Armored supply vehicles

[Rheged]

The First World War Mark IX tank was described in literature of the period as able to transport 50 troops or TEN tons of cargo.   Mind you, I would imagine that after being transported in such a vehicle, the troops would need a couple of hours to recover  before they could defend themselves against anything more than a pack of Brownies. 

(And before anyone makes further comment, my sister was a Brownie Guide leader for many years, and I know the carnage that a pack of 8 year old girls can cause)

[NARSES2]

The First World War Mark IX tank was described in literature of the period as able to transport 50 troops or TEN tons of cargo.   Mind you, I would imagine that after being transported in such a vehicle, the troops would need a couple of hours to recover  before they could defend themselves against anything more than a pack of Brownies. 

Use also had the converted Mk whatever that was used as a gun carrier with the 60pdr.

(And before anyone makes further comment, my sister was a Brownie Guide leader for many years, and I know the carnage that a pack of 8 year old girls can cause)

Having two nieces still in the Brownies I can confirm the gentlemen's statement 

Or I may keep the story that its a Bradley that got its turret shot up and was modified for the supply units to get a shipment into a hot area.  This would allow more whiffing.

Yup a field conversion sounds good 

[Mossie]

There was an armoured load carrier of the FV430 series, the FV431.  It was meant to replace the Stalwart and acted as the prototype for the series, but never went in to production itself.

[Martin H]

There was an armoured load carrier of the FV430 series, the FV431.  It was meant to replace the Stalwart and acted as the prototype for the series, but never went in to production itself.

Yet another variant of the good old 432

[Old Wombat]

Actually, an improved, larger, armoured Stalwart would probably be a really good combat logistics transport... used in conjunction with an armoured HEMMT variant.

Or Merkava 1 hulls modified into cargo carriers or prime-movers for a more heavily armoured "Sisu-Nasu" NA-120 GT KV1 type road-train.

Note: having wheels/tracks may depend on the environment they are working in (snow & mud lend themselves to tracked vehicles, while most other surfaces can be traversed by wheeled vehicles).

The point being that they should;
- have front or forward mounted engines;
- have a crew of 2 as standard;
- have a remote weapons mount above the cabin;
- have armoured sides, belly & roof, with the cab/prime-mover being more heavily armoured than the (possibly self-powered) trailers;
- have a system whereby you can have tracks or wheels as the environment demands (Stalwart type vehicle looks good for that);
- not be so heavily armoured that they can't carry sufficient supplies for themselves and the units they are supporting (balance armour, fuel economy, reliability & cargo capacity).


See... Simple!

[Go4fun]

Gee Wombat your almost sounding practical. On some new medicine? 

[Old Wombat]

If someone made a kit of an Alvis Stalwart in 1/35th (at a reasonable price) I'd have a go at bashing some to fit the above description.

As it is I'm tossing up whether to buy a Merkava 1 for the tracked prime-mover idea.

[kerick]

I hadn't thought this would generate so much traffic.  Must be some merit in the concept.  When I do this (someday) I'll go with the field mod version.  I have a different whiff on the bench that I should finish first.

[Old Wombat]

I hadn't thought this would generate so much traffic.  Must be some merit in the concept.  When I do this (someday) I'll go with the field mod version.  I have a different whiff on the bench that I should finish first.

Of course there's merit in this idea!

Getting large amounts of supplies to the troops with as few losses as possible on the way always has merit.

Combat logistics is a major nightmare for any field commander.

[Rheged]

I hadn't thought this would generate so much traffic.  Must be some merit in the concept.  When I do this (someday) I'll go with the field mod version.  I have a different whiff on the bench that I should finish first.

Of course there is merit in the concept.  Perhaps something based on the Scimitar chassis.    With that Jaguar engine at full blast, you would have to crack on to ensure that your supply train didn't get in front of your advanced troops.

[scooter]

Combat logistics is a major nightmare for any field commander.

That it is.  When I was in Iraq in 05 with the 42 ID(M), I was in the headquarters company of a Main Support Battalion.  We drove over a million miles in a mix of the 3 levels of bolt-on armor, from factory to ghetto/hillbilly, and I was surprised a) how crappy the hillbilly armor was, and b) how lucky we got that we didn't lose any more troops than we did.  

[Mossie]

Of course there is merit in the concept.  Perhaps something based on the Scimitar chassis.    With that Jaguar engine at full blast, you would have to crack on to ensure that your supply train didn't get in front of your advanced troops.

There was a prototype, the Alvis Streaker:



The ShielderStormer VLSMS would also work, it has a flatbed for the Volcano mine system.  The extra road wheel would give a bit more room for stuff.  Here it is without the minelayer on board

[kerick]

I'll probably do a field mod Bradley in a 2003 time frame to fit the Thunder Run situation.  A purpose built MLRS type of vehicle with a truck bed or a big box on the back would be a good idea.

[rickshaw]

The new(ish) M113as4 family has a dedicated armoured supply vehicle version, as depicted in these models (not mine):

[Martin H]

The new(ish) M113as4 family has a dedicated armoured supply vehicle version, as depicted in these models (not mine):

Makes you wonder why no one thought of that earlier. I can just see a convoy of them trundling down a jungle road in Vietnam