Military Classic and Drive Report: FV433 Abbot Tank – Moving From Great Britain To America For A Working Retirement

After the absolute thrill of driving this retired British military tank, my first thought was to title this review “Now THIS Is Built Like A Tank!”.  But that is too simplistic; the history of the FV433 Abbot requires something more grandiloquent.

This tank is one of only 234 ever built, making it one of the more rare vehicles (of any type) that we’ve covered here.

By the late 1950s, the British military sought to update and modernize their World War II-era equipment, particularly given the threats in Eastern Europe at that time.  Among the equipment to modernize was their self-propelled guns.  The Ram based Sexton tank was the British Royal Artillery’s self-propelled gun at that time.  The Sexton, with its 25 pound gun, dated back to 1941 and had been developed in Canada (and also built there, according to some sources).

This Canadian involvement stemmed from the loss of British equipment at Dunkirk; the British could not supply Canada for potential entry into the war and most United States tank production (prior to the U.S. entering the war in December 1941) was being shipped to the United Kingdom.

The intent was to replace both the Sexton and the remaining towed guns still being used by the Royal Artillery.  For ease of production and parts interchangeability, the new FV433 was based upon the 15 ton FV432 armored personnel carrier that was coming into service.  The FV432 has been called the “Battle Taxi” by British soldiers.

Physical differences between the FV433 and the FV432 are primarily the addition of a 105 mm gun and turret on the outside and the relocated transmission.  Their abundant parts interchangeability is still paying dividends sixty years later and plays into our featured FV433.

Sorry; I’m getting ahead of myself.

Twelve prototypes for the FV433 had been produced by 1961.  All were powered by one of two Rolls-Royce engines, with the ultimate decision that all subsequent units would be powered by the same engine found in the FV432 and used in six of the prototypes.  This engine was a 240 horsepower multi-fuel unit, referred to as the K60.

The K60 was conceptualized by the War Office, Fighting Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (F.V.R.D.E) in Chertsey.  F.V.R.D.E. and Rolls Royce jointly developed the engine at Crewe.  The K60 was a 6.75 liter six-cylinder, opposed-piston two-stroke engine.  This engine was developed for military use although Rolls had literature discussing its availability for commercial use using diesel fuel.

Use of the name Abbot for the FV433 was keeping a British tradition that began during World War II where religious names, such as Priest, Bishop, and Sexton, were applied to self-propelled artillery.

Our featured Abbot began life weighing 16 tons.  It is 20 feet long, 8.5 feet wide, and just a few inches shorter in height than it is wide.  The gun’s barrel is 3.8 meters long with a 10,000 round life expectancy and a projectile range of approximately 11 miles.  Top speed is reported as being 22 miles per hour, although other sources say top speed was closer to 30 mph.

For comparison purposes, the American M4 Sherman tank, a staple of World War II and of which nearly 50,000 units were produced, was a 30 ton tank.

At some point after their retirement in 1993, several FV433 Abbots emigrated to Central Florida.  This is where our story takes a distinct turn.

Back in March, while planning a family trip to Tampa and Orlando, my wife found a place called “Tank America” in Orlando.  Intrigued, she called them.  As their website states, you can drive one of their tanks around a course, with a person having a menu of options for what they would like to do.

She booked me a drive on what is Father’s Day in the United States.  Mrs. Jason is utterly and unceasingly awesome.

The Tank America facility is located in northeastern Orlando near some industrial facilities.  When we arrived, Mrs. Jason checked in and learned the package she had purchased had been enhanced as part of a Father’s Day special.  Score!

There was a brief training prior to touching any tank.  It was a crash course in tank operation, maintenance issues, and the tanks themselves.

I had been speculating about what was powering these tanks, suspicioning the original engines were gone.  Sure enough, this was also covered.  The Rolls engines were becoming quite challenging in parts procurement; remember, these tanks are over 60 years old.  Thus, a couple of years ago, all of Tank America’s FV433s were re-powered by twelve valve, six-cylinder Cummins diesels.  Yes, they sound just like an older Dodge diesel pickup.  These Cummins were also more powerful than the original Rolls engines, producing around 375 horsepower and over 500 ft-lbs of torque.

One of the instructors talked about the original capabilities of the tank in more real world terms.  To roughly quote him:  “The guns on these tanks could hit a target ten miles away.  We are ten miles away from Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom.  If this tank could shoot, which it can’t because we’ve rendered it incapable of doing so, it could obliterate Cinderella’s castle.  But it can’t shoot and we would not do such a thing.”

We learned these machines are very maintenance intensive, which wasn’t a huge surprise.  They have a handful of units in daily use (all having names such as Deuces Wild, Dirty Blond, and Sugar Daddy, seen here) with one recently having issues with the track.  Since parts are hard to source, the tracks from an FV432 they owned were removed and put on the daily use unit.

Brakes are also a big wear item.  In a tank, there isn’t steering so much as there is braking.

