# What's your favorite military vehicle?



## bczoom

Aircraft were discussed awhile back in this thread.

What's your favorite military vehicle (land, sea, air... it doesn't matter)?


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## cj7

Well the good'ol MB jeep of course!


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## Ironman

I'm still a huge fan of the B1 bomber. I like the A-10 Warthog too.


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## DaveNay

The AC-130H.


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## BigAl RIP

I like that big bad tank the U.S. has now !!! I do not remember the name ....It goes like 60 MPH !!!I saw it on Discovery Channel the other night being compared to all the tanks through history and it did not get the top rating !!!! . That think is incredible .


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## Hutchman

Al, I think you mean the M1A1 or M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank. I don't know much about 'em but my son is a Marine Main Battle Tank Mechanic, along with also serving as a loader and driver in Iraq. It is indeed an awesome machine-Will run close to 70 mph but is governed down to mid 40s because it tends to self-destruct at the high speeds. I have been in the tank but not while it was in operation. Sure would like to have a ride in one.  Hutch


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## Ice Queen

Ok, well putting your feet or whatever back on the ground, how about the Foden FH70 gun tractor?  This one is parked alongside a Willys M38 Jeep to give you some idea of scale.


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## TOMLESCOEQUIP

I always liked this one............
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	








I'm sure some people here will recognize this plane.  I know how it's use affected my generation. I wish there was a way to bring all our kids home that could be as simple as one plane. Unfortunately the world is a much more complicated place now than it was then.


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## Melensdad

The WARTHOG airplane is awesome, so is the C130 gunship.  For ground vehicles, a Ferret is tough to beat.





But you guys are forgetting the obvious, and *only absolutely correct* answer to the question is the SNOW TRAC ST4. 

I'm even disappointed in IceQueen's answer because this particular one in the photo below is owned by a friend of hers!!!


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## dzalphakilo

Looking out of the "nose" on a B-17. When you see the "equipment" gives you a new appreciation of what those guys must of went through.  Sort of like visiting an old WW2 submarine.


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## Doc

Wow!  What a pic DZ.


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## buzzboy

Sorry, I shouldn't post two but a tie

M973




or
Schvimmwagen


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## BoneheadNW

Back when I lived in San Diego, I would occasionally see these coming ashore north of Oceanside.















They are awesome.
Bonehead


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## Ice Queen

Here's one for you, as promised by Zoe, my daughter, to Bob (about two months ago).  This is one of her favourite vehicles, it is one of her boyfriend's toys - he rebuilt it.


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## elsmitro

Being an ‘Ex’ Marine Corps ‘Airwinger’ this question immediately causes me to think of an aircraft.  After giving it some thought I would have to say a fully loaded LHD-2 is my favorite.  I spent the better part of a year with the U.S.S. Essex, on her maiden voyage.  When they say they are sending an aircraft carrier some place it’s not ‘just’ a carrier that’s going, it’s a whole freakin armada!!!  You hardly ever see the other ‘ships’ that are with you but when they come together in formation for a photo op, your chests puffs out, your scrotum drags the ground, and you realize why we are called a ‘SUPER POWER’!
Semper Fi


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## BoneheadNW

elsmitro said:
			
		

> but when they come together in formation for a photo op, your chests puffs out, your scrotum drags the ground


That's gotta hurt!  Oh wait, I forgot, marines like that sort of thing. 
Bonehead


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## bczoom

elsmitro,

What did you do as a winger?  I did avionics and spent most of my time on AH-1 & UH-1 choppers but also spent some time on EA-6B's.

When I was in, the LHD's were still being built.  I was on the older LPH class.  Spent a little time on the Inchon.


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## elsmitro

bczoom said:
			
		

> What did you do as a winger?



I was S-3; Aviation Operations was my primary.  Aviation / Ground Safety and S-6, Data Communications were my main secondary’s.  When I was on the Essex I was with VMA-214, The Black Sheep Squadron.  I spent some time as the pseudo OPS Chief of a huey / Cobra squadron, ever here of the Red Dogs?  I’m still pissed about all the luv the apache gets…


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## bczoom

Yea, the Apache's are sweet but I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a Cobra either...


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## DampCharcoal

Cool thread! For close ground support and raw firepower, I'm going with the A-10 as well. Pretty impressive when the airframe is largely designed around an automatic cannon!


