Brief History of the M113 APC

[@rrl4245]

Having served in both the gasser and the M113A1 diesel, we appreciated the A1 version as the fuel was much less likely to catch fire if/when the armor was penetrated.

[@cbroz7492]

..we git the diesel version in Getmany in late 72 ir earl 73,IIRC....

[@cbroz7492]

..kinda like the Higgins boats..designed to ferry troops ashore..not fight...

[@astridvallati4762]

Australia modified its,APCs to have a Turret with either 2 .30 BMGs or 1 .50 and one .30 BMG with internal controls. I the 2000-2010 Rebuilding the Shell and Chassis gave the Carriers an extra Road Wheel Pair, and added Lenght increasing Carring Capacity. Steering was upgraded from Levers to,a Steering Wheel... I driver trained on the First Turretted Version back in 72-74; OK on flexible .30/.50, barely qualified on Remote inside Turret firing.

[@davidbrooks1724]

11 passengers is a stretch if you have gear . Maybe Velcro a few to the outside . I would say more like 8 and a 2 man crew . And that is still tight with full rucksack

[@dannyzero692]

I think the poor armor protection isn’t a big consideration at the time, what they want is a troop transport that can keep up with tanks and to go where halftracks and trucks aren’t able to. When neither the truck nor the halftrack had good protection against RPG you can see why the requirements for protection is so low. It wasn’t meant to fight in the frontline either like an IFV, they’d drop troops before an engagement and provide light fire support from the .50 cals for the infantry which would advance forwards with legs with the tanks during combat, then mounts up and move after the fight is concluded. Everything about it made sense from a theoretical perspective but theory often doesn’t translate well into practice because commanders tend to have a habit of not using them the way they are intended to.

[@cbroz7492]

Exactly..my track was a 577

[@andreww1225]

what versions are the most advanced today?

[@Weetbix1969]

tx100 only has 3 forward gears not 4. it has 4 gear range selections being 1, 1-2, 1-3 and 2-3

[@cbroz7492]

..this was MY track in Gernany 50 years ago..but in the M577 guise..I was the battalion S2 clerk..can't understand why this ubiquitous track never got a cool nickname

[@asadini]

They are completely lacking decent armor protection. Even if light turret is mounted for the gunner that somehow stops .50 cal , it is more than likely that it would be done for with an RPG. Extra sheets of metal, armor packs, wood and sand bags have been used to bolster the armor. Which all makes it better than an uparmored HUMVEE but that would be it.

[@khalifgreen581]

When I was in iraq in 2004 one of our medic 113s sustained shrapnel from a rocket attack. The shrapnel sliced through like Swiss chess from one side to the other.

[@Predator42ID]

40, shucks that's not even close. Someone actually counted the number of variants and it's a staggering 314 variants of the M113.

[@terryfowler6090]

Original concept was enough armor to protect against shrapnel. It was never meant to stop bullets.

[@joeyortiz2655]

The Philippine Armed Forces Have Many of Those Over 200.. Some 3 Dozen were Upgraded...

[@czyettczarron5892]

The M113 was a victim of flawed tactical use. Should be a tracked utility vehicle (imagine WW2 Jeep only tracked and enclosed) instead of APC.

[@dannyzero692]

They did experiment with a turretless M18 Hellcat to be used as a fully tracked utility vehicle during WW2, but the need isn’t there yet and the M3 Halftrack is already in service which fulfills the same role.

[@PetarVujanovic-dl7ne]

Vozilo je dobro samo za safari u keniji

[@afkfromk1]

yes, and now it died in Ukraine

[@asadini]

Alongwith the T72

[@DOSFS]

And T-90M

[@frankrenda2519]

@@asadini like abrams and leopards in syria and saudi arabia

[@asadini]

@@frankrenda2519 Abrams in Yemen and Leopards in Syria were driven by idiots.

[@frankrenda2519]

@@asadini driving has got nothing to do with it russian atgms made scrap metal out of them

[@shanequeen5003]

The Ukrainian coffee