SPDR/BVP M-60P

     Notes:  The M-60P (at first designated the M-590) is a “basic box” sort of APC, being a boxy metal shell on an old artillery tractor chassis (the GJ-800, which is in turn based on the Hungarian K-800).  It was first seen in public in a parade in 1965, and is similar to the type of APCs being developed at the time – it is a contemporary of vehicles like the M-113 and FV-432. Once the basic designs of the M-60P versions were finalized, they were never upgraded, modified, or enhanced – not even to the point of having appliqué armor being installed.  They are now therefore a bit dated, and the examples which are still to be found are likely to be in less than sterling shape.  The Serbians still use 165 of these vehicles, and the Croatians still use small numbers of them.

     The M-60P is essentially a steel box; there is little real protection for the occupants except from shrapnel and relatively low-power small arms. The driver is in the left front hull, with three vision blocks to his front; the center block can be replaced with a night vision block.  On the right side of the hull at the front is a bow machinegunner, who also has auxiliary driving controls. He has only one wide-angle vision block built into his hatch cover and cannot replace it with a night vision block.  Both have hatches that open to the rear.  Behind the driver is the vehicle commander, who has a single periscope built into his hatch which can be rotated 360 degrees.  Behind the bow machinegunner is the vehicle gunner, who has a manually-rotating cupola with a two-piece hatch.  Unusually for a former-Eastern Bloc vehicle, its pintle mount takes an M-2HB machinegun, and the M-60P also carries a tripod mount on the right side of the hull to allow this weapon to be removed from the vehicle and fired from the ground.  The troops sit on folding bench seats on either side of the rear troop compartment; they enter and leave through a pair of large doors in the rear of the hull and also have a pair of long hatches above the troop compartment.  There are three firing ports on each side of the vehicle and one each rear door, but these are merely simple holes cut in the hull (or rear door) with simple swing-open shutters.

     The M-60P is seriously underpowered, its diesel engine developing only 140 horsepower.  The simple torsion bar suspension, a modified form of the suspension on the SU-76 self-propelled gun, does not have any shock absorbers; the cross-country ride of the M-60P must be hellish, but at least it will not be moving very fast. The transmission is manual and reportedly quite a handful for its driver.  The M-60P has no amphibious capability.  The M-60P is not a big vehicle as APCs go, but 10 troops were expected to jam into it along with the four-man crew.  Operating out of an M-60P just sounds like a horrible experience.

     The M-60PB is a modification of the M-60P armored personnel carrier.  In this variant, the passenger compartment is partially taken up by ammunition storage and a suspended seat for the gunner of the twin M-60A recoilless rifles.  The mount rotates, but shots in the direction of the gunner's machinegun cannot be made, since the recoilless rifles are mounted on the same level as the machinegun; in addition, fire straight forward is not possible when the driver's or commander’s hatch is open.

Vehicle

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

M-60P

$53,701

D, A

 1 ton

11 tons

4+10

6

Passive IR (D)

Enclosed

M-60PB

$139,593

D, A

500 kg

11.3 tons

4+6

7

Passive IR (D)

Enclosed

 

Vehicle

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

M-60P

105/74

26/15

150

55

Stnd

T2

HF6  HS3  HR2

M-60PB

102/72

25/15

150

57

Stnd

T2

HF6  HS3  HR2

 

Vehicle

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

M-60P

None

None

M-2HB, M-53 (Bow)

500x.50, 500x8mm

M-60PB

None

None

2xM-60A 82mm recoilless rifles, M-2HB, M-53

8x82mm, 500x.50, 500x8mm

 

SPDR/BVP M-80

    Notes:  The M-80 was known as the M-980 while in development; it was designed to replace the obsolete M-60P in almost all roles. Design began in 1969, but was a long process complicated by budget problems, the ready availability of Russian-made equipment, the continual incorporation of new technology, and negotiations with other countries for the use of their technology. The M-80 began production in 1980 in the former Yugoslavia; production continued until the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, and has never picked up again, by Serbia or any other former Yugoslavian country.  The M-80 and its variants are still used by most of the former Yugoslavian countries, including Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Slovenia, and Croatia; in addition, most of these countries, while not manufacturing complete vehicles, they are still making parts for the M-80 series.

