VI50 (M706) Commando Series
The Commando series of light armored vehicles has been produced in a variety of configurations and is in widespread service. The basic Commando is a 4 X 4-wheeled vehicle with no vertical surfaces and a low superstructure or turret ring. Weapons fitted to the vehicle range from 7.62-mm machine guns to 90-mm cannon.
VARIANTS •
V-100 with Chrysler 191-hp gasoline engine; V-200 in several variants to Singapore; V-150 with gasoline or diesel engine, five-speed manual transmission replaced by two-speed automatic; V-150S with 18-in (0.46-m) stretch and system upgrades; Mexican-built DN-III/V Ca-ballo. Also command, recovery, air defense, internal security, air force base security variants.
DEVELOPMENT •
Manufactured by Cadillac Gage Co., Warren, Michigan, achieving initial operational capability in 1964. The original Commando was the gasoline-powered V-100 model. The V-200 was sold only to Singapore.
Since 1971, the four-wheel production model has been the V-150, a model with a loaded weight approximately halfway between the V-100 and the V-200 and powered by a diesel engine. In 1985, the V-150 was replaced in production by the
longer V-150S.
In limited US Air Force service, but operated by more than 20 other countries.
COMBAT EXPERIENCE •
V-lOOs were used by the United States Army and Air Force in the Vietnam War. Although troubled at first by rear-axle failure, they proved handy as light security vehicles. The turret’s ability to accept a variety of weapons and the relatively high ground clearance were considered assets.
SPECIFICATIONS (V-150S) •
CREW 3 (commander, gunner, driver) + 2 troops
COMBAT WEIGHT V-150 21,800 lb
(9,888 kg); V-150S 24,000 lb (10,886
kg)
DIMENSIONS
hull length V-100/150 18 ft 8 in (5.69
m);V-150S20ft2in
(6.14m) width 7 ft 5 in (2.26 m)
height to hull top
6 ft 6 in (1.98m) wheelbase V-100/150 8 ft 9 in (2.67
m);V-150S10ft3in
(3.12m) ground clearance
hull 25.5 in (650mm),
axles 15 in (380 mm)
MAIN ARMAMENT (options fitted to
V-150/150S)
| # AND CALIBER | ELEVATION (DEC) | ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION |
| 27.62mm | -13/+55 | 800 ready, 3,000 in hull |
| 212.7mm | -10/+55 | 400 ready, 1,000 in hull |
| 1 20-mm Oerlikon | -S/+55 | 200 ready, 200 in hull |
| 125mm | -8/+60 | 230 ready, 400 in hull |
| 1 20-mm Vulcan | 1,300 | |
| 1 30mm | ||
| 1 12.7-mm MG and 40-mm grenade | ||
| launcher | -8/+4S | 100 (40 mm), 200 (12.7 mm) |
| 1 76 mm | ||
| 190mm | -8/+2S | 8 ready, 31 in hull |
| 1 81-mm mortar | +40/+85 | 62 in hull |
| TOW antitank | 7 missiles in hull |
ARMOR Cadloy steel armor plate protects against 7.62-mm fire
POWERPLANT
Chrysler 191-hp liquid-cooled V-8 gasoline engine; power-to-weight ratio 20.23 hp/metric ton or Cummins V-504 202-hp liquid-cooled V-8 automatic transmission with 4 forward/1 reverse gears; power-to-weight ratio V-150 20.43 hp/metric ton, V-150S 18.56 hp/ metric ton SUSPENSION 4X4 (all wheels powered, front wheels steering), solid beam axle, semi-elliptic multileaf springs, double-acting hydraulic shock absorbers
SPEED 55 mph (89 km/h), 3.1 mph (5 km/h) in water, road range 500 mi (800 km), cross-country range 400 mi (643 km)
OBSTACLE CLEARANCE vertical V-100/ 150 2 ft 0 in (0.61 m), V-150S 3 ft 0 in (0.91 m), gradient 60%, 30%, amphibious
Commando Scout
The Scout is a small 4 X 4 Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV) developed as a private venture by Cadillac Gage. It is designed primarily for reconnaissance and security. No US units operate the Scout.
The Scout has a low silhouette with a long, sloping glacis. Viewed from the front, the hull’s cross section is diamond-shaped, with both upper and lower hull halves sloping inward. Compared to other ARVs, the engine, driver, and turret are set farther to the rear of the vehicle. The one- or two-man turret is sited over the rear axle.
VARIANTS •
Command car and antitank vehicle with retractable TOW antitank missile launcher.
