The little army tank that could…
Repair work will soon start to get the tank back up to fighting readiness
On Friday night on the N3, along the notorious Van Reenen’s Pass, a 65-ton main battle tank belonging to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) fell off an army transport truck.
According to initial reports, the truck’s brakes failed and the driver attempted to slow the truck by driving onto an arrestor bed which brought the 28-wheeler truck to an almost immediate stop, tossing the tank off. The tank ended up upside-down, blocking a single lane of the N3 .
A team of experts from both the private sector and the SANDF were assembled to remove the tank from the N3 northbound lane.
The removal operation by the SANDF late on Saturday afternoon was carried out without a hitch.
An SANDF recovery team, together with the help of a private breakdown service, got the tank back on its wheels again and onto a truck to be taken to an undisclosed destination. An investigation into the incident will be carried out by the army.
‘The little tank that could’ captured the imagination of all who worked to recover her 65 tons of fighting machine. Repair work will soon start to get the tank back up to fighting readiness.
Related stories:
Battle tank still at Van Reenen
SANDF main battle tank damaged in Van Reenen crash
