AFV Club 35S33 Bergepanzer 1 M88A1G

The M88 is an American modern technical security vehicle. The first prototypes of the vehicle were created in the late 1950s, and serial production was carried out in the period 1961-2005. The basic version of the M88 is powered by a single Continental AVDS-1790-2DR engine with 750 HP. The vehicle has no fixed armament.

The M88 is a technical support vehicle, which is primarily to enable efficient and possibly quick evacuation of damaged tanks from the battlefield. Its design was based on the M48 Patton tank. The conversion affected the hull, on which in the front part there was an armored superstructure with a crew compartment. In addition, the M88 is equipped with two winches with a pulling force of up to 40 tons. In addition, vehicles of this type are equipped with electric and gas welding equipment, as well as an installation enabling pumping and pumping out of fuel in field conditions. Three variants of the car were created in the course of serial production. The first mass produced was the M88. From 1972, the M88A1 cars were introduced to the line. The main change was the installation of a more modern engine from the M60 tank. In the last production batches of the M88A1 cars, a device for creating a smoke screen was added and the crew's shield against weapons of mass destruction was improved. The last version, production of which began in 1997, is the M88A2 Hercules. It has a more powerful engine (1050 HP), reinforced armor and significantly improved hydraulic devices, which increased the pulling power of the winch from 40 to 63 tons. Vehicles of this type took part in many armed conflicts, including the Vietnam War (1964 / 1965-1975), the Persian Gulf War (1990-1991) and the 2003 Iraq War.