DEVELOPMENT •
Manufactured by Cadillac Gage, Warren, Michigan, achieving initial operational capability in 1983. 28 in service in Indonesia and 112 in Egypt.
SPECIFICATIONS •
CREW 3 (driver, commander, gunner)
COMBAT WEIGHT 16,000 lb (7,258 kg)
DIMENSIONS
hull length 16 ft 5 in (5.0 m) width 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
height 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m)
wheettase 8 ft 10 in (2.74 m)
MAIN ARMAMENT 1-meter turret with 2 gun stations for twin 7.62 or 12.7-mm machine guns with 200 ready 7.62mm rounds and 2,200 7.62-mm rounds stowed in hull; or 100 ready 12.7-mm rounds and 1,000 12.7-mm rounds stowed in hull. Turret can also bear combination of 7.62-mm machine and 40-mm grenade launcher with 100 7.62-mm rounds ready, 200 stowed in hull
elevation -107+55°, traverse 360° at 45°/sec
SENSORS AND FIRE CONTROL 8 vision
blocks, M28C sight, 500,000-candlepower searchlight
ARMOR Cadloy steel armor proof against 7.62-mm ammunition
POWERPLANT Cummins 149-hp liquid-cooled V-6 diesel engine, Allison automatic transmission with 4 forward/1 reverse gears power-to-weight ratio
20.53 hp/metric ton
SUSPENSION 4 X 4 (4 wheels driving, 2-wheel steering), coil springs on all 4 wheels, front axle has solid swing arm, rear axle has independent swing arms
SPEED 60 mph (96 km/h), range 800
mi (1,287km)
OBSTACLE CLEARANCE vertical 2 ft (0.61 m), gradient 60%, side slope 30%, fording 3 ft 10 in (1.17 m)
M113C&RLynx
The M113C&R (Command and Reconnaissance) is a shorter, smaller variant of the basic Ml 13 tracked armored personnel carrier in service in the Dutch and Canadian armies. (The name Lynx applies only to Canadian vehicles.)
Although sharing many components with the Ml 13, the Lynx has one less road wheel station per side. In place of the unbroken glacis of the Ml 13 is a stepped profile that reduces the apparent size still more. Unlike the Ml 13, the engine is mounted in the rear.
As delivered, the C&R had an M2 12.7mm machine gun mounted ahead of the cupola. In the late 1970s, the Netherlands Army retrofitted a larger 25-mm Oerlikon KBA-B automatic cannon in a
GDB-AOA turret; this gun fires High-Explosive (HE) and Armor-Piercing Discarding Sabot (APDS) rounds.
There are other, minor layout differences between the Dutch and Canadian vehicles. For example, the radio operator sits to the driver’s right in the C&R; the Lynx radio operator sits behind the driver, to the left and rear of the commander.
DEVELOPMENT •
Begun by FMC Corp. as a private venture in 1963, the M113C&R was passed over by the US Army in favor of the Ml 14 APC. Manufactured by FMC, San Jose, California, achieving initial operational capability in the Netherlands (260 vehicles) in 1966, in Canada (174) in 1968.
SPECIFICATIONS •
CREW 3 (commander, driver, radio operator) ; radio operator is also gunner inDutchM113C&R
COMBAT WEIGHT 19,345 lb (8,775 kg)
ground pressure
6.83 Ib/in2 (0.48 kg/
cm2)
DIMENSIONS
hull length 15 ft 1 in (4.6 m)
extreme width
7 ft 11 in (2.41m)
height to hull top
5 ft 9 in (1.75m)
length of track on ground
7 ft 10 in (2.39 m)
ground clearance
16 in (410 mm)
track width 15 in (380 mm)
MAIN ARMAMENT
Lynx: 12.7-mm M2 HB machine gun in M26 turret with 1,155 rounds elevation: -15°/+550,
traverse 360° secondary armament: 7.62-mm machine gun with 2,000 rounds M113C&R: 25-mm Oerlikon KBA-B automatic cannon with 120 HE, 80
APDS rounds
elevation: -127+52°, traverse 360° SENSORS AND FIRE CONTROL M19 infrared periscope
ARMOR all-welded aluminum armor
POWERPLANT CMC Detroit Diesel Allison 6V-53 215-hp 2-stroke water-cooled V-6 diesel engine, Allison TX100 transmission with torque converter and 3 forward/1 reverse gears power-to-weight ratio
24.5 hp/metric ton
SUSPENSION (EACH SIDE) torsion bar, 4 road wheels, front drive, rear idler, no return rollers
SPEED 44 mph (71 km/h), water speed 3.5 mph (5.6 km/h) with tracks, range 325 mi (523 km)
OBSTACLE CLEARANCE vertical 2 ft (0.61 m), gradient 60%, trench 5 ft (1.52 m), amphibious
M551 Sheridan
The M551 was developed to provide heavy firepower in a light, air-droppable armored reconnaissance vehicle. The aluminum-hulled Sheridan has an unusual main armament consisting of the M81 152-mm gun/missile launcher. The weapon fires conventional combustible-case ammunition and the MGM-51 Shillelagh antitank missile. The missile has Semiactive Command to Line of Sight (SACLOS) guidance using a two-way Infrared (IR) link. Conventional ammunition includes White Phosphorous (WP), canister, and High-Explosive Antitank with Tracer (Multipurpose)—HEAT-T-MP—projectiles.
