Lately, I seen several arm chair generals with websites ripping the US Military over the use of wheeled vehicles like the HMMWv, 5 ton truck, Hemtt, Stryker etc. Seems one of these generals feels an M-113 with ACAV kit could do the job just fine.

A great deal of press is now being generated over the field mods being performed by US Soldiers and Marines to beef up their wheeled mounts including reverting to improvised gun trucks.

Necessity being the mother of invention should give a clue to these nay sayers that even if its not broke, it can be improved upon. I know the HMMWV is not a perfect vehicle, yet with some additional armor, and shielding for the gunner its pretty good. The rebirth of the gun truck is a welcomed sight as it shows that the lessons learned the hard way in Vietnam have not been lost.

Let's face it. GI's have been modifying their vehicles, wheeled or tracked since these vehicles were first issued. How many of us have seen or built an M-4 Sherman festooned with sandbags, heavy lumber, steel plates, concrete or any combination thereof in an attempt by the crew to beef up the armor. Heck, the Cullin hedgerow cutter was nothing more than an idea that spawned one of the greatest field mods ever. This simple fork shaped device saved countless tankers in the bocage region of Normandy.

The bottom line is that where there is a need GI's will find a way. Right now I trying to find some good photos of these modified HMMWV's to include on the model on my workbench. Hardened doors, rocker panels, sandbags on the hood protecting the windshield and a field mod gun tub.

Anyone have pictures out there of these

Thanks for your time.

http://community.webshots.com/album/124599660fVnKRb/0


This talks about marines modifying vehicles in iraq

hope that does some good!

Thanks very much.

Love the HMMWV with the "boiler" plate. Can't hardly wait to get the evergreen out. Raw plate steel with the data left on - great modeling fodder.

Frank- I agree that this is a fascinating subject, and wonderful fodder for modeling. However, this is unfortunately fodder for those armchair generals. The casualty rate in HMMWV's in this operation exceeds any in the past by 324%! Surprisingly, less than 20% of these casualties are attributable to enemy action. Another 20% can be linked to friendly fire accidents, collisions, reckless/innapropriate driving, and 'misdirection'(driving into canals & such). The remaining 60% are directly attributed to "Vehicular Rollover due to CG redirection and Instability". In other words, the homemade guntubs and armor (while saving countless lives, no doubt) are dramatically shifting the center of gravity in an otherwise extraordinarily stable platform. The necessity that the troops face in up-armoring vehicles which were never intended for such tasks is actually reducing the effectiveness of our fighting force and increasing attrition among seasoned crews. Mind you, I'm completely behind the individual units doing anything they can to protect their men while the brass dithers and argues. The point is that more heavily armored Vehicles, suited to the task at hand and DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR said task would go much further toward bringing the boys home safely. Something Heavy, Tracked, & Mobile (an uparmored Luchs, perhaps?) with, say, a Cadillac/Gage 20mm remote-controlled Bofors would drastically increase our survivability in this conflict.
Just my thoughts on a highly contentious subject. Feel free to disregard or castigate at will!

Bob-- very nice summary. We lose guys to accidents because they notroiously believe that safety is a garrison activity that can be ignored in combat. Tragedy.
DJ

You've got that right colonel!!!!!!!!!!!! Those boys out there forget about everythng we teach them in boot camp and AIT about safety. I guess I can understand when you're scared to death all the time about being blown up or shot, but taking it slow and easy in wheeled vehicles that have been "messed with" doesn't even enter into their thinking. Look around you here, how many little Japanese cars do you see with huge airwings and little teeny wheels ? Man! That's an accident just looking for a place. When I modified my old Porsche 911, I checked out safety - beefing the suspensin up, placeing wider tires and a matching airdam to go with my wing. Consequently, my car at speed was more stable than the original plan.