bc22wm
Professional
concertina wire. They are there so at high speed when you can get too close and rip the canvas top of the Battalion commander's jeep right off. Ask me how I know
M113 APC: Ubiquitous Armored Personnel Carrier In Vietnam to Ukraine
- Thread starter Mike H.
- Start date
I always thought the M113 should have been up gunned from a .50 to a 20mm. This was more than &0 years ago when I switched to the Army Guard. I did some research and the Navy still had lots of WW2 vintage 20mm cannons in storage. I imagine the firepower increase would have been welcomed, but…my suggestion went nowhere.
bc22wm
Professional
Don't you go messing with Ma. It's an armored personal carrier not a tank full of bleeping "clankers".
I was stationed a Benning when the Army was trying to sell the Bradly to congress. I had time off so went over and watched the show the Army put on for the armed services committee. Of course, it was all the Bradly can do such and such that the 113 can't. One in particular that irked me and I remember was that the Bradly climbing a 3 foot wall and the 113 going around. I was just back from the ROK where we routinely climbed 3 & 4 foot ice covered rice dikes. After the show was over and the suits left, I went and talked to the crew of the 113. They confirmed my suspicions, they had been threatened with article 15s if they really put the 113 though it's paces.
HayesGreener
Ronin
We used the 113 as a QRF vehicle for Airbase Defense in Southeast Asia. I loved driving the thing. The XM706 wheeled vehicle was faster but the 113 had more power and I think was tougher. Ma Deuce would get that box to rocking!
HayesGreener
Ronin
Cedric
Custom
We had a contemporary 20mm cannon already for the M114 scout track. We didn't have to take anything out of storage. The questions we need to ask is what is the role of the vehicle, what is the logistic support for the 20mm, crew training, ammo storage, engine power, etc. All are tradeoffs. My personal view is that for mech platoons we should go with five M113s: Four for the rifle squads with Caliber 50s, and one with a turret with a short barrel 75mm for direct fire support for the platoon which is where the platoon leader/platoon HQ would be. This vehicle was already being used by the Australian Army, so it would have been relatively easy to incorporate into our logistic and maintenance system.
KillerFord1977
SAINT
As a kid, i was enamoured with the M706. Reading “The Guardians” novels and Vietnam war books, it was my favorite military vehicle.
Would live to own one now
HayesGreener
Ronin
That big sonofagun would get up and GO! Mechanics complained it had too much HP for the transmission, though. It was great for getting a fire team to a spot on the perimeter in a hurry.
Warrior9(Ret)
Operator
When I was a TC (Track Commander) with the 3rd Armored Division in Germany, we were equipped with 4 M113’s per Platoon. Each had a side-by-side mounting system. One was for the M2 HMG and the other was for the M47 Dragon MAW ( Medium Anti-Tank Weapon). We never did any live-firing with the M47 but we did a heck of a lot with the 50 Cal
Warrior9(Ret)
Operator
Sure was. The Concertina wire was strapped to front trim vane along with engineer stakes
OldGrunt
Custom
One of my rides while I was stationed at Fort Carson, CO, 4th Infantry Division. A variant of the M113. This is an M901 ITV (Improved T.O.W. Vehicle). And I also bounced around a lot in a M113 too. In the picture, we are loading up to head out to the field for about 3 weeks or so of training. 1985.
The Night Rider
Professional
Banana Belt?
OldGrunt
Custom
The Night Rider
Professional
I was up at the north end. Pretty close to Hambone's tomb
OldGrunt
Custom
I was in the 1st & 10th Infantry, probably had been de-activated by your time at Carson.
The Night Rider
Professional
OldGrunt
Custom
Looks like the years you were at Fort Carson, I was in the Marine Corps.
OldGrunt
Custom
Here's a kinda funny thing. One of the units I was in during my time in the Marine Corps is having a reunion in Colorado Springs sometime in May. Right now, I have so much going on, that I can't commit to going right now, but still might show up at the last minute. I'll for sure be going back on Fort Carson for old time's sake!
FWIW, I was a decorated ACAV commander with G/2/11th ACR in my second campaign. I had the Troop Medic on my car, which was fully fitted out to fight. https://museum.vhpa.org/11thcav/11thcav.shtml
Two exposures taken from my ACAV at a halt when X-Ray, our FO, threw a track in some VERY bad terrain. I volunteered my vehicle to leave the column, go back and secure them while they re-tracked. During this time a ground fire threatened to over-run our position and I had no tow cables so it got real busy. Never imagined I'd be able to make panoramics when I took these. I had to change film between the two so that's the color issue...we used what we could get.
We were joined by two other vehicles that had made field repairs and I got to bring my little "mini-platoon" of three ACAV's and one Sheridan back to the patrol. Other pics of mine can be seen at the link.
"Head Shoppe" is not an illicit drug reference, it's to the Medic who was based on my car along with his medical supplies. The driver nose art is a variant of the Graham Parsons song "He's a drug store truck driving man" done by and about the Byrds who had been treated shabbily on the syndicated radio & TV show "Nashville Now" and it's host, Ralph Emory who had been so rude to the Byrds. We changed it to "track driving man" because that was my driver's position.
Two exposures taken from my ACAV at a halt when X-Ray, our FO, threw a track in some VERY bad terrain. I volunteered my vehicle to leave the column, go back and secure them while they re-tracked. During this time a ground fire threatened to over-run our position and I had no tow cables so it got real busy. Never imagined I'd be able to make panoramics when I took these. I had to change film between the two so that's the color issue...we used what we could get.
We were joined by two other vehicles that had made field repairs and I got to bring my little "mini-platoon" of three ACAV's and one Sheridan back to the patrol. Other pics of mine can be seen at the link.
"Head Shoppe" is not an illicit drug reference, it's to the Medic who was based on my car along with his medical supplies. The driver nose art is a variant of the Graham Parsons song "He's a drug store truck driving man" done by and about the Byrds who had been treated shabbily on the syndicated radio & TV show "Nashville Now" and it's host, Ralph Emory who had been so rude to the Byrds. We changed it to "track driving man" because that was my driver's position.