 

The M-80

    The resulting vehicle is similar in appearance to the BMP-2, though it is not related to that vehicle.  The roadwheels are fewer in number and more widely-spaced, and the turret is more akin to the BRDM series, with different main armament than the BMP-2. Armor is aluminum, and a bit on the light side. The driver sits on the left front of the vehicle, and the commander has a hatch on the turret roof.  There are two large hatches on the rear deck and rear face for troops.  The driver’s compartment has a conventional design, with a steering yoke, a brake pedal, a gas pedal, and a clutch pedal.  The driver has three vision blocks to the front, one of which can be removed and replaced by a night vision block.  The driver’s position is in the front left of the vehicle. The turret is a two-man turret, though the gunner sits low in the turret basket, with only his head and upper shoulders in the actual turret, sitting just high enough to access his sights.  The commander has a hatch on the roof, and has all-around vision blocks; the gunner has no hatch and normally enters and exits the vehicle through the troop compartment.  The turret has minimal night vision equipment, as well as telescopic sights for the armament.  The autocannon is of Swiss make and Swedish design, though license-produced in Yugoslavia (the Yugoslavians designated this autocannon the M-55); the 260-horsepower engine is the same as used on the French AMX-10P, the Hispano-Suiza HS-115 turbocharged diesel, and is again license-produced in Yugoslavia.  The transmission is manual.  Suspension is by conventional torsion bars, with shock absorbers on the front and rear pair of roadwheels (this is a more-or-less standard form of tracked APC/IFV suspension).  The main armament is supplemented by a pair of launchers for Maljutka ATGM (a Yugoslavian version of the AT-3 Sagger).  The Maljutka ATGMs must be reloaded with the commander’s head, chest, and the upper half of his abdomen outside his hatch; firing is done via a sight outside the hatch and the driver must expose his head to use it, though the actual controls are inside the turret.  The troops in the rear can also reload the Maljutka launchers through the hatches in the roof of the troop compartment. The troop compartment is accessed through a large door in the rear, and there are two narrow, long rectangular hatches on the rear deck which open to either side.  There are three firing ports on each side of the troop compartment and two in the rear.  The troops sit down the center of the vehicle, facing outwards, with the squad leader sitting in the front of the troop compartment behind the turret, facing to the rear.  Radiological protection is notably minimal, with no thought provided to resistance to chemical or biological agents or radiation, and no sort of even a collective NBC system.

 

The M-80A

    The Yugoslavians were almost immediately dissatisfied with the M-80, in particular feeling it was underpowered and that the suspension was not robust enough.  As a result, the M-80 was produced only in small numbers, and work on its successor, the M-80A, began almost immediately upon introduction of the M-80.  Low-rate initial production of the M-80A began only about a year later.  The initial changes to the M-80A involved a reinforced suspension able which also gave a smoother ride; however, the primary change was the switch to the Daimler-Benz OM-403 320-horsepower turbocharged diesel engine along with an automatic transmission (the M-80 had a manual transmission).  In addition, a slight change in armament was made, to a dual-feed version of the same autocannon (which the Yugoslavians still designated the M-55). Radiological protection remains deficient.

     Shortly thereafter, another change was made to the design, this time to the armament.  The 20mm autocannon was replaced with a heavier-caliber German-designed autocannon, and the ATGM launchers, while they still must be reloaded in the same manner as on the M-80 and M-80A, could be aimed, fired, and controlled from under armor, with the hatch closed.  This version was designated the M-80AK. 

     Three command versions of the M-80AK were built; the M-80AKC is designed for use by company commanders and has one additional short-range and medium-range radios and a long-range radio.  The M-80AKB is designed for use at the battalion command level; it has the additional radios of the M-80AKC, plus another long-range radio and an inertial navigation system.  In both cases, the interior is rearranged to allow for a map board, plotting and office-type supplies, a hand-held thermal image and image intensifier; the M-80AKB also has a hand-held laser rangefinder.  The interior seating has a small folding work shelf and has seating for a radio operator and a small command staff. Small amounts of another command version, the VK-80A, were also put into production.  Designed for use at brigade level, the VK-80A’s turret is armed only with a single machinegun, and has additional vision devices and a laser rangefinder.  It has the radios of the M-80AKB above, but the long-range radio is data-capable and the VK-80A carries a ruggedized laptop computer.

