After forlornly sitting in our yard for the last 10 years, the Combat Engineer Tractor is off to a new home. Originally purchased to supply tank driving experiences at an attraction in North Devon which eventually didn’t happen for a multitude of reasons, the CET or, for those who used to drive one for a living, Frog has sat in the corner of our yard slowly deteriorating and looking incredibly sad.
Frogs were originally used by the Royal Engineers as an armoured vehicle to support main battle tanks by digging through anti-tank ditches, laying trackway and fascines across obstacles, digging entrances and exit tracks on river banks for M2 amphibious bridges to enter the water and general earthmoving duties. As per every armoured tracked vehicle they weren’t the most reliable but the Frog was top of the list of ‘most likely to breakdown when used’. In the hands of an unsympathetic driver they were a nightmare as they wouldn’t stand a lot of abuse, not the best built in design feature for a British army squaddie, but with a bit of tender loving care and affection they just about edged into the ‘alright bracket’. They even used to swim after a bit of preparation, not the best of experiences as 90% of the vehicle was underwater!!!
It was time for it to go to a new home though as PES didn’t have any use for it and, apart from the odd start up and run round the yard, it was just going to sit there and rot. Contact was made with Joe from Mr Hewes, the well-known YouTube content provider who loves finding old, knackered military vehicles and breathing new life into them. If you look at the YouTube site you can see all kinds of military vehicles being restored to their former glory whilst effectively ‘titting about’ with his mates. A deal was done and the Frog is off to a better home where it will be restored to a working condition.
You can see Joe and the team recovering the Frog from our yard on the link below:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLQqs-ufWTs
You might even spot a cameo performance by our Glynn and Shaun giving a helping hand!!!
It’s billed as the hardest recovery they’ve ever done, not just because they did it on one of the hottest days in the last 100 years, but working on them without removing the top panels, especially round the engine was a nightmare. For all those Frog ops, can you remember hanging upside down, down the side of the engine trying to replace the heat exchangers and then having to be pulled out by your legs when you got stuck!!!
Check out the Mr Hewes site and watch PES’s Frog being restored to its former glory or if you fancy seeing the vehicles in the flesh go to Operation Market Harborough on 01 and 02 August at the Market Harborough Showground.
