Abstract: A hydraulic fan drive includes a hydraulic pump that has an adjustable swept volume. The hydraulic pump is assigned a pressure control valve arrangement that is configured to regulate a pump pressure by adjustment of the swept volume. The drive further includes a hydraulic motor configured to drive an impeller wheel and a pressure line, which is connected to a pressure input of the hydraulic motor and into which pressure medium is configured to be conveyed by the hydraulic pump. A hydraulic accumulator is connected to the pressure line and the displacement of the hydraulic motor is configured to be adjusted. Energy is buffer-stored by the hydraulic accumulator by feeding in pressure medium beyond the amount that is displaced by the hydraulic motor. This stored energy becomes free for other operations of a machine, for example, to which the drive is attached.