The Vespa 150 TAP was an

anti-tank Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first deve ...

scooter made in the 1950s from a

Vespa Vespa () is an Italian luxury brand of scooter (motorcycle), scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of ...

scooter for use with French paratroops (''troupes aéroportées'', TAP). Introduced in 1956 and updated in 1959, the scooter was produced by ''Ateliers de Construction de Motocycles et Automobiles'' (ACMA), the licensed assembler of Vespas in France at the time. Modifications from the civilian Vespa included a reinforced frame and a

recoilless rifle A recoilless rifle, recoilless launcher or recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated "RR" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propel ...

mounted to the scooter. Vespamilitare

The 150 TAPs mounted a M20 75 mm recoilless rifle, a U.S.-made light anti-armour weapon. It was very light in comparison to a standard 75 mm cannon but was still able to penetrate 100 mm of armour with its

HEAT In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...

warhead. The

recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force requ ...

was counteracted by venting propellant gases out the rear of the weapon which eliminated the need for a mechanical recoil system or heavy mount. The scooters would be

parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...

-dropped in pairs, accompanied by a two-man team. The gun was carried on one scooter, while the ammunition was loaded on the other. Due to the lack of any kind of aiming devices the

was never designed to be fired from the scooter; the gun was mounted on a

M1917 Browning machine gun The M1917 Browning machine gun is a heavy machine gun used by the United States armed forces in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War; it has also been used by other nations. It was a crew-served, belt-fed, water-cooled ma ...

tripod, which was also carried by the scooter, before being fired. However, in an emergency it could be fired while in the frame, and while the scooter was moving. The "Bazooka Vespa" was relatively cheap: Vespas cost roughly

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

500 at the time, and the M20s were plentiful. 600 of them were produced, between 1956 and 1959. It had a cart, and also came with two cans of fuel. The scooter themselves were original civilian produced VB1T models, 150 cc capacity engine. The engine was two stroke, top speed of 60 km/h, enough speed to ram any vehicles if needed in an emergency, or move the user from the drop site to the area where the paratrooper was needed. scooterlounge http://scooterlounge.com/vespa/buyers-guide/vespa-vbb.shtml

References

;Citations ;Sources * * {{cite book , last = Sarti , first = Giorgio , title = Vespa: 1946-2006: 60 Years of the Vespa , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GZleYU_uSeAC , access-date = 2013-06-09 , year = 2006 , publisher = Giorgio Nada Editore / MBI Publishing , location = St. Paul, MN USA , isbn = 0-7603-2577-4 , page = 152 , chapter = Part three THE VESPA FAMILY , quote = Designated as the TAP 56 and revised in 1959 as the TAP 59 (TAP standing for Troupes Aéro Portées), the military Vespa was finished in a typical dark olive green only and was produced exclusively in France. , ref = Sarti_152 Cold War weapons of France Military vehicles introduced in the 1950s Military motorcycles Motor scooters Piaggio Group Tank destroyers of France Airborne fighting vehicles