Armoured personnel carrier
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Pakistani Al-Talha Armored Personnel Carrier |
Armoured personnel carriers (APCs) are
armoured fighting vehicles developed to transport
infantry on the
battlefield. They usually have only a
machine gun although variants carry
recoilless rifles,
anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), or
mortars. They are not really designed to take part in a direct-fire battle, but to carry the troops to the battlefield safe from
shrapnel and
ambush. They may have
wheels or
tracks. Examples include the American
M113 (tracked), the
British FV 432 (tracked), the
French VAB (wheeled), the
German Boxer MRAV (wheeled) and the Soviet
BTR (wheeled).
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The M113, one of the most common tracked APCs, on duty during the Vietnam War. |
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Before the advent of APCs, some forces practised very dangerous tank desant tactics |
During
World War I, when the
tank was developed, the British
Mark V tank was designed with a small passenger compartment to carry troops. By some definitions this can be considered the first armoured personnel carrier. The first specialised APC was the
Mark IX of
1918.
During World War II,
half-tracks such as the American
M3 and the German
SdKfz 251 played a role similar to the armoured personnel carriers that were developed later on. Another forerunner to the APC during this time was the British
Universal Carrier. Often, APCs were simply
armoured cars with the capacity for carrying troops, but they evolved into purpose-built vehicles to suit the demands of motorised warfare from
World War II.
In
1944, the commander of
2nd Canadian Corps, General
Guy Simonds, ordered the conversion of 72
US-produced
M7 Priest self-propelled
howitzers to personnel carriers. They were due for replacement anyway, as the howitzer barrels were worn out. The howitzer was removed, and the resulting hole was plugged with whatever steel was available. The vehicle was called
Kangaroo, after the workshop which did the conversion. Later in the war Canadian-built
Ram tanks were used as a basis for the majority of conversions, as they were then obsolete and the original Kangaroos were worn out.
After the war different specialised APCs were developed. The United States developed a series of tracked vehicles, culminating in the M113 "box on tracks", of which 80,000 were made. The
Soviet Union developed the wartime
BTR-40 into a series of 8-wheeled APC.
At the end of the
1980s,
Israel converted captured
T-55 tanks to APCs, reminiscent of WWII conversions. The result is one of the best protected APCs in the world, called
IDF Achzarit.
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A French VAB, one of the most common wheeled APCs |
Most armoured personnel carriers use a
diesel engine comparable to that used in a large
truck or in a typical city
bus (APCs are often known to troops as 'Battle Taxis' or 'Battle Buses'). The M113 for instance used the same engine as the standard
General Motors urban bus. A single M113 moving at top speed generates as much noise as a General Motors urban bus moving at top speed. However, the typical armoured personnel carrier can carry only six to ten soldiers while a typical urban bus can carry thirty to fifty seated passengers, and hundreds when standing passengers are included.
Most APCs are amphibious. Usually tracked APCs are powered by their tracks in the water, and wheeled APCs have propellors or
water jets. Preparations for amphibious operations usually comprises checking the integrity of the hull and folding down a trim vane in front. Swimming required fairly still waters, and good entry and exit points. Speed in water is typically 3-6 km/h.
Armour on APCs are usually composed of simple steel or
aluminium, sufficient for protection against small arms fire and most shell fragments. Just about any type of anti-tank weapon can defeat the armour of an APC.
The usual armament for an APC is a 12.7 (.50) or 14.5 mm heavy
machine gun. This is mounted on top of the vehicle, either on a simple
pintle mount, sometimes with a gun shield, or a small turret. Sometimes an automatic
grenade launcher is used instead.
*
Half-track*
Infantry fighting vehicle*
LAV 25*
Stryker*
AMV 8x8*
List of modern armoured fighting vehicles
