In a 15 month period from March 1968 to June 1969, 25 Australian Army M113A1s were damaged by ...

P06318.001
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Accession Number P06318.001
Collection type Photograph
Object type Transparency
Maker McManus, Arthur Thomas
Place made Vietnam: Phuoc Tuy Province, Nui Dat
Date made c 1969
Conflict Vietnam, 1962-1975
Copyright Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial
Creative Commons License This item is licensed under CC BY-NC
Description

In a 15 month period from March 1968 to June 1969, 25 Australian Army M113A1s were damaged by enemy mines in South Vietnam. During this period, five Australian servicemen were killed and a further 30 were injured (some seriously). Ten of these vehicles had their hulls penetrated by the blast. The united States Army in South Vietnam were having identical problems but on a larger scale. In June 1969, Australian sappers from 106 Field Workshop designed and fabricated two sets of right angled plates (for the port and starboard sides) from 12.7 mm (half inch) aluminium armour. One plate was fitted to the outside and the other to the inside which effectively sandwiched the section of existing sponson plate. Each new plate extended 1829 mm (72 inches) from above the first road wheel back to the third road wheel. Here, (with the bare metal line visible above the first three road wheels), is a modified M113A1 Armoured Personnel Carrier which is about to be blown up using a 13.6 kilogram (30 pound) charge. The blast from the controlled explosion failed to penetrate the hull, (even though the vehicle was thrown onto it's side) and the integrity and viability of the newly fitted sponson armour was justified. Soon after, the Australian Army began a program to upgrade their fleet of M113A1 of vehicles. The upgrades later included full belly armour and a shock absorbing, collapsible foot rest for the driver.

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