- Yes
- No
caid’s suggestion #1
I would like to suggest an Israeli light tank, the M113 OWS 25
sadly the history behind these vehicles is unknown. We only can say it was an M113 with an upgrade in the form of a new turret. the Overhead Weapons System (OWS) 25. this tank was used by the IDF army to control the border of their territory. spotted in 2004, it is unclear how many were used and for how long. but outside of the obvious lack of info about the history of the vehicle, we can tell how it would be as the turret and the chassis are known separately.
Back in 1999, Israel’s corporation Rafael sold an upgrade package for Singapore. this upgrade was the M113 Ultra IFV which is a a simple M113 with an OWS 25 turret similar to the one used by Israel. it is likely that about this time, this M113 was also tested for the IDF but not made standard. despite not being standard, it seems the tank was still used in services.
The OWS is a turret offered by Rafael who had significant success internationally. capable of fitting many different armaments, it was mounted on half a dozen APC and IFV from Singapore, Turkey, Israel, and Roumania. the turret is powered to make it have a fast rotation, have a good elevation, and add up to 1000 kg on the chassis.
the M113 was an American APC of type “Battle taxi”. Israel first captured Jordanian M113 in 1967 but started to import their M113 from the USA in 1970. the M113 was replacing the M3 half-track in the Israeli army and Israel became the 2nd largest user of M113 after the USA with 6,000 tanks having been put at their services. the M113 participated in every Israeli conflict since its introduction but with a lot of losses when it was fighting. the M113 turned out to be poorly armored and very vulnerable to mine and RPG. regardless Israel kept the M113 and adapted their use to the safer role or improved their armour with the ERA package. up to this day, Israel is still using the M113 actively but the venerable services of the M113 in Israel are cumming to an end with the introduction of more protected APCs such as the Namer, Achzarit and soon to be produced, Eitan. most of the Israeli M113 are M113A2 but Rafael and IMI are proposing an upgrade of the M113 to M113A3 standard along with ERA armour. this upgrade does not seem to be installed on the M113 OWS 25.
Firepower
the main armament of the M113 OWS 25 is the 25mm Bushmaster M242 auto-cannon. this auto-cannon is the same as that used on the M3 Bradley. only there is no ATGM installed (at the opposite of the OWS-25R version). this auto-cannon can fire APFSDS with an interesting armor penetration that allows it to fight early MBTs. the ammo load includes 200 rounds ready to use in a dual feed belt but the ammo storage is unknown. Maybe up to 5 reloads could be stored inside the hull if not more. the turret is powered making it quite fast to aim. a high rotation speed in the area of 40°/sec is likely to be. the elevation ranges from -12°/+60° which makes it a tank quite capable of engaging low-flying aircraft. the turret also features a coaxial 7.62mm machine gun and day/night sight. the turret is controlled by both the Commander and the gunner from the inside of the hull just below the turret. the turret can be reloaded manually from inside.
Mobility
The M113A2 which is the version that is likely used for the M113 OWS 25, weighs 11,343 combat-ready with a 50 cal. the 12.7mm M2HB and the pintle mount is not very heavy and would weigh about the same as the ammo storage of the 20mm. the OWS 25 turret weighs 1,000 kg according to the pamphlet. this led to a weight of about 12.300 kg. which is a rather normal weight for a M113. this will allow the General Motors 6V53; 6 cylinder, 2 cycle, vee diesel of 215 hp engine to give a power-weight of 17.48 hp/ton which is decent for a light tank. the tank is capable of reaching 64 km/h and is amphibious with a speed of 4 km/h on the water. while in overall and at his rank his mobility would not be impressive, this tank will still have a pretty decent mobility.
Protection
the M113 is built of aluminum. while been rather think, the armour would be nothing great. the tank would have difficulty taking HMG fire and crack open by any main gun hit. it is not a tank that can take a beating. the crew of 3 men is placed inside the hull. the commander and gunner are sitting side by side at the end of the passenger compartment just below the turret while the driver sits at the front. this makes the crew vulnerable to the “single hit” annihilation. the tank is also a bit tall and very flat. the turret is remotely controlled making it not need to be well protected. the armour of the turret is estimated to be between 10 and 20mm but it would only protect the mechanical part of the gun which makes it less important. despite normally having a smoke grenade, it seems the OWS 25 turret used on this tank was without smoke and the space was taken by an antenna holder. overall, this tank protection would be quite low.
Source
- https://bemil.chosun.com/nbrd/gallery/view.html?b_bbs_id=10044&pn=0&num=40124
- Log in
- Just an other gnostic blog III.: Why Greek army didnt put OWS on m113 and why the have thise death traps! as main apc.
Chassis
- M113 armored personnel carrier - Wikipedia
- APC M113
- http://www.military-today.com/apc/m113.htm
- https://www.army-technology.com/projects/m113-armoured-personnel-carrier/
Turret
- Ow S 2 5 R | Download Free PDF | Machine Gun | Anti Tank Warfare
- Army Guide
- Rafael Overhead Weapon Station - Wikipedia
