M113 Armored Personnel Carrier

The M113 is a United States Army fully-tracked Armored Personnel Carrier and was first used in combat in 1962 in Vietnam. It was designed to be thick enough to protect the crew from small arms fire but light enough to be transported by air by C-130 and C-141 planes and also be considered moderately amphibious. Also, this was imagined to be used solely for transportation, by bringing troops closer to the action, then retreating to the rear. However, many sub-variants serve purposes from ambulance, to direct fire support. It only requires two crewmen and can carry 11 passengers. With an estimated 80,000 M113s produced by over 50 countries, it is one of the most widely used fighting vehicles of all time.   

The United States is working to retire the M113, but it continues to fill a vital troop transport in countries worldwide.  Israel is the second largest user of the M113, having over 6,000 vehicles in service. Our M113s hail from the Israel Defense Force.