US M113 Armored Personnel Carrier

By Crusader1307

The iconic and reliable M113 Armored Personnel Carrier (known simply as The “APC”), was a transportation “workhorse” used by American Military Forces during The Vietnam War . Developed by The Food Machinery Company, it was first deployed in 1962 with American Military Advisers to South Vietnam. It would become the most widely produced of it’s kind in The US Army Inventory  (with 80,000 made). The effectiveness of The M113 was incorporated in The Army’s Armored Cavalry Unit in 1965 with America’s full involvement in The War. The M113 weighed 10-tons and was 17-feet long. It was 8-feet by 8-feet in length and width. Crewed by a Driver and a Gunner, The M113 could carry an Infantry Squad of 11.  Made of 2-inch Aluminum Plate, it was a twin tracked, 5-wheeled support Vehicle. Using a diesel powered, torsion bar system, it could achieve 60 miles on land and 3 through water. Equipped with a .50 Caliber M2 Browning Machine Gun, some also carried The M60 7.62mm Machine Gun. Effective against small arms fire, it still was vulnerable to  the vaunted Soviet RPG-7. The M113 still remains in service today  (in variant), with plans to finally replacing it by 2018.