Weird And Wonderful Afv's

[Mr King]

There has always been a special place in my heart for afv's that were rare, weird, and wonderful. I have quite a hoard of photos, but have not done such a good job keeping track of names.

 

T-95

 

 

Ford armored car I believe

 

 

German GEFAS prototype.

 

 

UDES XX-20

 

[Mr King]

German Zobel (one of my favorites)

 

 

BSVM-80

 

 

ZIS-153

 

 

Ob'yekt 19

 

Edited December 28, 2013 by Mr King

[Marek Tucan]

Kolohousenka...

 

[RETAC21]

VT-1

 

[RETAC21]

[mnm]

The Vickers Medium Mk III

 

[Max H]

Ford armored car I believe

 

 

Cute, it's like an M60's cupola as a whole turret!

[CaptLuke]

 

Ford armored car I believe

 

 

 

 

Ford/AAI prototype IIRC for the ARSV program that let to the XM-800s. Very interesting for the mobility concept: when the standard, high pressure wheels sink into dirt/mud the wider, grooved "drums" on the axles make contact, decreasing ground pressure and increasing traction.

 

Supposedly called the "Barr Car" but no idea why.

 

Currently in a sad state in a military museum in Virginia.

Edited December 28, 2013 by CaptLuke

[Mr King]

Thanks for sharing that Luke

 

 

 

EBR 90

 

[DKTanker]

 

Ford/AAI prototype IIRC for the ARSV program that let to the XM-800s. Very interesting for the mobility concept: when the standard, high pressure wheels sink into dirt/mud the wider, grooved "drums" on the axles make contact, decreasing ground pressure and increasing traction.

 

Supposedly called the "Barr Car" but no idea why.

 

Currently in a sad state in a military museum in Virginia.

 

The picture doesn't match the one at the link, so there must have been at least two prototypes. Of course a new front end could have been built.

[bojan]

All sorts of oddball armor. In Russian but pics should be enough:

http://shushpanzer-ru.livejournal.com/

[rmgill]

 

Ford armored car I believe

 

 

Cute, it's like an M60's cupola as a whole turret!

This prototype is currently at the Virginia Museum of Military Vehicles in northern Virginia.

 

 

And Luke made that point already...

Edited December 28, 2013 by rmgill

[TOW-2]

Well I gotta give much love to the endless attempts by the US Army to field a modern light tank, post-Sheridan.

 

AAI's RDF/LT:

 

 

Same, with a more conventional 76mm gun, not the ARES cannon pictured above:

 

 

Of course, always room for the loyal opposition, the Expeditionary Tank:

 

[TTK Ciar]

Some of my all-time favorite oddballs:

American T-92 light tank. Cleft turret allowed for good gun elevation/depression in a very flat turret!

 

The South African Rooikat armored car runs like a cheetah and carries enough ammo to plink at materiel targets all week:


Pakistan's Al-Zarrar upgrade kit breathes all matter of new life into a seventy-year-old workhorse, like grafting a picatinny rail onto a Mosin-Nagant rifle:

[Max H]

I have little faith in the plates on the front turret, they are much too vertical for ERA to function effeciently

[DB]

The picture doesn't match the one at the link, so there must have been at least two prototypes. Of course a new front end could have been built.

 

The only changes of note appear to be the removal of the wheel skirts and the addition of a (foam filled, judging by the gash in it) front end. Presumably the latter would be for amphib ops?

[rmgill]

Yep, it is an aluminum sheet nose filled with foam for, presumably, amphibious deployment. It has props in back iirc. The mix of steel turret and aluminum hull is interesting. I've examined it a bit in between goggling at the other stuff in the rear lot. Marc & Alan let me wander back there a few times and one never has enough time to look in such instances.

I think VMMV has an RDF light tank too.

Edited December 29, 2013 by rmgill

[DKTanker]

The mix of steel turret and aluminum hull is interesting.

 

 

 

Like the M551 Sheridan.

[Ken Estes]

Nothing amphibious there. Maybe an army stream crosser. This would be an example of things amphibious:

 

 

Type 3 Amphibious Tank "Ka-Chi" Introduced Year : 1943 Weight : 26.5 ton Dimensions: 10.3 (with floats) x 3 x 3.8(h) m Armor (max) : 50 mm Speed (max) : 32 km/hr (ground) Engine : Diesel Engine 240 HP/2000 rpm Armaments : Type 1 47 mm x 1, Type 97 7.7 mm x 2 Crew : 7 Production Qty : 19 http://www3.plala.or.jp/takihome/ka-chi.htm

Edited December 29, 2013 by Ken Estes

[Gavin-Phillips]

The VT-1 looks a curious beast. Are there any more details known about this one?

[BansheeOne]

There were two Versuchsträger vehicles, part of a study for a possible Leopard 1 successor between 1972 and 1985 (jointly with the UK until 1976 using a shortened MBT 70 chassis, then with France for possible use of the Leopard 2 chassis). VT 1-1 (1974) had two manually loaded 105 mm guns stabilized for elevation, VT 1-2 (1975) two 120 mm guns, one of which with a six-round autoloader.

 

They were supposed to zig-zag across the Northern German Plain, automatically firing their guns whenever they aligned with a pre-selected target from the advancing Red Hordes. Crew of three, MTU/MB 803 RA-500 engine with 1,500 hp nominal, 2,175 hp "burst" for a speed of 70 kph at 43.5 metric tons, plus two electric engines for sneaking and traversing in covered positions. Dimensions 9.06 x 3.54 x 2.04 meters.

 

VT 1-2 is in Koblenz today. There were also five Gefechtsfeldversuchsträger with dummy guns, but in the end the turretless design was found to have too many drawbacks.

[Gavin-Phillips]

Thanks for that; a most curious looking vehicle indeed and not something I'd heard of before (which doesn't really say much I know).

[Ken Estes]

Banshee, who was the defense minister who so famously backed these and other two/three-man machines?

[BansheeOne]

Georg Leber was Minister from 1972 to 1978, though I wouldn't know he backed any particular projects; a lot of reform went on in that time, including the plans for Heeresstruktur 4, establishment of the Bundeswehr universities, admission of female medical officers, etc. He very nearly would have become the minister to order a Finnish airliner flying towards the Munich Olympic stadium shot down after the 1972 terror attack, which turned out just in time to be not hijacked but having an avionics failure.

[CV9030FIN]

 

VT 1-2 is in Koblenz today. There were also five Gefechtsfeldversuchsträger with dummy guns, but in the end the turretless design was found to have too many drawbacks.

VT 2-2 in Munster? Does it have dummy or live guns on it?

Edited December 29, 2013 by CV9030FIN