M577A1 Command Post Vehicle

The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier (APC) that was developed and produced by the FMC Corporation. The M113 was sent to United States Army Europe in 1961 to replace the mechanized infantry’s M59 APCs. The M113 was first used in combat in April 1962 after the United States provided the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) with heavy weaponry such as the M113, under the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) program. Eventually, the M113 was the most widely used armored vehicle of the US Army in the Vietnam War and was used to break through heavy thickets in the midst of the jungle to attack and overrun enemy positions. It was largely known as an “APC” or an “ACAV” (armored cavalry assault vehicle) by the allied forces.

The M113 was the first aluminum hull combat vehicle to be put into mass production. Much lighter than earlier similar vehicles, its aluminum armor was designed to be thick enough to protect the crew and passengers against small arms fire, but light enough that the vehicle was air transportable and moderately amphibious.

In the US Army, the M113 series have long been replaced as front-line combat vehicles by the M2 and M3 Bradleys, but large numbers are still used in support roles such as armored ambulance, mortar carrier, engineer vehicle, and command vehicle. The US Army’s heavy brigade combat teams are equipped with approximately 6,000 M113s and 4,000 Bradleys.

The M113’s versatility spawned a wide variety of adaptations that live on worldwide and in US service. These variants together currently represent about half of US Army armored vehicles. To date, it is estimated that over 80,000 vehicles in the M113 family have been produced and used by over 50 countries worldwide; making it one of the most widely used armored fighting vehicles of all time. M113 production was terminated in 2007 to be replaced by a turretless variant of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

The M577A1 Command Post Vehicle, also known as the M577 Command Post Carrier, is a variant of the M113 to function on the battlefield as a mobile command post; that is, a tactical operations centre, usually at the battalion level. In US military service its official designation is Carrier, Command Post, Light Tracked M577.

Introduced to the US Army in 1962, it soon saw operational service in the Vietnam War and more recently in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It is also used by many armies around the world and has been adapted for further uses such as an armoured ambulance, emergency medical treatment vehicle and fire control vehicle. It is also used by various police forces and law enforcement agencies as a tactical response vehicle.  The M577 is easily distinguished from the M113 upon which it is based by its raised upper hull and roof-mounted auxiliary power unit (APU). Vehicles are generally unarmed.

Product Highlights:

- A modified M113A1 as a mobile command post

- Hatches can be in open or closed position

- Comes with engine and interior details

- Driver figure included

Number of Parts: 166 pieces / 4 sprues