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M113 (Front view, right side)

 
 

Front view, right side

Picture courtesy of Martin Pagh, Horsens

 

Danish Army Specific: The picture above shows the standard version of the M113 - the armoured personnel carrier. The Danish Army has 738 M113s of the various versions. 313 personnel carriers, 375 in different configurations and 50 armed with a 25 mm machine gun (figures changed since first entry made).
To replace the
M3 and the Chevrolet C15TA the first 450 (M113) were delivered in 1962 - 1964. The A1 were delivered between 1967 - 1975 and 1978 - 1979.
All vehicles were "mid-life-updated" by
Falck Schmidt, Odense during 1972-73, and 257 vehicles are currently being up-dated again (see M113 G3 DK entry).
When delivered the M113 had the original T130 track. These were later replaced by the German produced 213-B from Diehl.
Historical
: In January 1956 ATAC initiated a program to design and build a lightweight armoured personnel carrier for the US Army to replace the M59 and M75 tracked APC´s. It had to be amphibious and capable of air-drop operations with a good cross-country performance, and also be adaptable to other purposes.
A batch of prototypes, from a basic concept by the Detroit Arsenal, were produced by The Food Machinery & Chemical Corporation (FMC) in 1955. Production took place from June 1960 by FMC in San Jose, California. Initial contract considered 900 units.
The M113 family was the first ever aluminium armoured fighting vehicle to go to mass production.
The M113A1 with diesel engine arrived in 1964 and the A2 with suspension and cooling enhancements in 1979. Derivatives of the M113 are vehicles like M577A1 command vehicle, M741 "Vulcan" air defence vehicle, M548 cargo carrier, M667 "Lance" missile carrier, and M730 "Chaparral" missile carrier.
Since their initial introduction in 1960, M113-based systems have entered service in more than 50 countries. More than 80.000 of all versions produced, and still in production, while existing chassis are being upgraded to modern configurations.
Some 4.000 were produced by Oto Melara in Italy for the Italian Army and for export.
The original M113
APC helped to revolutionise mobile military operations. The vehicles were able to carry 11 soldiers plus a driver and track commander under armour protection across hostile battlefield environments. More importantly, the new vehicles were air transportable, air-dropable, and swimmable, allowing planners to incorporate APCs in a much wider range of combat situations, including many "rapid deployment" scenarios.
The M113 was eventually supplanted in the US Army by the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, which had been in the development process since 1964. The Army awarded the Food Machinery Corporation of San Jose, California, a 29.2-million-dollar development contract in the fall of 1972.
Length: 4.87 m (190 inches).
Width: 2.69 m (105 inches).
Height: 2.20 m (86 inches).
Weight: 10.775 kg (23.705 lb.)/10.975 kg (24.145 lb.).
Armour
: 0.12 - 0.38 m (0.47 - 1.58 inches).
Engine
: V8-cylinder Chrysler 75M, 5.913 cm3 (360 cubic inches)/V6-cylinder Detroit Diesel 6V53, 5.225 cm3 (318 cubic inches).
Horsepower: 209 at 4.000 rpm/210 at 2.800 rpm.
Transmission: 6-speed Allison TX 200-2A/3-speed Allison TX 100-1.
Transfer case: 2-speed.
Electrical system: 24 volt, negative ground.
Brakes: Mechanical.
Fuel type: Petrol/Diesel.
Fuel capacity: 303 liter (66 gallons)/360 liter (79 gallons).
Range: 325 km (203 miles)/480 km (300 miles).
Crew: 2 + 11.
Armament: Armed with a 7.62 (cal. 0.30) or a 12.7 mm (cal. 0.50) machine-gun.
Additional: Speed 65/70 km/h.

The M113 (G3 DK version only) is used by the Danish Army in a large variety of versions, including:
- M113 and M113A1 Armoured Personnel Carrier (see above),
-
M113A1 with Add-On-Armour (47 kb),
-
Command Post (39 kb),
-
Green Archer mortar locating radar (85 and 109 kb),
-
Mortar carrier (M106/M125A1) (41 kb),
-
TOW-equipped (79 kb),
-
Dozer-equipped (62 kb),
-
Radar ZB 298, (100 kb),
-
Engineering Vehicle (44 kb),
-
"Fitter´s Vehicle" (27 kb),
-
Ambulance (94 kb),
-
Fire fighting (78 kb),
-
M113A2 DK I (PNMK M/92) (90 kb),
-
M113A2 DK Fire fighting (109 kb) and
-
M113 G3 DK (121 kb).


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