Tanks in Rubble

Bombed out store fronts.

Enemy in almost any direction requires a 360 defense.

Vehicles that were rarely seen on the battlefield.

Mostly used in the indirect fire mode, or in long distance ambush.  Pulling away before the enemy got within range.

It was too slow to out run the enemy so it would usually retire to a secondary prepared position.

 Super heavy rocket gun, perfect for urban combat.

Very Late War Heavy Tanks

Two series production Tiger II tanks with the urban ambush camouflage scheme.

A familiar sight late in the war, Germans troops defending rubble.

Triple purpose, dual 128mm Anti-Aircraft, Anti-Tank, and indirect fire turret for the Tiger II.  The turret is very heavy and the tank was quite slow.

Porsche tank hull with early production Tiger turret.

Late war urban ambush scheme, this time in color.
 

ARV and ARV

Here are the two Soviet ARVs that I made from Roco Minitanks T34 tanks.

I suspect that  ARVs like this were in the inventory of the Soviet Union perhaps as late as the end of the Cold War.

Certainly there are nations, Yemen and Vietnam that STILL use the T34 as an active duty tank in 2026.

So there must be some that still have them in reserve!

Tanks are expensive and even an old tank, as long as it runs is useful.

I painted these in the color that I use for the Soviet Union in WWII and into the early Cold War until about 1960.
 

ARV Towing Vehicle

A Soviet truck and two armored recovery vehicles, receiving supplies.

The weight of tanks puts a lot of wear on them, but without the turret and a ton of ammunition they ARV often lasted longer than the tanks.

So in real life an older ARV might serve more modern tanks as long as they were in the same weight class.

A towing vehicle like this could also serve in armored personnel carrier or armored artillery units.

I like them in wargames because if there are a few tanks knocked out on the bridge or in the mountain pass or on the main street, the ARV can remove the obstacles.  Sometime a smoke mortar might be part of the ARV kit so they can provide a screen to work behind.