M114 Command and Reconnaissance Vehicle
When the M113 APC entered service with the US Army in the early 1960s, the Army also requested a similar vehicle for the reconnaissance role to replace armored cars still in service with the Army. It was also to supplement the M551 Sheridan light tank in armored cavalry squadrons. Though FMC built the M113, Cadillac was awarded the contract for the M114 C&RC (Command and Reconnaissance Carrier). The first M114s entered service in 1962.
The idea behind the M114 was that, given its similar proportions to the M113, it could be carried on the same transporter vehicles and in a C-130 Hercules. However, it only carried a three-man crew, and was designed to use its high speed to get out of trouble: it was made of the same aluminum as the M113, but had virtually no armor. If the M114 did get into trouble, the vehicle commander could use the cupola mounted M2HB .50 caliber machine gun; this was later modified so it could be fired from inside the vehicle. A M60 7.62mm light machinegun was added to fire to the rear (also remotely), and three M72 LAW disposable bazookas were standard issue aboard the M114, to be fired at the enemy as the vehicle sped away.
The M114 was sent to Vietnam at the same time as the M113, to equip armored cavalry units in the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN). It ended in disaster. The M114 was certainly fast, but its engine tended to break down easily, it was underpowered for its size, it bogged down too easily offroad, and it shared the same vulnerability to mines as the M113. Unlike with the M113, where the infantry inside could ride on the top to avoid being killed by the mine explosion, no such option was available to the three men in the M114. Disappointed, the Army withdrew the M114 from Vietnam by 1965 and reissued it to Army ACRs in Europe, where it was loathed by its crews for its poor reliability. Attempts were made by the Army to upgun the M114 by adding either a 20mm autocannon turret or a 106mm recoilless rifle, but neither addressed the real problem of the M114. No one mourned it when General Creighton Abrams retired the vehicle as one of his first acts as Army Chief of Staff. A few of the surviving M114s were sold as surplus to American police departments, where they actually performed well as support to SWAT teams.
For something I didn't even know existed until a few years ago, I've probably photographed a dozen M114s by now. This one is on display at the Lewis Army Museum at Fort Lewis, Washington; it is probably a former 2nd Infantry Division example. It is not in good shape: the wooden fording plate has been torn apart, the paint is faded and crumbling, and rust has begun to break out.
M114 Command and Reconnaissance Vehicle
When the M113 APC entered service with the US Army in the early 1960s, the Army also requested a similar vehicle for the reconnaissance role to replace armored cars still in service with the Army. It was also to supplement the M551 Sheridan light tank in armored cavalry squadrons. Though FMC built the M113, Cadillac was awarded the contract for the M114 C&RC (Command and Reconnaissance Carrier). The first M114s entered service in 1962.
The idea behind the M114 was that, given its similar proportions to the M113, it could be carried on the same transporter vehicles and in a C-130 Hercules. However, it only carried a three-man crew, and was designed to use its high speed to get out of trouble: it was made of the same aluminum as the M113, but had virtually no armor. If the M114 did get into trouble, the vehicle commander could use the cupola mounted M2HB .50 caliber machine gun; this was later modified so it could be fired from inside the vehicle. A M60 7.62mm light machinegun was added to fire to the rear (also remotely), and three M72 LAW disposable bazookas were standard issue aboard the M114, to be fired at the enemy as the vehicle sped away.
The M114 was sent to Vietnam at the same time as the M113, to equip armored cavalry units in the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN). It ended in disaster. The M114 was certainly fast, but its engine tended to break down easily, it was underpowered for its size, it bogged down too easily offroad, and it shared the same vulnerability to mines as the M113. Unlike with the M113, where the infantry inside could ride on the top to avoid being killed by the mine explosion, no such option was available to the three men in the M114. Disappointed, the Army withdrew the M114 from Vietnam by 1965 and reissued it to Army ACRs in Europe, where it was loathed by its crews for its poor reliability. Attempts were made by the Army to upgun the M114 by adding either a 20mm autocannon turret or a 106mm recoilless rifle, but neither addressed the real problem of the M114. No one mourned it when General Creighton Abrams retired the vehicle as one of his first acts as Army Chief of Staff. A few of the surviving M114s were sold as surplus to American police departments, where they actually performed well as support to SWAT teams.
For something I didn't even know existed until a few years ago, I've probably photographed a dozen M114s by now. This one is on display at the Lewis Army Museum at Fort Lewis, Washington; it is probably a former 2nd Infantry Division example. It is not in good shape: the wooden fording plate has been torn apart, the paint is faded and crumbling, and rust has begun to break out.