M578 Light Recovery Vehicle

M578 LRV

An early US Army M578, circa 1965.
Type Armored recovery vehicle
Place of origin  United States
Service history
Used by Israel, United States, UK
Wars Vietnam war
Production history
Manufacturer

FMC Corp. (vehicle body), General Motors Corp. (transmission)[1]

Bowen-McLaughlin-York
Produced 1962
Specifications
Weight 54,000 lbs (24,000 kg)
Length 18 ft 3.8 in (5.583 m)
Width 10 ft 4 in (3.15 m)
Height 8 ft 7.5 in (2.629 m)
Crew

3 men: Crane operator in cab right front Rigger in cab left front

Driver in hull left front
Main
armament
 .50-caliber M2HB machine gun
Engine General Motors 8V71T; 8 cylinder, 2 cycle, vee, supercharged diesel
345 hp @ 2,300 rpm
Operational
range
 450 miles (724 km)
Speed 37 mph (60 km/h)

M578 Light Recovery Vehicle (G309) was an American Cold War-era armored recovery vehicle. The M578 utilized the same chassis as M107 self-propelled gun and M110 self-propelled howitzer. The M578 provided maintenance support to mechanized infantry and artillery units. Its primary mission was to recover damaged light armored vehicles from the battlefield using its crane boom.

Operation

The cab can rotate 360°, and a 30,000 lb (13,600 kg) capacity winch[2] was run through a crane on the cab. Another winch, 60,000 lb (27,000 kg) capacity,[2] was mounted on the front of the cab. Access to the cab was through a door on each side and by double doors in the rear, and the crane operator and rigger both had vision cupolas in the cab roof.

Users

See also

References

  1. ↑ Defense Industry Bulletin, April 1968, p. 47.
  2. 1 2 Ripley, Tim. The new illustrated guide to the modern US Army. Salamander Books Ltd. pp. 138–139. ISBN 0-86101-671-8.
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