- Yes
- No
General Info
The M113 is an American made APC, first put in service inside of the US armed forces in the 1960’s to mainly replace outdated vehicles of its type, FMC would develop and produce the vehicle. Due to the positive characteristics of the M113 platform, such as it being highly modular, many countries sought to acquire this platform to incorporate inside of their respective armies to fill out several different roles. Many new M113 variants would start showing up across the globe, with each country either adding more armaments or improving the vehicle to suit operational needs by giving it certain modifications. Italy would be one of the many countries who would have a period of years that experimented and conducted several tests on the M113 platform to attempt to enhance the overall usability of the vehicle. During the late 1960’s/Early 1970’s the Italian army started to modify several M113 platforms in hopes that they could help out in areas in which they’d be deemed useful. In regards to this variant of the Italian M113, in 1996 the Italian army in coperation with the Italian side of Oerlikon would install the a Oerlikon-Bührle GBD-B20 turret on an Italian army M113 made by OTO Melara. The turret was equipped with the standard Oerlikon KBA 25mm auto-cannon already in use on several platforms by many nations. It could also be outfitted with an infrared targeting system. The role of this M113 was to provide support to infantry and to engage enemy vehicles if given the chance. It normally had access to a total of 200 rounds which was mainly comprised of MEI, however for more armoured targets it could carry up to 90 APDS rounds. Its elevation angles were pretty good, -5° and +55° which meant it could also engage low flying aircraft if given the chance. In terms of mobility of this variant of the M113, it was only just slightly effected but the difference in speed was negligible, so it was still highly mobile both on and off-road. Armour was not changed so it would still be very weak against enemy heavy machinegun fire and other threats it may have faced. In theory the hull could be hidden behind natural cover whilst only exposing the main gun which could have proved to be an effective tactic. Its history sadly is not very interesting, from what we know it would be tested inside the Nettuno grounds in Italy and ultimately it would not be picked up, likely due to budget constraints. Later down the line Italy would also test the Swiss Mowag Tornado which used the same turret which was tested on the M113. The Italian Marconi company would also make a similar variant of the M113 with a similar turret for export purposes.
Armament+Equipment
x1 Oerlikon 25/80 25mm cannon
Specifications
Spoiler
Why it should be in game
It should be in game because it would be an easy add and could pave way for future Swiss vehicles and vehicles from nations which used the same turret to be introduced in game. It would offer Italy with a decent IFV/SPAA depending on the munitions given. It would not be OP as the base M113 platform does not offer anything armoured. Would overall help flesh out the lower tiers which could really use more vehicles.
Sources
Spoiler
Eserciti e Armi 48, Nov 1978
M113 in Italia Veicolo Trasporto Truppe e Derivati
Autoveicoli del l’esercito Italiano V4
Уголок неба ¦ Oerlikon KBA(KBB) 25-мм автоматическая пушка
M113 Specifications
M113 - Wikipedia
M113: onnipresente sui campi di battaglia e nei ricordi di intere generazioni… - Difesa Online
Army Guide
Серебряный век Эрликона. Мудрый КАА и другие звери - Альтернативная История
Photos
Spoiler