The gun-tube-launched, antitank missile proved very troublesome and delayed widespread deployment for several years. By the time most of the bugs had been smoked out, the tube-launched missile had been supplanted by improved kinetic energy penetrators for conventional tank guns, and the Sheridan’s potential declined rapidly. Disappointment with the Sheridan led to a phaseout from active US Army units beginning in 1978.
However, the 82nd Airborne Division retains these vehicles in active service; these will be replaced by M8 Assault Gun System vehicles. 330 Sheridans were “visually modified” to represent Soviet tanks and other armored vehicles and serve at the Army’s National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California.
DEVELOPMENT •
The M551 achieved initial operational capability in 1968, although it was several years after that before it was in regular service in large numbers. A total of 1,562 were built by the Allison Division of General Motors from 1966 to 1970.
COMBAT EXPERIENCE •
Although fast and apparently heavily armed, the 64 Sheridans deployed to Vietnam in 196869 revealed many deficiencies, most requiring extensive redesign work to rectify.
12 Sheridans were used in the December 1989 Operation Just Cause—the US ouster of Panamanian General Nori-ega—where it was said to have performed well. Eight were delivered using a Low-Velocity Airdrop (LVAD) technique. The design’s weight allowed it to overrun makeshift street barricades, and the 152mm bunker-busting rounds proved effective against reinforced-concrete walls. The one armor-piercing RPG-7 antitank rocket directed against a Sheridan missed its target.
In August 1990, Sheridans were deployed to Saudi Arabia with the 82nd Airborne Division as part of Operation Desert Shield. They were initially sent as a stopgap quick-strike force to forestall any Iraqi moves into Saudi Arabia in the first few weeks.
Although it was later fitted with thermal imaging sights for night fighting, the Sheridan’s role in Operation Desert Storm was limited primarily to reconnaissance by its age and light armor. Nevertheless, several Shillelagh missiles were fired at Iraqi bunkers.
SPECIFICATIONS •
CREW 4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
COMBAT WEIGHT 34,900 lb (15,830 kg) ground pressure
6.97 Ib/in2 (0.49 kg/ cm2)
DIMENSIONS
hull length 20 ft 8 in (6.3 m) width 9 ft 3 in (2.82 m)
height 9 ft 8 in (2.95 m)
length of track on ground
12 ft (3.66 m) ground clearance
19 in (483 mm) track width 17.5 in (444 mm)
MAIN ARMAMENT 152-mm M81 gun/
missile launcher with 20 HEAT-T-MP rounds and 8 Shillelagh missile rounds elevation -8°/ + 19.5°, traverse 360° SECONDARY WEAPONS 7.62-mm M73 machine gun with 3,080 rounds and 12.7-mm M2 HB antiaircraft machine gun with 1,000 rounds
SENSORS AND FTRE CONTROL Ml 29
gunner’s telescope, magnification 8X,
8° Field of View (FOV), M44 gunner’s
IR night sight, magnification 9X, 6° FOV, IR SACLOS data link ARMOR aluminum hull, steel turret
POWERPLANT Detroit Diesel 6V-53T 300-hp water-cooled turbocharged 2-stroke V-6 diesel, Allison TG-250-2A powershift crossdrive transmission with 4 forward/2 reverse gears power-to-weight ratio
18.95 hp/metric ton SUSPENSION (EACH SIDE) torsion bar, 5 road wheels, rear drive, front idler, 2 shock absorbers, no return rollers
SPEED 45 mph (72 km/h), 3.6 mph (5.8 km/h) in water widi tracks, range 373 mi (600 km)
OBSTACLE CLEARANCE vertical 2 ft 9 in (0.84 m), gradient 60%, side slope
40%, trench 8 ft 4 in (2.54 m), amphibious
