Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!cbnews!cbnews!military From: bcstec!shuksan!major@uunet.UU.NET (Mike Schmitt) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: German NBC vehicles Message-ID: <1991Feb12.014901.10398@cbnews.att.com> Date: 12 Feb 91 01:49:01 GMT References: <1991Feb11.044612.29166@cbnews.att.com> Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) Organization: The Boeing Co., MMST, Seattle, Wa. Lines: 62 Approved: military@att.att.com From: bcstec!shuksan!major@uunet.UU.NET (Mike Schmitt) > From: "Larry W.Jewell" > WNN reported on 02FEB91 that the Germans were sending NBC-capable recon- > aisance vehicles to Sandi Arabia. I got just a glimpse of them and didn't > get the designator. From my books they look liked Transportpanzer I's > but this is an 1988 book. Is this the current version? Does the U.S. > or anyother Coalition member have similar vehicles? How about Iraq? It is an NBC version of the TPz1. It's the M93 "Fox" NBC Reconnaissance System - built by Germany's Thyssen Henschel GmbH. They built about 1,000 6X6 wheeled light armored combat support vehicles (140 NBC versions) between 1979 and 1986. The US Army adopted the Fox in 1988 and terminated a contract with TRW for an M113 version. The German Ministry of Defense (MOD) turned over 60 vehicles to the US for use in the Gulf. Specifications: Weight, combat loaded 18.7 tons Weight, unloaded 16.9 tons Crew 3 (commander, driver, NBC operator) Length 24 feet Width 10 feet Height 8 feet Ground clearance 17 inches Engine Mercedes-Benz OM 402A turbocharged liquid-cooled V8 diesel, 320hp @ 2500rpm Transmission Zahnradfabrik Friedichshafen 6 HP 500, six-speed automatic w/torque converter Wheels, Driven 6 x 6 Wheels, Steered front four Tire Size 14.00x20, run-flat type Max Road Speed 65mph Max Swim Speed 7mph Fuel Cap 103gal Range 500miles Gradient 70% Operation time 12 hours (NBC system on) The all-welded steel hull provides ballistic crew protection. The engine is mounted behind the driver's and commander's position and offset to the left, allowing room for a passage to the rear compartment. It's fully amphibious, with two four-bladed propellers under the rear of the hull behind the rear wheels. (Germans *love* building wheeled-armored vehicles that swim) The vehicle carries portable M1 Chemical Agent Monitors and an AN/VDR-2 radiation monitor. It also pulls a pair of surface sampler wheels and has an air sampler. The CAM can detect low levels of both nerve and blister agents and can differentiate between the two. Traces picked up by the vehicle's own sensors are analyzed immediately by an on-board spectrometer. They can mark contaminated areas and transmit warnings to nearby units. (Source: 'Army' Jan 1991) mike schmitt