Some of the peacetime backroom development that has followed as a natural progression to the waterproofing of vehicles which helped in the wartime landings on enemy coasts was in evidence in the Torridge estuary last week.

Observers from the Ministry of Defence in London, together with those from other experimental and development units in the UK, watched as a 50-ton Chieftain tank, which has been converted into an armoured recovery vehicle, went completely underwater, except for a snorkel, from the beach at Instow across the river bed to Crow Point.
The new equipment in use has been developed at the Fording Trials Branch of REME at Instow and the trials were concerned with the ability of the Chieftain ARV to support tanks in a river crossing environment.
Gazette article dated 7 May 1971