Sorry; I’m getting ahead of myself, again.

I was paired with a ride along instructor whom I will call William.  That’s not his real name, but that’s okay.

William is a man who fits the part perfectly.  Stoic, possessing a great underlying sense of humor, and infinitely likable, William just looked like a tank commander.  He gave me a watered down crash course again before my drive.

Operating the Abbot is remarkably simple.  The process is quite similar to old bulldozers and not too far removed from a modern zero-turn lawnmower.  Sitting to your left is a gated, three section lever.  Up is neutral, down is forward; I’m guessing the middle is reverse, but we didn’t go there.

In turn, there is a pivoted pedal for your right foot.  Upward opens the throttle, downward closes the throttle.  Directly in front of you are two steel sticks.  That’s all there is.  Pulling the stick on the right triggers the right brake so you go right; pulling the stick on the left triggers the left brake so you go left.  Easy peasy.  Or is it?

To start moving, one needs to put the transmission into forward gear and give a slight pull to both sticks simultaneously before pushing them all the way forward.  The slight pull is accompanied by a mild click; this releases the brakes.  To stop, one pulls both sticks all the way back and simultaneously press the buttons on top of each stick with your thumb.

I did two laps of their full course.  The course consisted of several hills, a mud pit, a few turns, an open gap, and going over three cars.

Taking off was easy, although I discovered there is a high and low range in the transmission.  This wasn’t covered in my crash course, but William was excellent about helping me into high.  He was also excellent at patiently providing guidance to a sometimes hasty student.

 

There is no steering in a tank.  It’s built to go in a straight line.  Turning is when one needs to use the brake, however there needs to be judiciousness in brake use or the brakes can quickly be burned up.  Any turn is a series of straights and quick turns.  Mine and William’s banter going through a sweeping right turn was a series of “right, straight, right, straight, right, straight.”  The brake is activated by simply pulling down the stick for that side of the tank.  If you don’t need to turn, leave the sticks alone.

The tank I was assigned was Deuces Wild.  It seems Deuces Wild has been used in a few mainstream movies and was a willing participant in our adventure.  From the drivability standpoint, it was obvious she has been making more right turns lately than left ones as the right stick required more muscle to hold the brake than did the left stick.

As stated, the course had numerous obstacles.  Traversing hills means foot in throttle then off at the very top so gravity could pull you down.  Otherwise, it is a very unpleasant experience for passengers.  This happened on the very first hill and my wife, who was riding in the rear of the tank, bounced quite high.  It was a learning process.

The most odd experience on the course was driving over the three pre-crushed cars.  From what I could tell, this motley collection was a Chevrolet HHR, a Pontiac G6, and an older VW Jetta.  Going over them was unbelievably springy and bouncy, something I had not quite expected.  Well, I’m not really sure what I expected, but springy and bouncy was not it.

Power on this tank was no problem whatsoever.  With that amount of power, at such low gearing, one could feel the torque tugging on their neck.  That says much about the Cummins as it was already being tasked with moving 32,000 pounds of weight.

Toward the end of my first lap around the track, there was a decent length straightaway.  As soon as we got there, William told me to floor it.  Being the good student, I did so and we rapidly picked up a fair amount of momentum.  There is no way to know how fast we were going, although the initial instructor said these tanks can now push 45 mph with their new power plant.

 

So many reviews critique interior ergonomics.  There’s no such worry here – there are none.  Sitting in the driver’s seat, everything below my neck was in the tank while the rest of me was above.  There is no looking at the controls given the space constraints.  That is likely one reason (of many) for the initial instruction; a person needs to have a good grasp of how to control the machine before ever setting into motion.

One nice thing about this tank, and perhaps this is stated from the automotive enthusiast’s perspective, is everything about the Abbot is so delightfully mechanical.  Everything works together flawlessly; make no mistake, this is a very complex vehicle, but the feel and sound of everything (which all was easily heard despite the hearing protection) is a marvelous mechanical symphony.  It was perhaps as much of a visceral thrill as was the actual operation of the tank itself.

While Deuces Wild has endeared itself to me, I suspect the FV433 has also endeared itself to many who have been around them.

Mrs. Jason and I have a knack for meeting people from the U.K. when traveling.  This trip was no different.  Several days after driving the FV433, we took a swamp tour south of Kissimmee.  The other couple on board was from London.  Thinking the husband would appreciate the British connection, I mentioned having driven the tank after our tour.

His wife immediately spoke, saying “Oh, please, no…he’s retired military!”  Naturally, he was denying any interest to her while asking me more about my experience in the same breath.  He was familiar with the FV433 and was quite fond of them.

It’s doubtful this gentleman will find anything with the same combination of fulfilling, challenging, and fun in the Orlando area.  Orlando has a lot to offer, and we did an immense amount, but driving a tank is an experience that cannot be duplicated anywhere in the world outside of active military service.