- Yes
- No
Welcome to the suggestion for the Cadillac Gage LAV-600! Also known by the name V-600, this is an American wheeled fire support vehicle. It uses a turret equipped with a fully stabilized 105 mm LRF gun, which can fire a variety of ammunition. It is relatively speedy too, with a top speed of 90 km/h, allowing it to get to key positions quickly and provide effective fire.
History
The LAV-300, the predecessor of the LAV-600.
Developed in the late 1970s for the export market, Cadillac Gage’s V-300 was designed as a variant of the extremely successful V-150 Commando to mount heavier weapons. Most common of these was the Cockerill 90 mm gun, but the turret could also be outfitted with a variety of armament, from 20 mm autocannons to the BGM-71 TOW missile. Further development of the V-300 resulted in the V-300A1, featuring an even heavier armament. The V-300A1 was first built in 1985, and marketed as a less expensive fire support vehicle option. Eventually, to distinguish it from the V-300, the V-300A1’s designation was changed to V-600. If ordered, the V-600 would be produced at the Cadillac Gage Textron plant in New Orleans, Louisiana.
To account for the larger gun, the V-300’s hull roof was lowered, and the rear suspension was modified to use torsion bars instead of the coil springs, however the coil springs were retained on the front axle. The V-600 used a supercharged Cummins 6TCA 8.3 V-8 diesel with around 270 hp, paired to an Allison MT-643 transmission with five forward gears, and one reverse gear. Intended for use as a fire support vehicle, the V-600 used the turret from the Stingray light tank. This used a 105 mm Low Recoil Force gun developed by Royal Ordnance Factories, intended for use on lighter vehicles that couldn’t handle a large amount of recoil.
A picture from an early brochure, the vehicle was initially advertised as the V-300A1.
After its initial marketing, the V-600 performed well during trials, firing at a variety of elevations and even firing with the turret pointed to the vehicle’s side, at a 90 degree angle. In 1987, the V-600 was sent to Egypt, who was seen as a potential customer, and would take part in further firepower and mobility trials in the desert. Ultimately, Egypt wouldn’t order the V-600, and in 1989, the V-600 was listed in a March-April copy of the US Army’s ARMOR magazine as a contender in the AGS (Armored Gun System) program, alongside Teledyne Continental’s AGS, FMC’s CCVL, the Cadillac Gage Stingray, and the Swedish Hägglunds Ikv 91-105.
In the late 1990s, Cadillac Gage Textron, now merged to become Textron Marine & Land Systems, changed the vehicle’s name once more. Now designated the LAV-600, it appeared alongside the also redesignated V-300, now LAV-300, at Fort Knox in December of 1999 when the US Army was forming its Brigade Combat Teams with a focus on great mobility and strategic deployment. Though the intent was to review available technology at the time, after once again failing to see adoption, Textron made the decision to stop marketing the LAV-600 in 2000. Although the LAV-600 was never adopted by any nation, its predecessor, the LAV-300 proved to see more interest and a longer service life than the LAV-600, and is still in service with the Philippine Marine Corps.
An LAV-300 in service with the Philippine Marine Corps.
Specifications
- Crew: 4
- Mass: 18.5 t
- Length: 6.30 m
- Width: 2.68 m
- Height: 2.74 m
- Main armament: 105 mm LRF
- Main armament ammunition: 34 rounds, with 8 in ready rack and 26 in the hull
- Secondary armament: 7.62 mm M240 & 12.7 mm M2HB
- Turret traverse rate: 40°/sec
- Turret elevation angles: -7.5°/20°
- Maximum speed: 90 km/h
- Engine: Cummins 6CTA 8.3 V-8 diesel
- Maximum range: 640 km
- Transmission: Allison MT-643
- Slope clearance: 60%
- Vertical obstacle clearance: 61 cm
- Side slope clearance: 30%
Sources
- Cadillac Gage brochure
- Hunnicutt, R. P. Armored Car: A History of American Wheeled Combat Vehicles. Echo Point Books & Media, 2015.
- https://web.archive.org/web/20080503180749/http://www.janes.com/defence/land_forces/supplement/lav/lav_lav-25-3.shtml
- Army Guide
- https://www.forecastinternational.com/archive/disp_pdf.cfm?DACH_RECNO=403
- Video of the LAV-600
