A friend of mine is trying to find out if a company called I-Core? still produces an M113 kit which carries an expandible bridge on it’s top. It’s something we’ve not seen in the UK-however my friend says he saw one in a '97 issue of FSM.
If anyone knows where to find one could you let me know? Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks,
Darren[:)]
i was in the combat engineers for 9 years and we were a bridge company and i never seen or heard of a APC with a bridge on it.what we had was a AVLB which is a m-60 tank that has bridge on it / maybe your friend did see a APC with a bridge on it but it most likly was a made up peice of armour / also m113’s float so they dont need a bridge anyways
An m113 might float, but they deploy the bridge for quickly shipping supplies over water. I have seen what you talk of, it is a modern US tank, an abrams i beleive, and its classified as a bridge laying tank or something, i do not know the specific name. Sorry, but use what i said to do research on hte web, in fact find out the tank it is and jus scratbuild the bridge with plastruct and soldering, it would be a challenge but worth it.
Thanks for your help guys-I know my friend will be greatful for your advice.
Regards,
Darren.
Well this might validate that there was such a thing, but no pictures and no more information than that.
M113 Bridgelayer
Another Vietnam era development no longer in service. The vehicle was fitted with a lightweight aluminium scissors bridge, carried over the hull and launched over the front of the vehicle.
http://www.armouredengineer.force9.co.uk/bucket/product.htm
col kurtz you maybe right but when i was in army engineers i never seen one and you are right they use a abrams tank now but when i was in they used a m-60 tank called a avlb which stands for armoured vehicle launching bridge.also i mean no disrespect but i thought i would explain myself.so have a good day
I know the Australian Army use a Leopard 1 as a bridge layer. They also have different conversions for the M113, such as one with a small crane on the top of the hull. Aswell as few different turets.
Pv. Tone, I’m not disrespected. All of my knowledge comes from the History channel and reading. I have no military experience (I’m just a kid). I only know it because of career research I’ve done that relates to the military.
This one is a bit elusive, but here’s some more information on the subject. Keep in mind that this was over 30 years ago and is an obscure variant. However, while doing some research on the M113, I’m amazed at some of the existing variants - even for engineering purposes (mineclearing and stuff).
There’s been more references to the AVLB variant of the M113, mostly acknowledgement that it existed, but nothing more.
Anyways, here’s an excerpt from the article I found. If you have the time, the article itself is interesting.
THE LIGHT FANTASTIC by Ralph Zumbro
SIDEBAR: Available M113 Variants
Now, about that AVLB. Even the folks at UDLP, (formerly FMC) didn’t know about this one, as it was created about two management generations ago, and on the other side of the continent, 1n 1968. What had happened was that in RVN, an ACAV size bridge was desperately needed. The first thing that was done, was to make a bridge that would fit on an M551 chassis, but that was still too big. Next, an Engineer field modification was cooked up and formalized.
A launching frame was mounted on a standard hull, and two other M113s were used to carry standard aluminum bridge balks. In practice, they were laid out on the ground, lifted to the tow shackles with chain hoists, and then lifted off the ground with the same hoists, which were connected to the hull’s lifting rings. Crude but effective. Next a miniaturized AVLB, hydraulics and all, was designed and built, and the photo shows that it was done and existed. The bridge weighed 1224 kg and could span a 10 meter gap, and carry 1500 kg. The best information I have says that after prototyping, a further 29 were ordered in 1969. What caused them to vanish is that the war was winding down, and they were manufactured by the U.S. Army Mobility Equipment R&D Center at Fort Belvoir. If they were ever manufactured and shipped to Southeast Asia, they are STILL THERE. They may be in storage at Belvoir.
More articles/references on the M113
United Defense - M113 Family of Vehicles also from which you can be linked to the Official Site of the United Defense M113 Vehicle Program.
Hey everyone,
thanks for all the info. shared so far. I managed to find some more information on the subject. A book by Simon Dunstan called “The M113 series” published by Osprey-Vanguard has the following extract:
" To aid mobility in crossing the many steep-sided ditches and watercourses in Vietnam, US Army Engineers devised a hydraulically-operated scissors bridge mounted on a M113A1 apc in 1967.
The bridge can unfold in 2 minutes without exposing the 2 man crew provides a crossing of 33ft for a 15 ton vehicle. The M113A1 Marginal Terrain Assault Bridge served with 11th Amoured Cav. Reg. at Phouc Loi in 1969".
Also, my friend found the advert for the kit in question. The M113 light assault bridge conversion was made by I-Corps models who were based in Greenfield , WI , USA in 1995.
I’ve tried to track them down on the 'net -but I can’t find them. If anyone remembers them-let us know!
Many thanks,
Darren.
[;)]
There are two quite good pictures of the “Light Assault Bridge” bridgelaying M113 in the Squadron “M113 In Action” book, page 29.
-Lasse
Darren - I-Corps went the way of the dinosaur toward the late 90’s. They offfered a resin conversion of the M113 bridgelayer that I have been trying to find, albeit halfhearteldy, for the last 5 years. Apparently their kit quality did not win them many fans. Best of Luck!
While I am not old enough to have seen the M113 bridgelayer, I did start my career as a 12F (combat engineer vehicle crewman). We were trained on the AVLB on M48A5 chassis, M60A2 chassis and M60A1 chassis as well as my primary vehicle, the M728 CEV.
While they may all look the same, and have the same bridge, each hull variation had some distinct recognition factors. The M48 hull was simple because of the rounded nose. The M60A2 had the bulge at the back side of the hull that originally housed the air compressor for the A2 breech scavaging system.
[:)]Tango1
Here is the info on the M113 taken from Vietnam Tracks. “Men of Co. C, 1st Bn., 5th Infantry (Mechanized) of 25th Inf. Div. deploy a Marginal Terrain Assault Bridge during operations in the ‘Fish Hook’ area of Cambodia, May 1970. An assault bridge mounted on the M113 APC was designed - and the first prototype built - at the US Army Mobility and Equipment Research and Development Center at Fort Belvoir, Virginia; 29 production vehicles were built by the Unit Rig and Equipment Company of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and 25 were deployed to Vietnam in 1969.” I have a photo if you want I can scan it and send it to you. have a good day.[:D]
A staed above, there was an M113 BridgeLayer varient that was tested and not put into full production. Here is one in action, not sure if this is the same as the US version, it is listed as S. Vietnamese type. Probably is on ewe gave to S. Vietnam as we pulled out and began Vietnamisation of the war.
