When you think about armor in the Vietnam war you almost always think about the M113, especially in it’s ACAV fit. A vehicle designed to bring the troops close to the battle under some armor protection turned into a combat vehicle

This 48-page soft cover book focuses on the use of the M113 during the Vietnam war not only by the US but also the ARVN and Australian forces.

The book starts off with design and development that led to the M113 and the major variants of the vehicle which were many including versions equipped with a mortar, flame thrower and Vulcan 20mm cannon. They were also used as Fitters vehicles, Command centers and bride layers.

The Combat History section covers operations by the South Vietnamese, US and Australia and ends with a brief section regarding South Korean, Thailand and the Philippines use of the vehicle in country.

The Operations give a good overall view of the battles and cover both successes and failures of the vehicle. It’s aluminum armor made if very susceptible to mines and RPGs leading to many of the troops riding on top of the vehicle, the use of sandbags on the floor as added armor and the ACAV fit which added more firepower with some gun shields for added protection.

I have always loved the Drab Cab and Osprey does a good job covering it’s use in this conflict.

Thanks to Osprey and IPMS/USA for the review sample.