     The M-80A Sn is an armored ambulance version of the M-80A.  The hull remains the same as that of the M-80A, but the turret is deleted and the vehicle is unarmed.  The rear door remains, but there is a single oblong hatch in the rear roof of the vehicle. There is a commander’s cupola, though it is unarmed.  The commander and the driver are medics, and there are also two other medics (or sometimes a medic and a nurse or PA) as members of the crew.  The M-80A Sn can transport four stretcher cases and two seated patients or two stretcher cases and four seated patients.  The M-80A Sn has a defibrillator, an oxygen administration set, a small refrigerator for perishable medical supplies, the equivalent of two doctor’s medical bags and 20 personal medical kits, and a collection of assorted bandages, cravats, and splints.

     A local modification uses the chassis of the ACRV (also known as the MT-LBu, using the chassis of the 2S1 SP howitzer), and is therefore technically a different vehicle; I have included it in this entry, however, for completeness.  The turret is that of the M-80A, and the vehicle is used as an IFV with an ability to carry more troops and armor rather than as any sort of specialist vehicle.  This gives the vehicle, often called the ACRV/M-80A, a YaMZ-238N 300-horsepower diesel engine and the hull armor of the MT-LBu, as well as the hull layout with three firing ports, one in the front right and left sides of the troop compartment, and the other in the rear door.  The rear compartment has a large square hatch on the rear deck which opens to the rear, and troop access is by a pair of large doors in the rear of the vehicle. The normal commander’s and gunner’s hatches are deleted, replaced by the turret.  They do have the advantage of having an NBC overpressure system with a collective NBC backup. I have not been able to find out whether the ACRV/M-80A was ever put into production or whether it was simply an experiment, but I have provided stats below.

 

The M-80A1 Vidra

     In the late 1990s, the Serbians began replacing/supplementing their M-80As and M-80AKs with the M-80A1 Vidra variant.  This version used a new Czech-designed turret, which was a bit smaller (though much taller), more angular and had better armor protection.  The autocannon was replaced with a locally-designed autocannon which was virtually identical to the M-80AK’s German autocannon.  The Maljutka ATGMs are also replaced by locally-produced versions of the AT-4 ATGM, with a single launcher instead of the twin launcher of the earlier versions of the M-80. The engine was replaced with a more powerful locally-produced version of the OM-403 engine, a turbocharged diesel developing 335 horsepower. The main armament is better-stabilized and has the assistance of a laser rangefinder; the gunsight and telescopic day vision equipment is also in general improved.  The M-80A1 has the ability to lay a smoke screen by injecting diesel fuel into its exhaust, something earlier versions could not do.  A pair of smoke grenade launchers was also added to each side of the turret.  The M-80A1 normally mounts lugs for ERA on the hull front, hull sides, turret front, and turret sides. Unfortunately, production of the M-80A1 was cut short by the breakup of Yugoslavia and bombing by NATO forces.

     In 2004, the Serbians began fielding a new, updated form of the M-80A1, the M-98 Vidra (sometimes called the M-80/98). This version has a further modified turret which is more rounded than that of the M-80A1, and it is armed with a locally-produced version of the Russian NN-30 AAA autocannon using new, locally-designed ammunition which provided effectiveness against other APCs, IFVs, LAVs, and from some angles, tanks.  The a round of ammunition for this gun, being based on the NN-30’s ammunition, is huge, but has a large warhead backed by a large propellant charge, and gives the M-98 excellent hitting power (though it greatly reduces the amount of ammunition for the autocannon the M-98 can carry).  The gun length is, however, quite short, which limits range. Early M-98s used a version of the NN-30 designated the M-86, which feeds from a single ammunition belt; however, most versions have the M-89 autocannon, which is a dual-feed weapon.  The autocannons are the same as mounted on the BOV-30 self-propelled AAA gun, though of course the ammunition mix carried on the vehicle is quite different.  The M-98 retains the stabilization, laser rangefinder, and ballistic computer of the M-80A1, and also adds thermal imaging for the gunner, which can also be accessed by the commander. Some more thought was also given to NBC warfare, with radiation shielding being added as well as a collective NBC system.

