension system: | Torsion bar spring mounted support roller drive | Torsion bar spring mounted support roller drive with hydraulic dampers | |||||||||
| Overall length: (Clearing blade in driving position) | 7570 mm | 7980 mm | 7680 mm | 8210 mm | |||||||
| Overall width: | 3250 mm | ||||||||||
| Overall height: | 2695 mm | 2970 mm (with topcase) | |||||||||
| Ground clearance: | 440 mm | ||||||||||
| Wading depth without preparation: | 1200 mm | ||||||||||
| Wading depth with wading snorkel: | 2250 mm | ||||||||||
| Underwater driving depth w. underwater snorkel: | 4000 mm | ||||||||||
| Trench passability: | 2500 mm | ||||||||||
| Climbing ability: | 1150 mm | 880 mm | 1000 mm | 880 mm | |||||||
| Gradeability: | 60 % | ||||||||||
| Cross slope capability: | 30 % | ||||||||||
| Empty weight: | 39.200 kg | 40.200 kg | 39.980 kg | 47.000 kg | |||||||
| Combat weight: | 39.800 kg | 40.800 kg | 40.600 kg | 54.000 kg (max. 56.000 kg) | |||||||
| Maximum speed: | 62 km/h | ||||||||||
| Fuel capacity: | 1550 l | 1410 l | 1550 l | – | |||||||
| Fuel consumption and operating range (road): | 840 km at 165 l/100 km | 650 km at 165 l/100 km | 840 km at 165 l/100 km | – | |||||||
| Fuel consumption and operating range (terrain): | 400 km (2A1) bis 500 km at 300 l/100 km (Consumption above 400 l/100 km is not uncommon in towing operations) | – | |||||||||
| Turning radius: | 496 cm | ||||||||||
| Clearing blade width: | 3250 mm | 3250 mm (3750 mm with increased width blade) | 3250 mm | 3250 mm (3750 mm with increased width blade) | |||||||
| Clearing blade height: | 591 mm | 995 mm | 591 mm | 995 mm | |||||||
| Armament: | 2 × 7.62×51mm NATO MG3 or C6 GPMG as anti aircraft gun and front gun, smoke discharger | smoke discharger, armament varies depending on user | |||||||||
| Ammunition: | 4250 cartridges pverall for both MG3 | – | |||||||||
Brazil – Brazil operates a least 1 BPz-2 as of 2021.[5]
Chile – Chile operates 35 BPz-2 as of 2021.[5]
Denmark – Denmark operates 10 BPz-2 and 6 WiSENT 1 as of 2021.[5]
Estonia – Estonia operates 2 BPz-2 as of 2021.[5]
Finland – Finland operates 9 BPz-2 as of 2021.[5] Germany – Germany operates 82 BPz-2 as of 2021.
Greece – Greece operates 43 BPz-2 as of 2021.[5] Italy – Italy operates 137 BPz-2 as of 2021.[5] MaK originally delivered 69 BPz-2 and 12 Pionierpanzer. The Italian company OTO Melara produced another 68 Bergepanzer 2 under license.[1]
Lithuania – Lithuania operates 8 BPz-2 as of 2021.[5]
Netherlands – The Netherlands operate more than 4 BPz-2 as of 2021.
Norway – Norway operates 6 BPz-2, named NM217 Bergepanservogn as of 2021.[5]
Poland – Poland operates 28 BPz-2 as of 2021.[5]
Turkey – Turkey operates 12 BPz-2 as of 2022.[6]
Ukraine – ~39 pledged or delivered (31 from Germany,[7] ~2 from Norway[8] and 5 in cooperation from Germany and Denmark[9]), while 1 was damaged.[10]
Australia – Australia received 8 Bergepanzer 2 in 1977 with the introduction of the Leopard 1. The vehicles were deployed with the Australian Army, designated "Armoured Recovery Vehicle - Medium" (ARVM).[2] With the arrival of the M1 Abrams in 2007, the Bergepanzer 2 retired.
Belgium – The Belgian Army originally had a stock of 36 BPz-2. 20 remaining vehicles were upgraded to the Bergepanzer 2000 in 2002. One vehicle was sold to Brazil. With the transformation of the Army, which eliminated tracked vehicles, the Bergepanzer 2 retired.[2]
Canada – Canada maintained 9 Bergepanzer 2A2s. The vehicles, designated "Taurus", were deployed in the tank companies of the Canadian Army. The armament used was the C6 GPMG machine gun.[2] Divestment of the Taurus was expected upon final delivery of the Bergepanzer 3, designated "Mammoth".[11]