Watch a Maruti Gypsy getting rescued by Indian Army tank! [Video]

Indian Amry has started replacing the good old Maruti Gypsy with the Tata Safari Storme recently but it is an ongoing process and the Army still has thousands of Maruti Gypsy. The Maruti Gypsy is known for its lightweight body, which makes it a great off-roading vehicle but there are times when even the Gypsy gets stuck in challenging situations. This is how the Indian Army rescues their stuck vehicles.

Saved by a Battle Tank!

While getting rescued by heavy vehicles like Bulldozers and heavy cranes is quite common on the roads, a tank pulling out a vehicle is uncommon and very rare. The video here shows a Maruti Gypsy getting pulled out by an Indian Army battle tank, most likely a T90 Bhishma. It is an easy job for the tank but it is quite unique.

The Maruti Gypsy can be seen stuck in the loose sand of the desert. The exact location of the event is not known but it sure looks like somewhere in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, which is Indian Army’s one of the biggest bases in the country. The video shows the battle tank tied to the Gypsy and coming out of the situation without much problem. The tank pulls out the Gypsy without much problem and continues to do so while the Army,men overlook the situation. The Maruti Gypsy is extremely lightweight, which makes rescuing it very easy.

Even though the Gypsy gets 4X4 low-ratio gearbox, it can get stuck in challenging situations. Whereas the tanks are made to go over any kind of surface and are extremely capable. Even though the tanks are much heavier than the cars, they get the caterpillar tracks, which makes them immensely capable. The caterpillar tracks distribute the weight of the vehicle over a large surface area, which ensures that very less pressure is applied on the ground. The tyres get very less contact area with the road and the weight is concentrated. It makes things quite difficult for cars in marshy or loose sand situations. This makes the tanks much more capable than the tyred cars in difficult situations like sand dunes or marshy lands.

It can be noted the Gypsy lifts from the ground when the tank tries to pull it out. The towing rope on the tank is tied at a height which creates the upward force causing the SUV to lift up. This is not the ideal way to tow or rescue a vehicle as the force acts in two different directions and more power is needed to pull out the vehicle. The towing rope should be tied at the same height, which will ensure that maximum force is used to pull the vehicle for the horizontal movement and not vertical movement. If the tank is replaced by a regular vehicle in this situation and the set-up remains the same, it would have been extremely difficult to pull out the vehicle. It is the sheer power of the tank that makes the set-up work.