Assault Amphibious Vehicle

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AAV7A1 on the beach in Kauai, Hawaii, on the horizon its mother ship, the USS Peleliu

The Assault Amphibious Vehicle (also known as AAV7 , AAV7A1 , AAVP7A1 , LVT-7, or colloquially Amtrac ) is an amphibious armored personnel carrier of the United States Marine Corps . In contrast to many other buoyant armored vehicles, the vehicle is ready to swim without any preparation time and is actively used as a landing vehicle.

It can carry up to 25 marines with combat equipment. The Amtracs are carried in the belly of the amphibious assault ships ( Tarawa and Wasp class ) or the dock landing ships (LSD) and drive from the transport deck over the well deck directly into the open sea and on land.

history

Landing in the Shetland Islands during NATO's
Northern Wedding maneuver

In March 1964, the Marine Corps requested a new amphibious landing vehicle to replace the LVT-5 . After examining a number of proposals from various companies, the defense division of FMC Corporation (now part of BAE Systems ) was awarded the development contract. Work on developing the vehicle began in February 1966, and the first 15 prototypes were delivered to the Marine Corps for testing in September 1967. These test samples have been named LVPTX12 ( L anding V ehicle P ersonnel T racked E x perimental, Model 12 ). The tests of the prototypes lasted until September 1969 and were successful, so that in June 1970 a production order in the amount of 78.5 million US dollars was placed with the FMC Corporation. It comprised the production of 942 vehicles without weapon stations.

The first vehicles, now known as LVTP-7, were handed over to the Marine Corps in August 1971, and the first units were equipped in March 1972. The last vehicles were handed over to the troops in 1974 after the previous model LVT-5 had been completely retired.

As early as 1977, the first program to increase combat value was launched, which included various measures to increase survivability and mobility. The program was called the LVTP-7 Service Life Extension Program and ran from 1980 to 1985. All vehicles were converted and then renamed AAV7-A1. In 1980 a further 329 vehicles were ordered, which were delivered by 1984. The last small series of four vehicles was built in 1985.

As a successor the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle was planned, which should even achieve planing speed on the water . This project was stopped in January 2011 after several prototypes for cost reasons.

crew

Soldiers exit an AAV via the stern ramp during an exercise.

The crew of the vehicle consists of up to 28 soldiers: the driver, the commander, the gunner and 25 marines with full equipment. The driver sits in the front left in the tub next to the centrally located engine block, the commander is located behind the driver. The gunner is to the right of the engine. In the back of the tub sit the marines, who are accommodated on three benches. One bench is in the middle of the vehicle and the others are on the sides. The soldiers can enter and exit the tank through an electrically operated hatch in the rear of the vehicle.

Armor

In order to obtain the highest possible buoyancy, the AAV7's tub is made of welded aluminum. This provides good buoyancy and higher speed, but only provides protection against projectiles from handguns and against splinters.

Drive and drive

The original variant of the AAV7 was powered by a 400 hp, water-cooled 8-cylinder turbo-charged diesel engine from the Detroit Diesel Corporation . From version A1 the engine was replaced by the company Cummins Engine , but was largely identical to the previous model. The engine can be removed within 45 minutes and operated outside the vehicle for test purposes. The power is transmitted via a combined steering / gearbox that is housed in a block and can therefore also be quickly exchanged.

On the road or off-road, the drive is via the chains, but in the water there are two water jet nozzles in the rear of the vehicle, each with a water flow rate of 52,990 l / min. With them, the tank can be accelerated up to 13.5 km / h.

Mission profile

The main task of the AAV7 is the transport of marines from offshore amphibious assault ships to the coast in order to form a bridgehead. As a rule, fire support is provided by our own warships or aircraft, as the armament of the vehicle is only sufficient for fighting against infantry and lightly armored forces.

variants

LVTP-7
Basic version, manufactured from 1972 for the USMC with space for 25 soldiers on three rows of benches in the cargo hold and three crew members.
VTP-7A1
Retrofitted vehicles with upguned turrets were retrofitted from existing LVTP-7s from 1982 onwards. In addition there was the AN / VIC-2 intercom system.
AAVP-7A1
Newer name for the LVTP-7A1.
AAVC-7A1
Command variant in the radio equipment as well as five radio operators and two officers use the interior. The radio equipment includes VIC-2, VRC-92, VRC-89, PRC-103 UHF radio, MRC-83 HF radio. Combat value enhancement measures included the integration of Harris Falcon II radios such as the PRC-117 for VHF / UHF / SATCOM and the PRC-150 for HF.
AAVR-7A1
Armored recovery vehicles with a crane arm instead of the machine gun turret. The interior is occupied by the three crew members with spare parts and three mechanics.

Technical specifications

Amtracs Marine Corps return to the USS Bonhomme Richard back, one amphibious assault ship of the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship .
Multiple AA7V1s during an exercise in 2004
A AA7V1 from the deck of the USS Kearsarge photographed
designation AAV7A1 Assault Amphibious Vehicle
Type Amphibious assault vehicle
crew 3 + 25
engine Water-cooled Cummins VT400 8-cylinder diesel engine with turbocharger
power 295 kW (400 hp) at 2800 rpm
transmission Hydromechanical gearbox HS 400
landing gear Roller drive
Length over all 8160 mm
Width over everything 3270 mm
Height above everything 3310 mm
Ground clearance 406 mm
Wading ability amphibious
Trench crossing ability 2438 mm
Climbing ability 914 mm
Climbing ability 60%
Bank 40%
Combat weight 22,838 kg
Speed ​​limit road 72 km / h
Top speed water 13.5 km / h
Fuel quantity 681 liters
Driving range 482 km

Armament

Since the AAV7 is primarily designed as a landing and not a combat vehicle, only light armament was installed.

LVTP-7

The gunner has a small tank turret that can be swiveled through 360 ° on the front right upper side of the fuselage. The following armament is manually mounted in it:

AAVP7

A total of 240 vehicles were fitted with a Gunned Up Weapons Station from November 1986 to January 1987 . The following armament is manually mounted in it:

Use in armed forces

  • United States Marine Corps - 1311
  • Infanteria de Marina (Argentina) - 21 LVTP7s, 10 of them partially modified
  • Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais do Brasil (Brazil)
  • Infanteria de Marina (Chile) - 15
  • Italian Army - 35 LVPT7s, (25 were modified to AAV-7A1)
  • Republic of Korea Marine Corps (South Korea) - 162
  • Republic of China Marine Corps (Taiwan) - 54
  • Spanish Navy Marine Brigade - 30 (24 AAVP-7, 4 AAVC-7, 2 AAVR-7)
  • Venezuelan Navy - 11 AAVT-7s, (1 AAVTC-7 + 1 AAVTR-7 + 9 AAVTP-7)

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Assault Amphibious Vehicle  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files