LVT, LVT(A), AMTRAC, and Alligator

[jcf]

Howzabout an amphibious version?

That works for me.  Odd that they did not consider adapting the turret to an existing amphibious vehicle but that can be the subject of another discussion on what to do with an AMTRAC...

Then howzabout an LTV (A) 1 with the turret of an M-24?  



Jon

[dy031101]

Or the turret of M8A1 gun motor carriage, giving the vehicle the same firepower as the standard M4 Sherman.

The M24 turret instantly reminds me of the upgrade done on the Norweigian NM116 tank chasers- namely smoke grenade dischargers, night sight, and most obviously the 90mm gun...... the upgrade seems to have necessitate the removal of co-axial machine gun though.

But then of course, one can always go for a more modern turret that houses both the lightweight 90mm gun (either GIAT or Cockerill) and the co-axial MG.

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Twin 40mm cannon turret from the M19 or M42 on the LVT(A) to make an amphibious anti-aircraft gun.  The ride to the beach might be a bit wet but it would certainly put out some suppressive fire. 

[PanzerWulff]

How about a Caliopie mount for last minute prep fire as the amtracks are about to hit the beach with a mix of HE and WP smoke rockets
"Panzer"

[jcf]

The French occasionally used LVT-4s with 40mm Bofors mounted in the cargo area as direct fire support weapons in their dinassaut units
in Vietnam in the early 50s.

Jon

[jcf]

French Alligators in Vietnam with 40mm Bofors and twin .50 MG.



Jon

[Weaver]

Question, if I may gents? What were the exhaust arrangements on the LVT-4 (front engine, rear ramp)?

The LVTs had an air-cooled radial engine mounted upright (i.e. crankshaft horizontal). On the LVT-1 and 2 it was at the back, and had it's own cooling air intakes on the top of the engine bay and, I presume, the exhaust run out somewhere aft as well.

The LVT-4 had the engine moved forward to allow a rear ramp. The engine now sat on the centreline behind the driver/bow-MG compartment, with a cramped passageway to either side of it. I presume that it drew cooling air through the open-topped passenger compartment, but where did the exhaust go? For the life of me, I can't see it on pictures and there aren't good cutaways on the web.

[Old Wombat]

Question, if I may gents? What were the exhaust arrangements on the LVT-4 (front engine, rear ramp)?

The LVTs had an air-cooled radial engine mounted upright (i.e. crankshaft horizontal). On the LVT-1 and 2 it was at the back, and had it's own cooling air intakes on the top of the engine bay and, I presume, the exhaust run out somewhere aft as well.

The LVT-4 had the engine moved forward to allow a rear ramp. The engine now sat on the centreline behind the driver/bow-MG compartment, with a cramped passageway to either side of it. I presume that it drew cooling air through the open-topped passenger compartment, but where did the exhaust go? For the life of me, I can't see it on pictures and there aren't good cutaways on the web.

I don't know for certain (I can't find any decent references (for free), either) but the LVT-4 has two mesh covered vents under the superstructure, outboard of the engines, above the tracks which I think are probably the exhaust vents for the engine, as I can't think of anything else you'd want a grate-covered hole in that position for.

[crudebuteffective]

The exhausts vented out above the tracks just behind the front bulk head line

If you you tube LVT4 you can see the exhaust smoke

[Weaver]

Thanks Wombat & Crude; yes I think you're right. I can't find a vid that shows exhaust smoke clearly, but I can see smokey stains on some vehicles in that area, and like Wombat says, what the hell else are those two boxes for?

So if I want to put a roof and a turret on one, all I need to do is provide an air intake on the rear of the roof that allows air to flow into the troop compartment to feed the cooling fan, right? What I'm thinking of is a big M113-style hatch, raised up by a relatively small amount, because you also need to get out on the rear roof for mooring purposes.

[rickshaw]

The South Koreans and Taiwanese put roofs and a MG turret on the rear of their LVTs.   They included a large hatch as well.

[Weaver]

From what I can see on line, the Taiwanese and South Korean vehicles were LVT-3Cs. The LVT-3 was developed by Borg Warner rather than FMC and had a number of differences, including a forward cab and twin V-8 engines in the sponsons. The -3C version added a roof, an extended bow and an MG turret. These were presumably transferred to Taiwan and South Korea when the USMC replaced them with LVTP-5s.

[Captain Canada]

Now I want to dig my model out and put a roof on it !

I remember seeing one of these beasts for the first time......huge !

[Weaver]

Now I want to dig my model out and put a roof on it !

I remember seeing one of these beasts for the first time......huge !

Yeah - 30 passengers in an LVT-4 and a 8-foot jump from the top to get out of an LVT-2...

[Old Wombat]

The LVT(A)-4 is, basically, a roofed LVT-4.