Aussie M113A1 LRV - AFV Club 1/35
As a proud Australian I am always a little ashamed when I look in my display case as it is painfully light on when it comes to Australian subjects. Every year I promise myself to build more Aussie gear, but I always seem to get distracted and end up right where I began the previous year. That’s not to say I don’t have plenty of kits in the stash that I could be drawing from, I do…it’s just that distraction of the next new thing that draws me away from my goal. So, when AFV Club announced the Vietnam version of the Australian M113A1 with the T50 turret I knew it was time to add this Aussie subject to the display case.
The Bucket
The M113 was the first aluminium hull combat vehicle to be put into mass production. The concept was the aluminium would be thick enough to provide adequate protection against small arms but would be light enough to be air transportable and somewhat amphibious.
The M113 has spawned many variants over its time and has been used by over 50 countries Worldwide. It is estimated that since 1960 to present over 80000 vehicles have been produced. Whilst the vehicle has seen service over many years and served in many conflicts the is no question the M113 is synonymous with the War in Vietnam.
The Australian Army began trails with the M113 in 1962 and it was then placed into service in 1964. The vehicle was used extensively through South Vietnam during the War where 200 vehicles were deployed in a wide range of roles.
Operational experience soon demonstrated the Crew Commander was highly vulnerable when using the machine gun and from August 1965 the Aussie M113A1’s began being fitted with an armoured shield to offer some protection although the Commander still remained exposed on the sides and the rear of the position.
In an attempt to improve protection for the Commander when firing, 19 vehicles were fitted with the Model 74C turret housing two 1919A4 Browning Machine Guns. This was only ever an interim plan as there were plans to implement the T50 design as the standard turret for an Australian M113.
Australian M113s with the T50 turret began arriving in South Vietnam from August 1968 with just about every vehicle eventually fitted with the design.
The initial version of the turret housed two L3A3 machine guns (an improved version of the M1919A4), but some were later fitted with a M2 Browning and a M1919A3.
Initial feedback from the troops was that the turret was cramped, slow to rotate and was difficult to aim whilst the vehicle was mobile.
In an attempt to counter some of the issues the right-hand side L3A3 machine gun was removed from all the T50 turrets by early 1970. The weapon was instead fitted to the top of the turret using a pintle mount.
Interestingly, the Australian Army was only one of two operators to ever use the T50 turret.
Another unique detail with the Australian M113 was the armoured plate that was welded to the sponson above the first three road wheels on each side of vehicle. This was done in an attempt to offer greater protection against land mines. To further improve the safety of the crew another modification that was made from August 1970. A 38mm thick aluminium armoured plate was fitted to the underside of the vehicle. Whilst the plate added 680kg to the weight of the vehicle it proved to be a success, greatly reducing casualties from mine explosions.