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## russellmn

I LOVED having the A-10 for ground support, the only thing that got the Iraqi's heads down better was an ATACM round from an MLRS unit.  An ATACM was nicknamed "Steel Rain" because it would detonate over head and "rain" down shrapnel over a square kilometer.  Decimating EVERYTHING.  Needless to say we couldn't be close when they sent them out.  Used them to "prep" the ao first.  When your dick's in the fire nothing beats an A-10.


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## Ice Queen

I just received this link through an email from a friend and thought I would share it with you just to prove that the Foden doesn't always sit in a shed! http://www.sharpos-world.co.uk/cpg/displayimage.php?album=400&pos=6


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## Deadly Sushi

My favorite is USS Connecticut, Seawolf class submarine. Huge, powerful and the only vessel that was attacked via a polar bear!  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Connecticut_%28SSN-22%29


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## Robert 45

I like the WWII jeep, so much that I own two of them. 
first one is a 1942 GPW and the second one is a 1945 GPW Jeep.
The 42 is restored the 45 is still in waiting. 

Robert B.


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## Doc

Robert 45 said:
			
		

> I like the WWII jeep, so much that I own two of them.
> first one is a 1942 GPW and the second one is a 1945 GPW Jeep.
> The 42 is restored the 45 is still in waiting.
> 
> Robert B.



How about some pics of them Robert?


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## Snowcat Operations

We had a Ford jeep from WWII.  Wish we still had it.  Donated it to my high school.  Carmel High back in the 80s.


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## Bobcat

Probably still the B-17.

Pictures from my ride in Aluminum Overcast.
dzalphakilo were you here?


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## dzalphakilo

No Bob, different plane. Plane was here in N.C and it so happened that my father was in town for a visit. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1950 and got out twenty some years later, but he always spoke of those older airplanes with great affection (his brother flew in one in WW2). What was neat was that there was actually a pilot of one of these planes who flew in WW2 that went up that day, made a nice news article and the guy was crying when he got off. 

My dad didn't know that the plane was in town that weekend and I got him a surprise Christmas present early. He was smiling ear to ear 

Really makes you appreciate what those guys went through when you see the equipment of that time.


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## RedRocker

Ironchef said:


> I like the A-10 Warthog too.


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## RNE228

WWII production Willy's or Ford MB

Late wWWII and Korea era Vought/Chance F4U Corsair. 

Did you know the last known combat flights of the P51 and F4U, a F4U shot the enemy P51 down? I don't have the book here right now, but it was a dispute between El Salvador and Honduras I think...

Interesting too, the F4U won most mock air battles in late WWII when tested in the US against P51's, P-47's, A6/Zero's, Messerschmidts. The US Army Air Force was doing comparisons of the planes.


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## Im Neero

Definately the cougar.


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## Cityboy

The M-88 Tank Recovery vehicle. Part of my job as a USMC 2145 was operating one of these beasts. Not as sexy as an air plane, but one hell of a versitile vehicle:











This workhorse vehicle has been around a while:

M88 loads damaged M113 APC in Vietnam, January 1971.


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## mak2

The only vehicle I was ever in that bothered me were those damn APC's.  I almost had a phobia, espically around water.  Never really sure why, but the first time I was in one I took off my helmet about the time it hit a bump and about knocked my self out.  Also they did not look like they should float to me.  They were my least favorite, in fact I had a pleasant mental block till someone posted that pic.  Thanks.


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## Cityboy

mak2 said:


> The only vehicle I was ever in that bothered me were those damn APC's. I almost had a phobia, espically around water. Never really sure why, but the first time I was in one I took off my helmet about the time it hit a bump and about knocked my self out. Also they did not look like they should float to me. They were my least favorite, in fact I had a pleasant mental block till someone posted that pic. Thanks.


 
You must mean the AAV Mak, not the APC. APC's don't float:


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## mak2

No, it did not look like that.  A hatch opened and we had this procedure for disemarking the vehice and forming a defensive formation unitl the track got off the beach.  Dam I thoght it  was an APC.  it has been 20 some years.


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## mak2

They were the vehicles the amhib guys had just north of Oceanside at 21 area.  I might be mixing them up with APC becasue we did lots of weird stuff when we did our field stuff.  I know we did landings and advanced inland in the same vehicles.  Felt like riding in a big tin can.  Hated it adn was sure they would drown me.


