After sitting abandoned for over 10 years, we found and bought this unusual Combat Engineer Tractor (CET)… but getting it home was far from easy! With temperatures soaring during a heatwave, we battled fault after fault trying to bring this military machine back to life. After hours of diagnosing problems, repairing it in the field and wondering if we’d ever make it, we finally managed to get the engine running well enough to attempt loading it onto the lorry for the four-hour journey home. Back at the workshop, we take a closer look at the CET, uncover even more issues hiding beneath the surface and reveal our plans to fully restore this unique military engineering vehicle. Can this abandoned giant be saved? This is only the beginning… 👍 If you enjoyed the video, don’t forget to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE and leave a comment letting us know what you’d like to see us restore next! #Military #Restoration #Recovery #Abandoned #Engineering #CET #Workshop #HeavyEquipment
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The wooden block bloke really did awsome work
I’m a retired U.S. Army Engineer Officer, we had the M9 ACE for similar tasks. The M9 was a hydraulic nightmare and the opinion was we wanted to try the machine you’re working on - we were certain there was no way yours could be half as bad as the POS we operated.
How does Adam have such deep know how on that machine? It's super impressive to see.
one for these CET frogs save me and a few others in Bosnia in 93/94 Op Grapple 3 when we got Hi-Jacked at Bon Bon Corner, A Warrior and CET just burst through the road block and open the route up toward Vitez from Gornji Vakuf
Dave: "What does cb stand for?" Mr. Hewes: "Completely bollocksed."
If there’s one thing this channel has taught us, it’s that if you have a diesel engine, and it’s not running, it’s probably a stuck pump rack.
Massive bravery for Ariat who are providing shirts to the famously clean and tidy Mr Hewes
Joe showing up and instantly knowing where to look is becoming one of my favorite parts of these videos! 💪
in gulf war one I was with the Engineers and the CETs tipped up in our position and extremely quickly dug me a lovely FV434 sized hole - all I had to do was drive down into it and roll the cam net over the top - when they are working they are pretty rapid
Wow, glad that you are recovering this, I was serving in Germany when these were introduced into the Army, CET Combat Engineer Tractor the RE Swiss Army knife, sad to see it now in such a state, I hope you will save and restore it! Many thanks once again for saving our vehicular veterans who deserve better! 👍🏽🙏🏼 Celer et Audax ⚔️🔥💪🏼
I've swam the CET in the river Weser when it was at full flow and it was a great experience. That one you've got there has been stripped of its capacity to swim.
Operated, commanded and was an instructor on them.They was awesome bits of kits. Had to be worked hard to remain reliable. Had one that rarely brokedown in 18 months and had amother one in the gulf which was faultless The original concept was meant to be tri Army - British, W Germany and France. The other 2 pulled out so the brits coppled one together using components of other british equipment, in a sort of Heath Robinson way to save money at the sacrifice of reliability, but the designer is not going to operate it or maintain it so they dont care. Give us a shout if you want a user handbook and the REME technical books to maintain it.
I've just sent a link of this to my old buddy who used to operate these and for reasons not fully understood, thought they were great. I think they got better after they had been in service for awhile and got their foibles ironed out. I have two stand out recollections of them. Three of them got delivered to my regiment, one got off the Scammell, got half way round the camp and broke down. The second got halfway down the loading ramps before it broke down. The third didn't even manage to get off the trailer! I was involved in antitank ditches, it was deemed if we could stop a CET, we could stop a T72 as the track width was about the same (maybe you could confirm that?) A series of interlocking slit trenches were dug in various configurations until we found something that worked. That was included in our field defenses come the big push from 'the other side' (which thankfully didn't happen)
Don't try swimming it they do t have the original light weight tracks. When they got the new version of tracks they disconnected the pump drives. The new tracks are too heavy to float. When CET worked they dug tank ditches very well but they had to be working.
Hi Joe i was a CET instructor at Bovington camp and commanded one of the 2 CETs during the Falklands war and I’m happy to say we crossed the island and saw the end of the war we had no serious engine break downs but did burn out 2 gear boxes through the cet’s continual hard work by the way it’s a tractor not a trailer.
That was a hard fought battle. I think a lot of people don't realize how hard you guys work to get something running. It takes a special breed to do what you guys do. Cheers!
A FROG or as we in REME called in TOAD, as that is what they spent most of their time doing! BEING TOWED! Absolute nightmare but I loved them, great challange to work on. Have fun with the Fan Control system!
Once going, the CET was a great bit of kit, I worked alongside them on the MSR's during Grapple 1 and they did the job, ONCE WORKING! Servicing was a nightmare and parts were scarcer than chickens teeth as i remember, they spent more time VOR, taking up space in the LAD than actually working as you say. I did see one swimming, 95, Hawley Lake, Gib Barracks as part of a demonstration. Gib Barrracks was the training depot for the Royal Engineers, wonder of they have the swim kit laying around? Be great to see one working again, rather than it be turned into razor blades. Ubique.
Just what you need one more project
I believe Norfolk Tank Museum has a running version. Contact Steve or Aaron they'll tell you everything you need