M113 Platoon

The mechanised infantry were organised the same as normal rifle platoons with two exceptions. The most obvious was the provision of M113 armoured personnel carriers, known as ‘tracks’ to their crews. Less obvious, but more important in many operations was the addition of an M60 machine-gun to each squad. This was a significant boost in firepower, especially when combined with the new M16 assault rifles and M79 grenade launchers.

The M113 was introduced to United States Army Europe in 1961 to replace the mechanised infantry’s M59 armoured personnel carriers (APCs). The M113 is the first aluminium hull combat vehicle to be put into mass production. This makes it much lighter than earlier similar all-steel vehicles like the M59. Its aluminium armour was designed to be thick enough to protect the crew and passengers against small arms fire, but light enough that the vehicle was air transportable and amphibious.

THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS:

• 5x plastic M113 Transports, M106 Mortar Carriers, or M125 Mortar Carriers
• 4x metal Mortar Crew
• 3x metal M150 TOW Gunners