Introduction
- In times of battles, wars, emergencies, one of the challenges faced by the armed forces is crossing rivers/lakes and similar finite water bodies.
- Allies e.g.: NATO members often cooperate their operations in varied geographical areas. One of the challenges faced by the respective armed forces is interoperability of their machines e.g.: the bridge-building iron frame lengths, widths, and heights must be compatible to ensure that a bridge can be built and used.
- It should be noted that time is a luxury when it comes to crisis situations. These bridges must be built quickly, must be stable, must need minimal manpower and efforts, and also disassemble quickly.
Amphibious vehicles like Amfibiebro 400 addresses the above challenges. Note that it is NOT an indigenous Swedish vehicle. It was originally built by a German company, which was overtaken by General Dynamics. It is widely called M3 across the globe.
The below vehicle was recently bought, and was not even commissioned. I got a chance to walk atop and around it.
Approximate Values
- Combat weight: 28800 kg
- Military Load Classification: MLC29W
- Axle Load: 14400 kg
- Ground pressure (road): 69 N/cm² (adjustable tire pressure)
- Ground pressure (off-road): 30 N/cm² (adjustable tire pressure)
- Overall length: 13600 mm
- Width: 3350 mm(ramps mounted: 20 m)
- Height: 3970 mm
- Ground clearance: 700 mm
- Turning radius (two-wheel drive) : 42000 mm
- Turning radius (four-wheel drive): 24000 mm
- Minimum water depth: 1200 mm
- Crew: Minimum 2, maximum 3 persons
- Engine: CAT C9, 8.8-liter inline-6 diesel, 400 bhp
- Fuel tank: 400 liters
- Range: Approximately 725 km(55 liters/100 km)
- Speed on road: 80 km/h
- Speed in water: 11 km/h
- Chassis: M35, aluminum; armored driver’s cab
Operation
- Several such vehicles are needed to build a bridge.
- The vehicles can be connected directly to one another or linked by placing ramps between the Amfibiebro 400 units. Assembly time is short (10–20 minutes); for instance, two Amfibiebro 400 units can form a ferry capable of transporting one main battle tank at a time.
- The built-in crane is used to deploy the ramps and is semi-automatic, featuring pre-programmed settings for the specific lifting operations required. The crew operates from a cabin that offers both splinter and CBRN protection. The vehicle is equipped with radio and intercom systems.
- The marine propulsion system consists of bow- and stern-mounted pump-jet units that are hydraulically steerable through 360 degrees. When the vehicle is in the water, it is steered by a crew member from a control station at the stern. The water-jet units and other marine systems can also be operated from the cabin during the transition between land and marine operations.
- The vehicle is also equipped with a de-icing system (Arctic Kit), enabling it to be de-iced using its own resources in cold environments.
- On land, the Amfibiebro 400 is powered by a diesel engine (Caterpillar) and is largely constructed using an aluminium alloy. The side pontoons, which are carried atop the hull during land transport, are hydraulically deployable and serve to increase displacement.
- The Amfibiebro 400 has a load-bearing capacity of MLC 85T for tracked vehicles and MLC 70W for wheeled vehicles. In certain cases, MLC 132W vehicles may be permitted. Military Load Classification (MLC): for example, the Stridsvagn 122 (Main Battle Tank 122) is classified as MLC 70 and weighs approximately 65 tonnes. The MLC system is a NATO standard for classifying vehicles based on weight, type, and impact on infrastructure such as roadways or bridges (W = Wheeled, T = Tracked).
Demo
Usage
The M3 Amphibious Bridging Vehicle saw its first combat actions in Operation Telic, Britain’s military operations in the Iraq War (until withdrawal in 2011). From 25 March 2003, 23 Amphibious Engineer Squadron, of 28 Engineer Regiment of the Royal Engineers ferried elements of 3 Commando Brigade across the Shatt Al-Basrah waterway, enabling their continued advance on the Iraqi city of Basra. A subsequent riverine crossing at the Rumaila oil fields was also undertaken by the M3. This action transported three AS90 self-propelled howitzers in support of 16 Air Assault Brigade of the British Army
Disclaimer
The ‘Demo’ section might contain third-party images/videos/other multimedia. The author neither claims nor intends any infringement, and tries best to give credits to the original creators/owners. The only purpose of including the third-party material is to provide the readers as much information as possible, in an intuitive manner.