Nimda Achzarit Heavy APC (HAPC)
Notes:
The Israelis have captured a large number of T-54/T-55 tanks intact over
the years, and have turned some of them into heavily-armored APCs.
One of these is the Achzarit; this vehicle is designed for assaults on
positions where normal APCs would be too vulnerable.
The turret is removed, and the hull heavily modified, the engine
replaced, armor improved, and other modifications are made.
The Achzarit has been in use since 1988.
The Achzarit
retains the standard driver’s position, though the controls are updated and the
transmission is automatic. The
turret ring is replaced with a four-part hatch and armor plate; around these
hatches are pintle mounts for weapons, and at the front right deck is a Rafael
Overhead Weapons Station (OHWS), mounting a third machinegun.
(The use of a Rafael OHWS leaves room for the possibility of heavier
armament in the future based on the OHWS; some have been seen with 30mm
autocannons.) Most of these OHWS’s use 7.62mm machineguns, though the Israelis
are beginning to replace them with OHWS’s mounting M-2HB .50-caliber
machineguns. The weapon can be
aimed, fired and reloaded from under armor; the Second Intifada also taught the
Israelis to mount a bulletproof glass turret over the commander’s station (AV5)
to allow him to see out of the vehicle with some protection.
Most of the interior space is given over to room for troops and their
weapons. The engine is replaced
with a smaller one that allows a small clamshell door to be added at the rear
right, but the engine is still in the rear.
The Achzarit Mk 1 has a 650-horsepower engine, while the Mk 2 has an
850-horsepower engine; both are based on the engine of the M-109 SP howitzer.
Some versions of
the Achzarit have been refitted for use as armored ambulance, to pluck
casualties out of heavy enemy fire; these versions have room for four stretcher
casualties, two stretchers and four seated casualties, or eight seated
casualties. They have a
defibrillator, two sets of oxygen administration equipment, a small
refrigerator, a small heater for blankets, an air conditioner and heater, and
the equivalent of four doctor’s medical bags and 20 personal medical kits.
A command post
carrier version is also made; this has 2 long range (one of which can accept
data), 2 medium range, and one short range radios, a ruggedized laptop, GPS, and
map boards and other supplies for plotting battlefield information.
They also have a hand-held thermal imager, image intensifier, and laser
rangefinder for use by the passengers. This version has only the OHWS.
Vehicle |
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
Achzarit Mk
1 |
$144,455 |
D, A |
2 tons |
44 tons |
3+7 |
23 |
Passive IR
(D, G), Image Intensification (G) |
Shielded |
Achzarit Mk
2 |
$146,112 |
D, A |
2 tons |
44.2 tons |
3+7 |
17 |
Passive IR
(D, G), Image Intensification (G) |
Shielded |
Achzarit Mk
1 CPV |
$168,938 |
D, A |
1 ton |
44 tons |
3+5 |
25 |
Passive IR
(D, G), Image Intensification (G) |
Shielded |
Achzarit Mk
2 CPV |
$172,252 |
D, A |
1 ton |
44.2 tons |
3+5 |
19 |
Passive IR
(D, G), Image Intensification (G) |
Shielded |
Achzarit Mk
1 Ambulance |
$164,679 |
D, A |
1.4 tons |
44 tons |
** |
25 |
Passive IR
(D) |
Shielded |
Achzarit Mk
2 Ambulance |
$166,568 |
D, A |
1.4 tons |
44.2 tons |
** |
19 |
Passive IR
(D) |
Shielded |
Vehicle |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor |
Achzarit Mk
1 |
120/84 |
30/19 |
812 |
339 |
Stnd |
T6 |
HF88Sp
HS24Sp HR12 |
Achzarit Mk
2 |
144/101 |
36/23 |
812 |
447 |
Stnd |
T6 |
HF88Sp
HS24Sp HR12 |
Vehicle |
Fire Control* |
Stabilization* |
Armament |
Ammunition |
Achzarit |
+2 |
Fair |
MAG (C), MAG (R, L); MAG, M-2HB, or
M-230 30mm (OHWS) |
4000x7.62mm or 3000x7.62mm, and 600x.50
or 3000x7.62mm and 250x30mm |
Achzarit CPV |
+2 |
Fair |
MAG or M-2HB (OHWS) |
1500x7.62mm, or 900x.50 |
*Fire Control and
Stabilization are only for the OHWS; the pintle-mounted weapons are None/None.
