at the tank parks in aid of moving, maintaining, and repairing damaged tanks. Second World War The first true ARVs were introduced in World War II, often by converting obsolete or damaged tanks, usually by removing the turret and installing a heavy-duty winch to free stuck vehicles, plus a variety of vehicle repair tools. 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. Postwar After World War II, most countries' MBT models also had corresponding ARV variants. 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. Some can even carry a spare engine for field replacement, such as the German Leopard 1 ARV. Characteristics and roles ARVs are normally built on the chassis of a main battle tank (MBT), but some are also constructed on the basis of other armoured fighting vehicles, mostly armoured personnel carriers (APCs). ARVs are usually built on the basis of a vehicle in the same class as they are supposed to recover; a tank-based ARV is used to recover tanks, while an APC-based one recovers APCs (it does not have the power to tow a much heavier tank). ARVs with a crane can be used to lift and place concrete fortifications in place and help with other battlefield engineering. Some combat engineering vehicles (CEVs) are based on ARVs. List The following is a list of ARVs by country, either designer/manufacturer or user. Argentina TAM VCRT, based on Tanque Argentino Mediano Austria SB-20 Greif, based on SK-105 Kürassier Canada Ram ARV (WWII) AVGP Husky (1976–present) MTVR (-present) Bison MRV(-present) Leopard 2 ARV (-present) Czechoslovakia VT-34 ARV, based on T-34 chassis JT-34 crane tank, based on T-34 chassis VT-55A ARV, based on T-55 Chassis VT-72B ARV, based on T-72 chassis - (1987 to 1989) VPV Brem-Tch, based on BVP-1 chassis (Czech build BMP) - (1985 to 1989) Denmark Wisent 1 ARV based on the Bergepanzer - Leopard 1 tank France M32 Tank Recovery Vehicle, based on the Sherman tank (from 1944) M74 Tank Recovery Vehicle (1954–1975) AMX 30 D