One that drove away

Press, 29 June 1983, Page 13

One that drove away

There are things other than fish to be seen in Lake Taupo these days — armoured personnel carriers, to be precise. Fishermen should not despair, however. The chances of their snagging one of the Army’s 12tonne A.P.C.S (as the carriers are more familiarly called) instead of an Bkg trout are remote. What fishermen, tourists, and local Turangi folk on Lake Taupo’s southern shores are seeing is water-testing of amphibious A.P.C.s rebuilt by the Ministry of Works and Development. The Army is spending about $2 million over six years to rebuild 64 American-built A.P.C.s bought in the late 19605. Seven New Zealand organisations submitted tenders; M.W.D. was successful. So far 30 of the machines have

passed through the M.W.D.’s Tongariro power development workshop since 1980, where a team of seven tradesmen are working full time on the project. A three-man Army team, headed by Lieutenant Jim Gibb of Taupo, is also based at the workshop. The MII3AI Armoured Personnel Carriers, to give them their full title, were manufacturered in Detroit by the unlikely-named Food Manufacturing Company. Powered by a Detroit Diesel 6V53 engine, rated at 215 h.p., the A.P.C.s have a top speed of 65 k.p.h. and can “swim” at 6 k.p.h. With a two-man crew, they can carry 10 fully-equipped infantrymen into action; other versions mount an 81mm mortar and crew, assist with armoured vehicle recovery on the battlefield, and pro-

vide mobile command posts. Now well over ten years old, most of the A.P.C.s have clocked up more than 16,000 kilometres and have run their engines for more than 1000 hours — the bulk of the time travelling cross-country. For an armoured vehicle, that is hard work, which eventually takes its toll. Late in 1978 the Army decided to rebuild the vehicles from scratch, rather than buy new ones which then cost about $90,000 each. It was a good decision. The rebuild programme has produced virtually new A.P.C.s for about a third of the cost of new ones. The term rebuild means exactly, what it says. On arrival at the M.W.D. workshop each A.P.C. is stripped down to the. last nut and bolt. Every single screw, strap, and more than 4000 other part-types which make up the vehicle are

then cleaned and inspected for wear and damage. The shell itself, which weighs about 4 tonnes, is sandblasted and checked for cracks. All boltholes on the shell are welded up, ground smooth, and then accurately redrilled. Every steel bolt is cadmiumplated to prevent chemical reaction with the aluminium hull. Seals are replaced and wiring checked for wear or damage. Individual components are re-painted. Damaged or worn parts are repaired or replaced using a system of “kitsets,” devised by Army technicians to help with the ease of re-assembly. There are 31 kitsets in all for each vehicle, containing replacement parts which experience has shown could be needed at different phases of a carrier’s reassembly. While the A.P.C. is being

stripped, its engine, transmission, and transfer-gearcase are trucked up to the workshop of Summit Engineering in Rotorua. Here they are also stripped, cleaned, cracktested, and all parts checked. Re-assembled engines are then tested on a dynanometer to check that they are developing maximum horsepower. If so, they are then fitted to their re-assembled transmissions and transfer-gear-cases. Once the rebuilt engine is back in the A.P.C., it is unlikely that it will have to be removed again for another 10 years. The carrier is re-assembled with original or replaced parts, as required. There are 16 phases in the rebuild. The A.P.C. is then road and water-tested in the Turangi area. This is followed by a rigorous cross-country drive in the nearby Rotoaira State Forest.

job, the carrier is formally handed back to the Army. The entire rebuild process will have taken about 50 working days — sometimes less — and there is always a minimum of two carriers in the Turangi residency workshop at any one time. “There is no doubt in my mind,” says Lieutenant Gibb, “that the armoured personnel carriers which have passed through this M.W.D. workshop and are now back in Army service are performing equally as well as — or in some cases better — than new A.P.C.s.” This augurs well for the New Zealand Army which will be using the carriers well into the 19905. But, with a further 34 carriers due to pass through the M.W.D.’s hands in the next three years, it will be some time yet before the Taupo trout are free of having the Army’s A.P.C.s sharing the placid waters of the lake with them.