VCTP
Notes:
This is an Argentine armored personnel carrier based on the same chassis
as the TAM tank. Most of the design work
was done by Germany’s Thyssen-Krupp AG, who had
already developed the TAM light tank for Argentina. The idea of an APC based on the TAM chassis
was the idea of the Argentine Army, and this was done to decrease the cost of
the VCTP as well as the cost of maintenance by producing a vehicle that had a
large percentage of parts that were the same as the TAM. It also meant that mechanics trained to work
on the TAM could be quickly trained to also work on the VCTP, and a driver who
could drive a TAM could drive a VCTP.
The Argentine Army originally intended to replace all of their APCs and
many of its scout vehicles with the VCTP, for a total of 350 VCTPs and VCPCs;
however, only 210 (of all versions) were actually produced, due to budgetary
problems. Production was carried out in
Argentina by TAMSE, in a plant that was fitted out under the supervision of technicians
from Thyssen-Krupp.
The VCTP is part of a family of vehicles, including the VCPC command
post carrier and the VCTM mortar carrier.
(There were to be more members of this family produced, but they died a
premature budgetary death.)
The VCTP
The general layout of the VCTP is very much
like that of another German vehicle, the Marder IFV. The small, 1-man turret incorporates a
simplified version of the fire control system of the Marder; in fact, many
systems of the VCTP use simplified versions of those found in the Marder.
The main armament is a 20mm Rheinmetall
Rh-202 autocannon, as found on the Marder 1A3 IFV; a pintle-mounted machinegun
is found at the commander’s hatch. (Some
sources list the autocannon used as the 20mm Oerlikon KAA. Most sources,
including most reliable sources, say the autocannon on production vehicles is
indeed an Rh-202, though early prototypes did mount a KAA.) The Rh-202, being a
dual-feed weapon, has ammunition belts feeding from both sides of the
autocannon; on the VCTP, 100-round belts are normally carried already loaded
into the VCTP as ready ammunition. Two more belts are in the turret, with the
rest of the ammunition being stowed in the front of the passenger compartment.
The VCTP also has a remote control machinegun over the rear of the passenger
compartment, again a feature found on the Marder. The commander has an IR night sight, and
functions as both the commander and gunner; he has a coincidence rangefinder
and a small ballistic computer. The commander’s controls for the autocannon are
situated so that he can fire them even when his head and shoulders are outside
of the hatch. The commander’s hatch is ringed with vision blocks, with the
night vision head to the front and slightly to the left of his hatch. On each
side of the hull, just to the rear of the driver’s compartment, there is a
cluster of four smoke grenade launchers, with the grenades being manually fired
by the commander.
The driver is on the left front hull, with
the commander on the right side of the turret.
The driver has a standard vision block to his front and two wide-angle
vision blocks on either side of that block; the center vision block can be
removed and replaced with a night vision block that comes with the VCTP and is
normally kept in a case on the left wall of the driver’s compartment. The suspension of the VCTP is the same as
that of the TAM, which gives the VCTP a reasonable cross-country ride and good
road ride. The engine is a German-designed
MTU MB-833 diesel engine, developing 720 horsepower. The VCTP has a surprisingly large pair of
fuel tanks in the walls of the passenger compartment, and a pair of reserve
fuel tanks (200 liters each) may be fitted to either side of the hull rear. The
VCPC is amphibious with 3 minutes of preparation; this preparation consists of
the deployment of a trim vane and the turning on of a bilge pump. A swimming VCPC does, however, have
alarmingly little freeboard.
The passenger compartment is surprisingly
roomy, though less so when carrying its normal complement of 10 troops. Bench seats are found on either side of the
compartment, with a squad leader’s individual seat at the front of the
passenger compartment which faces to the rear.
Entry and exit is by a door in the rear of the hull; there are also
small roof hatches (large enough for two troops to stand in each of them) on
the hull deck over the center of the passenger compartment. Three firing ports
are found on each side of the passenger compartment; these can accept the
individual small arms used by the Argentine Army, including machineguns. There are no firing ports at the rear of the
vehicle, but there is a vision block, and a periscope is also a part of the
rear machinegun turret. Vision blocks are just above these firing ports.
The VCPC
The VCPC differs from the VCTP only in the
lack of a turret and in the interior arrangements. As a command post carrier, the VCPC carries
up to six radios (which may be short, medium, or long-range), map boards, and
drawers and compartments for stowing the various equipment needed by command
post personnel. An additional AM-band
very long-range radio is often carried, as well as one or more rugged
military-type laptop computers. (For the stats below, I have included the AM
radio and one laptop.) Additional hand-held observation devices, ranging from
binoculars to a thermal imager, are carried. (I have included a hand-held image
intensifier and thermal imager in the price below, though they are not listed,
as they are not integrated equipment.) The driver’s compartment is the same;
the commander’s station is simply a hatch where the turret would normally be,
with a pintle-mounted machinegun. This
machinegun is sometimes found with a gun shield to the front or even all-around
gun shields. The rear remote-control machinegun of the VCTP is deleted on the
VCPC. Roof hatches of the same type as
on the VCTP are found over the passenger compartment in the same place as on
the VCTP (just to the rear of center.)
The smoke grenade launchers and firing ports of the VCTP are retained. Due
to the additional equipment in the passenger compartment of the VCPC, the
capacity of the passenger compartment is reduced to six, and the rear-facing
squad-leader’s seat is deleted.
|
Vehicle |
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
|
VCTP |
$123,140 |
D, A |
1.01 tons |
28 tons |
2+10 |
16 |
Passive IR (D, C) |
Shielded |
|
VCPC |
$213,056 |
D, A |
825 kg |
26 tons |
2+6 |
19 |
Passive IR (D) |
Shielded |
|
Vehicle |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor |
|
VCTP |
178/125 |
43/26/4 |
640+400 |
378 |
Trtd |
T3 |
TF9 TS4 TR4
HF14 HS6 HR6 |
|
VCPC |
178/125 |
43/26/4 |
640+400 |
378 |
Trtd |
T3 |
HF14 HS6 HR6 |
|
Vehicle |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
|
VCTP |
+2 |
Fair |
20mm Rh-202 autocannon, MG-3 (R), MG-3 (C) |
1400x20mm, 5000x7.62mm |
|
VCPC |
None |
None |
MG-3 (C) |
2500x7.62mm |