The M548 is a tracked cargo carrier. It is based on the M113 armored personnel carrier, and was built by

FMC Corp. FMC Corporation is an American chemical manufacturing company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which originated as an insecticide producer in 1883 and later diversified into other industries. In 1941 at the beginning of US involvemen ...

at its

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, and

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

facilities.

Design

Its light weight allows the use of a relatively small engine to power the vehicle, a 6V53

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being comple ...

six cylinder diesel, with an

Allison Allison may refer to: People * Allison (given name) * Allison (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Eugene Allison Smith (1922-1980), American politician and farmer Companies * Allison Engine Company, American aircraft engine ...

TX-100-1 three-speed automatic transmission, and allows the vehicle to carry a large payload cross-country and to be transported by fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. The driveline consists of a front sprocket, five roadwheels and a rear tensioner. Suspension is by

torsion bar A torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension, is any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight-bearing spring. One end of a long metal bar is attached firmly to the vehicle chassis; the opposite end termi ...

. Support rollers are not necessary because of the taut and relatively light track. In off-road driving, the driver must be careful to keep the track tension constant. Even with a failed torsion bar the M548 is still roadworthy. The power of the motor drives the transfer gearcase, generator and the cooling of the differential/steering gear. The transfer gearcase can be used as a separating clutch when towing the vehicle and serves to reduce the motor's speed. The power transmission between the drive follows the

torque converter A torque converter is a type of fluid coupling that transfers rotating power from a prime mover, like an internal combustion engine, to a rotating driven load. In a vehicle with an automatic transmission, the torque converter connects the power ...

with an automatic lock-up clutch.

Variants

United States

; M548A1 NATO Stock Number (NSN) 2350–01–096–9356 It has the same improvements as M113A2. Improved suspension and cooling system. Entered service in 1982. ; M548A2 ; M548A3 NATO Stock Number (NSN) 2350-01-369-6081 ; M1015 Modified M548 to carry Electronic Warfare Shelters. Modifications included installation of 60W, 400hz power system and ground rod driver. EW Shelters carried included the AN/MLQ-24 TACJAM, and AN/TSQ-138 Trailblazer Direction Finding systems.

Swiss Army

* ''Raupentransportwagen 68'' (Rpe Trspw 68) M548 ''Munitionstransport'' (tracked transport vehicle 68, M548 ammunition transporter). * ''Raupentransportwagen 88'' Model 88 (Swiss military license plates M+75829 to M+75882) came into service between 1986 and 1988, in total 54 units. Unlike the previous model 68, the model 88 has "''Fleckentarnanstrich''" ("stain camouflage pattern") as well as improved diesel heating. * ''Raupentransportwagen 68/05'' The M548 was mainly used as ammunition transporter in units equipped with the self-propelled

M109 howitzer The M109 is an American 155 mm turreted self-propelled howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s to replace the M44. It has been upgraded a number of times, most recently to the M109A7. The M109 family is the most common Western indirect-fi ...

. Also, the armor and weapons mechanic school's recruits, as well as at the tank mortar unit 16/5, used the M548. The usual load is ten pallets of eight 155 mm projectiles including charges and detonators. The handling is done with an electric hoist.

British Army

The

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

used M548 as logistical support for (UK) Armoured Division in the 1991

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. The M548 was also used as the basis for the

Tracked Rapier Rapier is a surface-to-air missile developed for the British Army to replace their towed Bofors 40/L70 anti-aircraft guns. The system is unusual as it uses a manual optical guidance system, sending guidance commands to the missile in flight over ...

anti-aircraft missile system, originally intended for the

Iranian Army The Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces ( fa, نیروی زمینی ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران, ''Niroo-ye Zamini-ye Artesh-e Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Iran''), acronymed NEZAJA ( fa, نزاجا, NEZEJA) are the ground forc ...

but delivered to the

after the

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

caused the order to be cancelled. On 25 February 1991, a pair of M548 crewed by personnel of the

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's for ...

, were supporting

16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers The 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed by the amalgamation of the 16th The Queen's Lancers and the 5th Royal Irish Lancers in 1922. The reason for the uniquely atypical regimental title (wit ...

who were providing the reconnaissance for the division. They were attacked by an Iraqi

Type 59 tank The Type 59 (; industrial designation: WZ-120) main battle tank is a Chinese-produced version of the Soviet T-54A tank, an early model of the ubiquitous T-54/55 series. The first vehicles were produced in 1958 and it was accepted into service ...

. One M548 was disabled and the Type 59 reengaged the second M548 who returned fire with small arms. Two crewmen (Sergeant Dowling, MM and Lance Corporal F. Evans, REME) were killed.

Gallery

File:M548 Quad 0.50 calibre.jpg, M548 with quad 0.50 calibre heavy machine guns, belonging to Battery G, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 23rd Infantry Division, Vietnam war File:M548 SLUFAE firing.jpg, M548 firing a XM130 SLUFAE rocket File:Rapier mounted on the M548.jpg, Prototype

based on an M548 chassis File:Hjerkinn skytefelt-nå nedlagt.jpg, M548 in Norwegian service supplying an artillery position File:Right side view of a US Army M-727 self-propelled Hawk surface-to-air missile system - DPLA - 8a59e5f77a77f78f874fe49d896909f1.jpeg, M727 Hawk Guided Missile Equipment Carrier, based on the M548 File:MIM-72 Chaparral 07.jpg, M730 Chaparral Guided missile Carrier, based on the M548 File:MGM-52 Lance 11.jpg, M667

Lance A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier ( lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike si ...

Self Propelled Launcher, based on the M548

Operators

* : 28 M548A1 in service. * * * * : M548A1 in service. * * : M548A1 in service. * : Local designation ''M548 Alfa''. * : 210 M548 in service. * * * * * * * * *

Former operators

Notes

References

* Heller, Urs: ''Die Panzer der Schweizer Armee von 1920 bis 2008'' * Schweizerische Militärmuseum Full

External links

M548 Engine Data
{{DEFAULTSORT:M113 Armored Personnel Carrier Armored personnel carriers of the United States Armoured personnel carriers of the Cold War Armoured personnel carriers of the post–Cold War period Tracked armoured personnel carriers Military vehicles introduced in the 1960s