**See Notes above.
IMI Nagmasho’t Heavy
APC
Notes: Though
the Achzarit was the first Israeli HAPC to gain the large-scale attention of the
world, it was preceded by another tank-turned-into an-APC – the Nagmasho’t.
As the name suggests, the Nagmasho’t is a heavily modification of the
Israeli model of the Centurion (the Sho’t).
These HAPCs were born out of lessons learned by the Israelis in the 1982
invasion of Lebanon; the Israelis felt they needed a sort of “mobile pillbox” to
crack some enemy strongpoints, and the first was used on the battlefield in
1984. It was, at the time, a
revolutionary and controversial development in APC design, and the concept
remains so to this day. The
Nagmasho’t has since been improved upon and superseded by later developments.
The Nagmasho’t
The turret of
the parent Sho’t tank is removed and replaced by a raised armored
superstructure. This, in turn, is
further raised by the addition of more armor plate, pierced by firing ports, and
with the four sides of these plates having open areas allowing for the firing of
heavier weapons on pintle mounts.
The entire structure is topped by an armored roof. It does, as one might
imagine, look sort of thrown together, but the desired effect was achieved (to a
point; as seen below, it was improved upon).
Inside the superstructure are radio mounts, periscopes, racks for
ammunition and radios, and some rudimentary troop seats. To the rear of this
raised superstructure are two hatches on each side (on some, they are merely
hinged armored panels) that allow troops to stand and fight from them.
The driver’s section is in the same place as on the Sho’t, and there is
no real defined commander’s position other than the front of the superstructure.
The lack of a turret, the raised superstructure, and rearrangement of the power
pack gave the room to carry troops.
Armor protection is basically the armor of the Sho’t except on the
superstructure, and the raised superstructure is not as protected as the hull.
Nonetheless, the Nagmasho’t did the job well enough to warrant further
development, though it was essentially an improvised vehicle, and has long since
been replaced.
The Nagmachon
The Nagmachon
uses the updated Sho’t Kal tank as its basis. The Nagmachon has improvements in
armor protection and is an altogether refined design, particularly in its
central superstructure. Improvements in protection were the central design
feature, in fact, especially in mine protection and side protection, as well as
fixing the thrown-together nature of the Nagmasho’t’s superstructure.
It was first used to transport combat engineer teams, to assault built-up
fortifications, and to destroy minefields (when equipped with anti-mine
devices), but is now primarily a troop carrier.
The Nagmachon came into use in the mid-1980s.
The ugly superstructure of the Nagmachon (and Nakpadon) lead them to be
called by many Israelis the Mifletset (Monster).
The
superstructure of the Nagamachon looks like a turret, but does not rotate.
It is ringed vision ports, and has four firing ports, with vision ports
made of bulletproof glass. These
are typically, in Israeli practice, occupied with 7.62mm machineguns. On the
roof, there are two cupola-type hatches – and these have two pintle mounts by
them for more weapons (usually two machineguns, or a 7.62mm machinegun and a
40mm AGL, in Israeli practice). This is mounted above a built-up section that
gives the superstructure a high profile.
Though this makes the superstructure a target, it also makes the
superstructure an effective command and control platform that still affords the
occupants good protection – in effect, the sort of mobile pillbox the designers
of the Nagmasho’t were looking for.
(The superstructure is popularly called in Israel the “doghouse.” – though the
word does not carry the same connotation as it does in the US.) In addition, the
hull itself has been given more protection, and the Nagmachon has ERA lugs on
the hull front, sides, and root of the superstructure (all around).
The superstructure of the roof has three spaced armor panels. The
superstructure also has mounted on it a pair of IS-10 smoke grenade launcher
clusters of 10 – though these are capable of launching other types of grenades
as well.
