Armoured recovery vehicle

Typically, any specialized lifting and recovery equipment replaces the turret and cannon found on a battle tank.

ARVs may in some cases have electric generators, blowtorches, chainsaws and fuel pumps to help with recovery operations, or spare parts, to facilitate field repairs.

Early ARVs in WWII were often repurposed tanks, with the turret and armament removed and replaced with some type of winch.

Some were also purpose-built in factories, using an existing tank chassis with a hull superstructure to accommodate repair and recovery equipment.

Many of the latter type of ARV had an A-frame or crane to allow the vehicle's crew to perform heavy lifting tasks, such as removing the engine from a disabled tank.

Many ARVs are also equipped with a bulldozer blade that can be used as an anchor when winching or as a stabiliser when lifting, a pump to transfer fuel to another vehicle, and more.

When the UK received supplies of US medium tanks – first the M3, then M4 Sherman, conversions were made of these to operate alongside and so simplify support.