M113 APC

[ArmySGT.]

Name M113
Crew 2+11
Length M113A2: 15 ft 11 in (4.86 m)
M113A3: 17 ft 5 in (5.30m)
Width 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)

Height height with air defense machine gun 8 ft 3 in (2.52 m)
Ground Clearance 17 in (430 mm)
Turning radius Capable of zero point turn.
Max road speed 40 mph (64 km/h)
Max. towed load. 14,500 lb (6583 kg)
Water Speed 3.6 mph (5.79 km/h)
Fording depth 40 in. (101.6 cm)
Gradient 60 percent
Side slope 30 percent
Vertical obstacle 2 ft (0.7 m)
Trench 5-1/2 ft (1.67 m)
Armor class 5083 aluminum hull (12-38mm), antimine applique armor on the bottom
Armament M2HB
Ammunition 5 Belts

M113A2
This carrier is designed to carry 12 troops plus the driver. It can be used for cargo, ambulance, or reconnaissance work. A
caliber .50 machine gun is mounted on a cupola on top of the carrier. The M113A2’s capabilities and features are:
It travels easily over rough terrain.
It fords water up to 40 inches deep.
It can move at high speeds on improved roads and highways.
It is air transportable and can be dropped by parachute to troops in the field.
It is propelled and steered on land and in water by tracks.
It has M17 periscopes around the driver’s and commander’s hatches for vision when buttoned up.
It has an M19 infrared periscope stowed near the driver. The periscope can be installed in the driver’s hatch to provide
night vision under blackout conditions.
It is equipped with smoke grenade launchers.
It is equipped to carry an NBC (gas particulate filter) unit, driver’s windshield kit, engine coolant heater kit, and
personnel heater kit (for cold weather operation).
It can be equipped to carry a hospital litter kit, marine recovery kit, capstan kit, Dragon missile system, and night
observation device system.

M113A3
This carrier is designed to carry 12 troops plus the driver. It can be used for cargo, ambulance, or reconnaissance work. A
caliber .50 machine gun is mounted on a cupola on top of the carrier. The M113A2’s capabilities and features are:
It travels easily over rough terrain.
It fords water up to 40 inches deep.
It can move at high speeds on improved roads and highways.
It is air transportable and can be dropped by parachute to troops in the field.
It is propelled and steered on land and in water by tracks.
It has M17 periscopes around the driver’s and commander’s hatches for vision when buttoned up.
It has an M19 infrared periscope stowed near the driver. The periscope can be installed in the driver’s hatch to provide
night vision under blackout conditions.
It is equipped with smoke grenade launchers.
It is equipped to carry an NBC (gas particulate filter) unit, driver’s windshield kit, engine coolant heater kit, and
personnel heater kit (for cold weather operation).
It can be equipped to carry a hospital litter kit, marine recovery kit, capstan kit, Dragon missile system, and night
observation device system.

[ArmySGT.]

M113 (Osprey “Encyclopedia of modern U.S. Weapons, pages 203-204)
The US Ml 13 Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) is the most widely used of all non-Soviet APCs. Its hull and powertrain have been the basis for a great variety of battlefield vehicles, some modifications representing functional changes and others differences in locally available weapons, powerplants, or sensors. In configuration, the Ml 13 is a
slimmed-down version of the earlier M59. The boxy hull is welded aluminum with a steeply sloped glacis and flat top. Although there is a roof hatch, troops enter the compartment on a lowered rear ramp. There are no firing ports or vision blocks. In February 1987, the General Accounting Office contended that an Ml 13A3 would be as mobile as the newer M2 Bradley and would be less likely to explode because of the less volatile ammunition it carries. Rebuttals to the report noted that the Ml 13 was not as well armed or as easy for infantry to dismount from as the Bradley. US experience in Operation Desert Storm suggests that the Bradley's thermal sights and 25-mm Chain Gun, which the M113A3 does not have, were critical elements in the M2's success.