 

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The M-80AK and M-80A and their variants both formed about 40% each of the Yugoslavian M-80 force at the start of the Twilight War.  The remaining vehicles were about 15% M-80s and 5% M-80A1s; very small amounts of ACRV/M-80As were also employed.  The M-98 was not available in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

 

Vehicle

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

M-80

$199,715

D, A

1.5 tons

13.6 tons

3+7

10

Passive IR (D, G, C)

Enclosed

M-80A

$263,588

D, A

1.3 tons

14 tons

3+7

10

Passive IR (D, G, C), Image Intensification (G, C)

Enclosed

M-80AK

$271,413

D, A

1.3 tons

14 tons

3+7

10

Passive IR (D, G, C), Image Intensification (G, C)

Enclosed

ACRV/M-80A

$306,245

D, A

1.8 tons

15 tons

3+11

10

Passive IR (D, G, C), Image Intensification (G, C)

Shielded

M-80A1 Vidra

$254,729

D, A

1.2 tons

14.2 tons

3+7

9

Passive IR (D, G, C), Image Intensification (G, C)

Enclosed

M-98 Vidra

$285,617

D, A

1.1 tons

14.2 tons

3+7

9

Passive IR (D, G, C), Image Intensification (G, C), Thermal Imaging (G)

Shielded

M-80AKC

$295,750

D, A

750 kg

14.7 tons

3+4

11

Passive IR (D, G, C), Image Intensification (G, C)

Enclosed

M-80AKB

$384,025

D, A

750 kg

14.7 tons

3+4

11

Passive IR (D, G, C), Image Intensification (G, C)

Enclosed

VK-80A

$472,729

D, A

750 kg

14 tons

3+4

12

Passive IR (D, G, C), Image Intensification (G, C), Thermal Imaging (C)

Enclosed

M-80A Sn

$97,776

D, A

750 kg

14 tons

*

11

Passive IR (D)

Enclosed

 

Vehicle

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

M-80

143/100

35/21/4

510

135

Trtd

T2

TF4  TS4  TR4  HF8  HS3  HR2

M-80A/M-80AK/VK-80A

153/107

37/22/4

510

153

Trtd

T2

TF4  TS4  TR4  HF9  HS3  HR3

ACRV/M-80A

138/96

34/20/3

540

142

Trtd

T3

TF4  TS4  TR4  HF5  HS2  HR2

M-80A1/M-98 Vidra

154/108

38/23/4

510

158

Trtd

T2

TF6  TS4  TR3  HF9  HS3  HR3

M-80AKC/M-80AKB

136/95

33/20/3

510

142

Trtd

T2

TF4  TS4  TR4  HF9  HS3  HR3

M-80A Sn

153/107

37/22/4

510

153

Trtd

T2

HF9  HS3  HR3

 

Vehicle

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

M-80

+1

Fair

20mm KAA, PKT, 2xMaljutka ATGM Launchers

1400x20mm, 2000x7.62mm, 4xMaljutka ATGM

M-80A

+2

Fair

20mm KAB, PKT, 2xMaljutka ATGM Launchers

1400x20mm, 2000x7.62mm, 4xMaljutka ATGM

M-80AK

+2

Fair

30mm Mauser MK-30, PKT, 2xMaljutka ATGM Launchers

1100x30mm, 2000x7.62mm, 4xMaljutka ATGM

ACRV/M-80A

+2

Fair

20mm KAB, PKT, 2xMaljutka ATGM Launchers

1600x20mm, 2500x7.62mm, 6xMaljutka ATGM

M-80A1 Vidra

+3

Fair

30mm Mauser MK-30, PKT, AT-4 ATGM Launcher

1100x30mm, 2000x7.62mm, 4xAT-4 ATGM

M-98 Vidra

+3

Good

30mm M-89, PKT, AT-4 ATGM Launcher

900x30mm, 2000x7.62mm, 4xAT-4 ATGM

M-80AKC

+2

Fair

30mm Mauser MK-30, PKT, 2xMaljutka ATGM Launchers

825x30mm, 2000x7.62mm, 4xMaljutka ATGM

M-80AKB

+2

Fair

30mm Mauser MK-30, PKT, 2xMaljutka ATGM Launchers

750x30mm, 2000x7.62mm, 3xMaljutka ATGM

VK-80A

+1

Fair

PKT

2000x7.62mm

*See text above for crew and passenger capacity.