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## Hutchman

Hey CB, that's my son's vehicle also. It's the M88A2 now. He's a 2146.  Hutch


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## fogtender

The M76 *amphibious* cargo carrier, called the "*Otter*", it was built by Pontiac in the early 1950's. Had one that I went though in the early 1980's and it was a blast to drive, had a prop to lower before you went into the water, would do about 9 MPH in water about 25 on land and a was very good ride and quiet. Had a 140 HP Cont. aircraft engine mounted vertically and cooling air came in/out from the top. 

Guy bought it from me and had it sitting in front of his store "G.I. Joes" in Anchorage for a number of years in Anchorage to advertize the store. Last saw it down by Anchor Point about fifteen years ago, would like to have another one...

A lot of them were bought by the "Weasel" owners (Weasels for Weasels...sounds like a support recovery group)  and they took the tracks and split them for their Weasels and switched to larger wheels instead of the smaller boggie wheels that they had, which always threw the tracks, the otter conversions solved that.....


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## mak2

Do you guys know how many Marines that would hold?  I think it was the M76 that flipped me out.  They slammed 2 big steel plates on top shut and that just make me nerveous.  Nothing else I was in bothered me.


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## fogtender

mak2 said:


> Do you guys know how many Marines that would hold? I think it was the M76 that flipped me out. They slammed 2 big steel plates on top shut and that just make me nerveous. Nothing else I was in bothered me.


 

It held two crew and carried 8 troops in back, there was a back door and a double door on the top that covered almost all the cargo area. Could have been what you were riding in. All that there was to see out of in the back is about a foot wide round porthole looking window on each side. No armor in them at all, the fuel tanks were self sealing and that was about it....

But a really nice ride with eight wheels (four duel sets) on each side on spring loaded arms... 

Went up a steep hill really fast when I first got it back together and running, found out "After" I crested the hill that you are suppose to let off the throtal "Before" cresting the hill... Needless to say, it went about twenty feet with a nose high configuration like it was popping a wheelie until it dropped down, and then the back end assumed the rear end high, then repeated back to the front nose high and so forth. Pretty sure I couldn't get my foot off the throtal on one end of the two strokes...... I was pretty beat up by the time I got it stopped rocking.... didn't do that twice....

Mine still had the .50 cal ring on it, they just didn't leave the gun...


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## mak2

I am sure that is it.  I remember being able to see out but afraid if it sank we could not all get out fast enough not to drown.  I was in all kinda stuff those things just bothred me.  I have faced my fear.  er well looked at it on a laptop, kinda the same thing.


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## fogtender

Here is some more photos of the M76 Otter, it was built by Pontiac. Some of these guys are in pretty sad shape. Anyone know where I might find another one to put back in shape....


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## Snowcat Operations

How did it hold up in the Alaska environment?


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## fogtender

Snowcat Operations said:


> How did it hold up in the Alaska environment?


 
I didn't use it in the extreme cold like here in the interior, it was used down in the Kenai area.  The temps get to about zero on a cold day there verses the -60 here .  It had a gas fired heater and would cook you out of the place on a cold day, so I figured it would work ok here.  Problem is that now they are going on about 55-58 years old and parts are really hard to get.  If I found one that I could rebuild, it would be more for showing off in the yard since it would be pretty hard to support in the field for active running like I use the Imp for.  

I had problems getting the engine parts, and most were old and dusty when I did find them and that was some twenty seven years ago...  The orginal tracks came in four foot sections and had cables molded inside the rubber, would be hard to replace, I used belt tracking when I built new ones and they kept stretching and the tracks would come off really easy if they weren't tight....  The cable version didn't stretch much, so the cam that adjusts the track tension doesnt' move much...

As for deep snow, I would figure it would need paddles on the tracks, they are more of a flat bar for Tundra and such than snow, but they do have a really low footprint.  Not to mention, they float and if you have a prop, you can do about 9 knots accross the water...

Would like to have one as a job to keep me busy when I don't have anything else to fix....   Because of the age, they shouldn't be too expensive, unless it belongs in a museam and has been totally restored, then you can't play with it...

Did google searches and the like, but not many showed up, they weren't too popular and that is the downside of the parts supply...