VARIANTS • Ml13 gasoline-powered APC derived from T113E1, M113A1diesel-powered production model (25,459 produced), M113A2 (1978), M113A3 (1987). M106 (107-mm), M125 (81-mm), M1064 (120-mm) mortar carriers. Canadian M113A2s fitted with the Air Defense, Antitank System (ADATS) missile launcher. M548 cargo carrier, M577 series command post, Ml068 Standard Integrated Command Post Systems (SICPS). M901 Improved TOW Vehicle (ITV) with two TOW antitank missiles. M981 Fire Support Vehicle (FSV) with laser designator in erectable "hammerhead" mount. Ml 015 Electronic Warfare (EW) systems carrier. Ml 059 Smoke Generator Carrier.

DEVELOPMENT • Production began in 1959, with the Ml 13 achieving initial operational capability in 1959, M113A1 in 1965. More than 78,000 were produced for over 50 countries by FMC Corp. of San Jose, California, with license production by OTO Melara of Italy and Thyssen-Henschel of Germany, with Pakistan assembly of 775 M113A2s beginning in 1990. Known as the Zelda in Israeli service.

COMBAT EXPERIENCE • Ml 13s were widely deployed in several versions, including the basic APC, with US, Vietnamese, Australian, and South Korean units in Vietnam. Experiments with camouflage and firing ports (to allow firing under cover) were short-lived and unsuccessful. A bridgelayer conversion, on the other hand, improved unit mobility in the marshes and defiles. Ml 13s have also seen extensive service in several Israeli- Arab conflicts. M901 ITVs, M981 FIST-Vs, and M577 command vehicles were deployed in US Army units in Saudi Arabia during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The M577s and the M981 FSVs were slowed down by the sand and proved to be the vehicles that most limited the tracked artillery's speed of maneuver and prevented greater use of Copperhead laser-guided projectiles. (The most effective laser platform was the OH-58D Kiowa AHIP helicopter.)
In fact, the M981 was the most severely criticized of all US military systems for its sluggishness in the sand, the need to be stationary to operate its "hammerhead," and its inferior optics, which often didn't see targets being engaged by M1A1 Abrams tank and M2/M3 Bradley fighting vehicles. In addition, having to orient the FIST-V's NSG added eight to 10 minutes to the time needed to provide targeting information, which was far too long in a fluid battlefield. Saudi Arabian, Kuwaiti, and Egyptian Ml 13s also participated in the ground war. None of the 50 M901 ITVs captured in Kuwait by the Iraqi Army took any part in the ground war. A US M577 was accidentally struck by an AGM-114 Hellfire missile a week before the ground war began; several soldiers were wounded.

SPECIFICATIONS •
CREW 2 (commander, driver) + 11 troops
WEIGHT
M113A2: 24,986 Ib (11,334 kg)
M113A3: 27,180 Ib (12,339 kg)
ground pressure
M113A2:7.961b/in2 (0.56 kg/cm2)
M113A3:8.571b/in2 (0.60 kg/cm2)
DIMENSIONS
hull length M113A2: 15 ft 11 in (4.86 m)
M113A3: 17 ft 5 in (5.30m)
Width 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)
height with air defense machine gun
8 ft 3 in (2.52 m)
length of track on ground
8 ft 9 in (2.67 m)
ground clearance
17 in (430 mm)
track width 15 in (380 mm)
MAIN ARMAMENT
12.7-mm M2 HB machine gun with 2,000 rounds pintle mounted at commander's hatch (M113A3 has armored gun shield)
elevation -217+53°, traverse 360°
ARMOR
5083 aluminum hull (12-38 mm), antimine applique armor on the bottom
POWERPLANT
Detroit Diesel model 6V53 215-hp (M113A2) or 6V53T 275-hp (M113A3) water-cooled 2-stroke V-6 diesel engine; M113A2 Allison TX-100-1 crossdrive transmission with 3 forward/1 reverse gears; M113A3 TX-200-4 hydrokinetic crossdrive transmission with 4 forward/1 reverse gears power-to-weight ratio at combat weight M113A2 18.51 hp/metric
ton; Ml 13A3 22.45 hp/metric ton
SUSPENSION (EACH SIDE)
torsion bar, 5 road wheels, front drive, rear idler, 2 shock absorbers, no return rollers
SPEED
road M113A2 38 mph (61 km/ h), M113A3 41 mph (65 km/h), cross-country (at 26,500 lb/12,020 kg), M113A1/A2 16.8 mph (27 km/ h), M113A3 22 mph (35.4 km/h); 3.6 mph (5.8 km/h) in water, acceleration 0-20 mph (0-32 km/h) at 26,500 lb (12,020 kg) M113A1/A2 11 sec, M113A3 9 sec
RANGE
M113A2 300 mi (483 km); M113A3309mi (497km)
OBSTACLE CLEARANCE
vertical 2 ft, (0.61 m), gradient 60%, side slope 30%, trench 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m), amphibious M113A2

[ArmySGT.]

