The V-hull is a type of vehicle armor design used on wheeled armored personnel carriers (APCs), infantry mobility vehicles,

infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forc ...

s (IFVs) and MRAPs. The design originated in the 1970s with vehicles such as the iconic Casspir used extensively during the South African Border War, Leopard security vehicle used in the Rhodesian Bush War and South African armored vehicle company

Land Systems OMC Land Systems OMC is a South African company that produces a range of armoured vehicles which have been successfully exported and are in service with, amongst others, the U.S., Canadian and South African militaries. It is a division of Denel SOC LT ...

s and Buffels.

Design

The purpose of V-hulls is to increase vehicle and crew survivability by deflecting an upward directed blast from a landmine (or Improvised Explosive Device) away from the vehicle, while also presenting a sloped armor face. By presenting its armor at an angle, it increases the amount of material a ballistic projectile must pass through in order to penetrate the vehicle, and increases the chance of

deflection Deflection or deflexion may refer to: Board games * Deflection (chess), a tactic that forces an opposing chess piece to leave a square * Khet (game), formerly ''Deflexion'', an Egyptian-themed chess-like game using lasers Mechanics * Deflection ...

. V-hulls are incorporated in armored vehicle designs in several different ways. Many vehicles, such as the

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...

RG-33 The RG-33 is a mine-resistant light armored vehicle initially designed by BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa (formerly Land Systems OMC), a South African subsidiary of BAE Systems. BAE Systems in the US extensively modified it with additiona ...

incorporate the V-hull into a monocoque

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

, while others, such as the ATF Dingo and International MaxxPro use a

body-on-frame Body-on-frame, also known as ladder frame construction, is a common motor vehicle construction method, whereby a separate body or coach is mounted on a strong and relatively rigid vehicle frame or chassis that carries the powertrain (the engin ...

chassis, with an armored V-hull crew compartment, and an additional V or semicircular shaped piece protecting the driveline. Others, such as the

Cougar H The Cougar is a mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) and infantry mobility vehicle structured to be resistant to landmines and improvised munitions. It is a family of armored vehicles produced by Force Protection Inc, which manufactures bal ...

have a V-hull crew compartment, and allow the driveline and suspension components to be sacrificed in an attack, while maintaining the safety of the crew.

Gallery

File:Rhodesia-Leopard Security Vehicle-001.jpg, The

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

n Leopard security vehicle, one of the first V-hull vehicles. File:Armoured car, Army Museum Stockholm.jpg,

Terrängbil m/42 KP Terrängbil m/42 KP (tgb m/42 KP), meaning "terrain car m/42 KP" (''KP'' standing for ''Karosseri Pansar'', "Coachwork Armour"), colloquially known as "KP-car" ( sv, KP-bil), was a Swedish infantry fighting vehicle developed during World War II. I ...

early V-hull vehicle and the first APC in the Swedish armed forces, in use 1942–1990. It saw combat during the Congo crisis. File:Casspir vehicle Ai101503g1.jpg, A Casspir de-mining vehicle in the vicinity of the Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. File:Twinbuffels.JPG, Buffel variants at

Air Force Base Swartkop Air Force Base Swartkop is South Africa, South Africa's oldest air force base and houses the South African Air Force Museum. It is managed as part of AFB Waterkloof and houses one of the three branches of the South African Air Force Museum. The ...

, South Africa. File:Cougar Hit By IED.jpg, Force Protection's Cougar hit by an Improvised explosive device (IED) in Iraq; all crew survived. File:Bushmaster Counter IED Lane Tarin Kowt.JPG, A

Bushmaster IMV } The Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle or Infantry Mobility Vehicle is an Australian-built four-wheel drive armoured vehicle. The Bushmaster was primarily designed by the then government-owned Australian Defence Industries (ADI), and is cur ...

after encountering an IED; the drive train and utility bins were destroyed, but the

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

is intact and the crew survived with only minor injuries.

References

{{Reflist Vehicle armour Armoured warfare Military technology Armoured fighting vehicle equipment

Design

Gallery

See also

References