Notes:
The AM-50B is a scissors bridge mounted on a TATRA T815 Kolos 8x8 truck;
the bridge is similar to the Russian KMM bridge.
On the front of the truck is mounted a dozer blade used to prepare
bridging positions and to stabilize the vehicle when the bridge is being
deployed. The bridge weighs 5.7
tons, can span a 12.5-meter gap, and takes 7 minutes to lay or recover.
These bridges are self-assembling, and up to eight of these bridges may
be laid in series to span larger chasms or bodies of water for a span of 106
meters. The bridges lay on
hydraulic power-adjusted, self-assembling trestles (an advantage over most
treadway bridges). This means that
the crew does not have to leave the cab during bridgelaying. The bridge weighs
5.7 tons, and is 4 meters wide. Each trestle weighs 1.75 tons, and one is
supplied with each vehicle. Each
span can support 50 tons of tracked vehicles or 80 tons of wheeled vehicles;
maximum Combat Move for tracked vehicles is 10 and for wheeled vehicles is 20.
The bridgeway is full-width instead of consisting of a number of
trackways like the KMM. The AM-50B's front wheels tend to rise when laying a
bridge; to this end, a specially-designed dozer blade of the blade from a Tatra
T815 may be mounted at the front.
The crew has a
full overpressure system, radiac protection, and air conditioning.
There is a space at the rear of the cab for personal items. There are no
smoke grenades and while there is no night vision, the crews often wear NODs.
When the bridge
is deployed, what remains is essentially a bare frame, except for the deployment
and recovery machinery.
The AM-50B is
based on the Czech Tatra T815 VP 19.28 265 8x8.1 R truck, and so has the same
turbocharged 265 horsepower multifuel engine.
It has an automatic transmission with overdrive.
The AM-50B can operate with a crew of two, but three are required for
full efficiency. They sit in the
front seats, and the commander has the bridge controls, aided by the middle
crewmember, who often is used as a spotter, looking through the rear window and
mirrors. They have a space behind
the seats for personal gear. Crews are not normally armed only armed with their
small arms, though they may have some grenades and an RPG-22 or two. A spare
tire is carried behind the cab.
The AM-50A is
based on the Tatra T813 chassis and has a turbocharged diesel engine with power
of 250 horsepower. The bridge on
the early AM-50A is peculiar to the AM-50A; late AM-50As use the same bridge as
the AM-50B. The trestles on the
early AM-50A are also manually-adjusted rather than being hydraulically
adjusted, requiring the crew or other personnel to leave their vehicles.
The late AM-50A has hydraulic trestles and requires no such intervention.
The AM-50A has no dozer blade, leading to an unsafe condition when the
bridge is deployed; a recovery vehicle or other available vehicle often backs
into the AM-50A during bridge deployment and recovery.
This AM-50B is used by
Czech forces, Slovakia, and India. The AM-50A is no longer used, but was used by
the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Vehicle |
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
AM-50A (Early) |
$423,276 |
D, A |
317 kg |
24.45 tons |
3 |
23 |
Headlights |
Shielded (Cab only) |
AM-50A (Late) |
$423,276 |
D, A |
326 kg |
25.18 tons |
3 |
23 |
Headlights |
Shielded (Cab only) |
AM-50B |
$425,694 |
D, G, AvG, A |
399 kg |
25.9 tons |
3 |
23 |
Headlights |
Shielded (Cab only) |
Vehicle |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config* |
Susp |
Armor |
AM-50A (Early) |
97/49 |
32/14 |
520 |
91 |
CiH |
W(4) |
TF4 TS4
TR4 HF1
HS1 HR1 |
AM-50A (Late) |
94/47 |
27/14 |
520 |
91 |
CiH |
W(4) |
TF4 TS4
TR4 HF1
HS1 HR1 |
AM-50B |
97/49 |
32/14 |
460 |
92 |
CiH |
W(4) |
TF4 TS4
TR4 HF1
HS1 HR1** |
*The CiH rating is when the bridge is mounted on the AM-50.
If a CiH result indicates a crew hit, the result is ignored.
*The AM-50B has a dozer blade up front; this may be used as supplemental armor
for the front. Where the incoming shot hits depends on how high it is raised,
and the blade has an AV of 4Sp.