[ArmySGT.]

The M113 family of vehicles began as an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) for transporting troops into battle and deploying them near an objective with supporting fire from a pintle mounted .50 cal Browning machineguns. The design called for the M113 to be both amphibious, and transportable, even air droppable. These design requirements forced the designers to use lightweight aluminum alloys and to lightly armor the vehicle. Originally meant to protect the crew and dismounts from cartridges of 7.62 NATO and below, as well as fragments from artillery shells up to 155mm detonating more than 30 meters distant, this armor level has been modified and upgraded by various users. At the time of the War (19 November 1989) the U.S. Army had thousands of these and variants in service, with the U.S. Air Force also using some for base defense. Thousands more can be found in the units of the National Guard and Army Reserves. Under programs to support state and local police forces some M113s or variants were transferred to civil control. It is therefore entirely possible for Project personnel to encounter this vehicle in the control of bandits, militias, splinter groups, or other hostile entities during the reconstruction… Data for the M113A2 and M113A3 base line APCs has been included.

The Morrow Project itself has acquired limited quantities of the M113A3 and variants for use by MARS personnel for situations that the common V-150 is unsuited. Additionally the project has acquired baseline M113 APCs and reconditioned them with the goal of supplying these to Law Enforcement at or below State level; as part of the reconstruction and support for Order mission. These APC models will be supplied from stocks prepositioned (without personnel) or from regional bases per the Commander on the ground. Typically this LEO variant will have rubber band tracks supplied by Soucy, civil band radios, CBR detection equipment, red and blue emergency lights, a Xenon spotlight, and be painted in a shade of blue with “Police” painted prominently on all four sides. Those in service with MARS personnel will either be in a baseline chemical resistant olive drab or location appropriate alternate camouflage scheme. The variants in use by MARS may include models in use by U.S. Allies and not necessarily U.S. Armed forces models. Those models for service with the Project have been modified to meet mission requirements such as the fusion power plant and electric drive systems, for those intended for use by other groups the diesel power plant remains.

The Council of Tomorrow team of industrial programs has maintained a “supply three, receive two” program. For each three hulls received, two are returned completely refurbished to the users specifications. Officially, the third hull is utilized for parts, and then scrapped. The hulls are actually reconditioned and refurbished to bring them up to Morrow Projects standards for use. The occasional hull that is to worn to be refurbished is destroyed in a show demonstration for defense auditors to maintain the deception. This “three for two” program is how models not in common use by U.S. Forces came to be Morrow Project standard. The profitability of the enterprise and the industrial cooperation has added much needed legitimacy to Morrow Project protocols and deceptions to hide the true nature of the Project.

[ArmySGT.]

What is the Ballistic Armor Value (AV) for the aluminum used as the hull and armor of the M113?

Can't be tremendous since it is rated only for 7.62x54R or lighter.

*edit* Aluminum (3rd edition, pg 38.)

AC 9 6mm = 0.7 cm of steel
AC 19 13mm = 1.02 cm of steel

6mm of aluminum is equal to 7mm of steel?

13mm of aluminum is equal to 12mm of steel?

25.4mm of steel is AC 48?

12.7mm of steel is not AC 24?

[nuke11]

Aluminum armor needs to be 3x as thick as it's RHA counter part for the same ballistics capabilities. This is not an exact formula, but will yield a close enough figure.

I believe the front of the M113 is proof against 14.5 mm.

The upper front armor is 38 mm @ 45 degrees and the lower front is 38 mm at 30 degrees.

For a good reference on the M113 family : http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/m113.html