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## Volfandt

elsmitro, bczoom, Semper Fi, yet another winger is in the house 
My favorite that I got to operate had to be the venerable ole Jeep.  I spent many a duty section time as duty driver behind that wheel.
My favorite "baddest azz" vehicle in which I rode on had to be the Rosie


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## RedRocker

fogtender said:


> Here is some more photos of the M76 Otter, it was built by Pontiac. Some of these guys are in pretty sad shape. Anyone know where I might find another one to put back in shape....



If only I had time and money, I like that thing.


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## fogtender

RedRocker said:


> If only I had time and money, I like that thing.


 
The one I bought had the tracks off and in bad shape, went though the whole thing and rebuilt just about anything that moved.  Didn't have the propeller on it, didn't know where to find one.  About a year after I got it, was as a yard sale and they were selling one for ten dollars... about ripped my pants pocket out trying to get to my wallet for the ten bucks.

After getting it put on, ran it into a pond to test it and it really was neat, did almost ten knots or so.  Was a blast to play with, wish I still had it.  

Here in interior Alaska, there is a lot of creeks and rivers to cross in the summer that would make that rig a really good deal.  Tried to contact a guy that had/has one, but never could get a response.


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## BOD

Mine has to be the Challenger II MBT





But the British Army haven't released many of these so it has to be the Centurion AVRE






It's a fantastic vehicle and wonderful for moving a little bit of soil


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## Tractors4u

Cityboy said:


> You must mean the AAV Mak, not the APC. APC's don't float:


 
Oh contraire.

From Wikipedia:

The 10.5-ton M113 is built of aircraft-quality aluminum which gives it some of the same strength as steel at a slightly reduced weight, as the greater thickness allows structural stiffness. Its weight allows the use of a relatively small engine to power the vehicle, a 6V53 Detroit 2-stroke six cylinder diesel, with a Allison tx100-1 3 speed automatic transmission, and allows the vehicle to carry a large payload cross-country and to be transported by fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. It can also swim without deploying flotation curtains, and is powered by tracks, which was of tactical importance in battlefields like Vietnam which required crossing a multitude of terrain features: jungles, swamps, muddy dirt roads, forests, and rice fields.


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## fyrfytr

First post here.  Been lurking for a while but had to jump in on this thread.  I've had a thing for Kaiser/early AMC era Jeeps for many years and this is one of my favorites.  Never had one but have had a few civilian Kaiser and AMC J trucks.



This is an M715.  Not my pic.


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## pirate_girl




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## Snowtrac Nome

mine would be a toss up between a m37 or a m35 the 37 is a classic MV but i spent many years behind the wheel of a duce listening to a streight piped ldt multi fuel engine i still get turned on by the sound of one whisteling


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## Snowtrac Nome

to fog tender i'm filing on  aclaim shortly that has an otter on it i will have to the mining laws as to what i can do about owner ship there ias another one compleate here in nome i have only seen it move once but it does run rumer has it they work good in the snow to the point they sink to their belly than they are stuck


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## Erik

dds said:


> mine would be a toss up between a m37 or a m35 the 37 is a classic MV but i spent many years behind the wheel of a duce listening to a streight piped ldt multi fuel engine i still get turned on by the sound of one whisteling


 
I'm completely there with you on both of those.  My other favorite would be a current issue aircraft carrier.


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## pacific_waters

Apparently I'm older than anyone else here and I'll stick to those I have operated myself. Out of the M113 APC, the jeep, the deuce and a half and the 3/4 tom truck. I'll take the 3/4 ton truck. I've driven it through mud so deep that the vehicle was floating on the mud.



bczoom said:


> Aircraft were discussed awhile back in this thread.
> 
> What's your favorite military vehicle (land, sea, air... it doesn't matter)?


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## undy

I like my Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer 712 M, just like this one:  http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://olive-drab.com/images/id_pinzgauer_712m_700_05.jpg&imgrefurl=http://olive-drab.com/idphoto/id_photos_pinzgauer.php&h=308&w=504&sz=63&tbnid=wnphjuW8SW8OJM:&tbnh=73&tbnw=120&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dpinzgauer%2B712m%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=pinzgauer+712m&docid=i9ECgBRMeu3m8M&sa=X&ei=ww0vT9jIGY2RgQfC2oz8Dw&ved=0CEAQ9QEwAg&dur=1399


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## pirate_girl

Thanks for the thread bump, Undy.
Just found me some B-17 pics that I'd somehow missed...


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## Kane

Besides the Jeep and the Humvee, one of the few that made it into civilian life.


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