Troops sit in
the space vacated by the turret as well as in the space vacated by main gun ammo
racks, though they must still enter and exit by jumping over the sides though
hatches on the roof behind the superstructure.
The Nakpadon
The latest
iteration of the Sho’t-based HAPC is the Nakapon (also referred to in some
sources as the “Nikpadon”), first used in 1993. This takes the Nagmachon a level
further, improving armor and improving the superstructure.
The interior is also rearranged, allowing for the carriage of more
troops. The lugs for ERA on the
Nakapadon can takje 1st, 2nd, or 3rd-generation
ERA, and the Nakpadon has more appliqué, largely in the form of the same sort of
appliqué applied to the USMC AAVP-7.
The side skirts are particularly targeted for extra armor, helping to
prevent mobility kills. The rear
sections of the side skirts can be hinged 180-degrees upwards and locked,
further protecting troops fighting from inside the Nakpadon. The belly armor is
further reinforced. Further appliqué modules are also added to the glacis, lower
front hull, and the superstructure.
Though the armor is heavier, the armor sections are more advanced, and therefore
the weight of the Nakapadon is not unduly increased over the Nagmachon. Another
weapon has been added: a 60mm C-06 mortar, mounted in the rear and firing over
the rear of the vehicle. The pintle
mounts atop the superstructure can be fitted with an M-2HB in lieu of other
weapons. The engine of the
Nakapadon is the same 900-horsepower AVDS 1790-9A as that of the Merkava 1 tank;
the suspension was at first beefed up, and then later replaced with a
Merkava-type suspension and steel roadwheels. Some Nakapadons are in fact
updated Nagmachons.
Vehicle |
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
Nagmasho’t |
$80,439 |
G, A |
1.5 tons |
51 tons |
2+8 |
18 |
Headlights |
Enclosed |
Nagmachon |
$120,779 |
D, A |
1.5 tons |
53 tons |
2+8 |
17 |
Passive IR
(D) |
Enclosed |
Nakapadon |
$128,168 |
D, A |
1.5 tons |
55 tons |
2+10 |
21 |
Passive IR
(D) |
Enclosed |
Vehicle |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor |
Nagmasho’t |
100/70 |
25/16 |
1190 |
376 |
Stnd |
T6 |
HF67Sp
HS14Sp HR10* |
Nagmachon |
108/76 |
27/17 |
1190 |
409 |
Trtd** |
T6 |
TF30Sp
TS18Sp TR12Sp
HF74Sp HS20Sp
HR12** |
Nakapadon |
121/84 |
30/19 |
1190 |
493 |
Trtd*** |
T6 |
TF36Sp
TS22Sp TR15Sp
HF81Sp HS24Sp
HR14*** |
Vehicle |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
Nagmasho’t |
None |
None |
4xMAG (Superstructure corners) |
4000x7.62mm |
Nagmachon |
None |
None |
4xMAG
(Superstructure corners), 2xMAG or 1xMAG and 1xMk 19 40mm AGL (Roof) |
4000x7.62mm
or 3500x7.62mm and 150x40mm |
Nakpadon |
None |
None |
4xMAG
(Superstructure corners); 2 of any mix of the following: MAG, Mk 19,
M-2HB; C-06 Mortar |
4000x7.62mm; plus up to 800x7.62mm, 475x.50, and/or 150x40mm; 30x60mm
mortar shells |
*The armor of the
superstructure is a little complicated.
The superstructure armor is HF20Sp, HS12Sp, HR8Sp. The superstructure
roof has an AV of 4. At each corner
of the superstructure near the top is an open area which is 1 meter high and has
no armor.
**Belly armor for
the hull is 9Sp. The superstructure
roof has an AV of 8Sp. Though the
Nagamachon has no turret, fire against it is resolved as if it did have a
turret.
***Belly armor is
10Sp, hull deck armor is 8Sp. The
superstructure roof has an AV of 9Sp. Though
the Nakpadon has no turret, fire against it is resolved as if it did have a
turret.