M163, M113 bolt on side floats

[MWMULES]

I forgot I had them but back in the DRMO days I got 4 large crates that had a large aluminum skin box shaped floats. The back was open side and filled with foam, there are slots cut into the top and bottom edge to mount it . There was no writing left on the box. Did the goat have an add on float or were these maybe for the M113 surf board .

Ok here are pictures, the float or whatever is 5'8 1/2" long, main body is 6 1/4" thick and 25 1/2 high, edge of mounting flange to flange is 30 3/8" the metal is 1/4 thick. There are eight 1" and two 3" tabs cut into the top flange and only 3 elongated holes in the bottom. You can tell it been in the shed for years, the other 3 are still banded in plywood boxes. So any body got an idea??

 

[LanceRobson]

Sounds like they may be the trim vane float for a M113A3 or similar?

Lance

 

[dittle]

Both goats and the 113 are amphibious, as well as the V100.

 

[deuceman51]

The trim vane for the M113A3 is made of plywood with aluminum. How big is your mystery box? I have a 113 in the shop right now that I am servicing and I could tell you from your pic if it would fit or not.

 

[wreckerman893]

Goats were supposed to float......getting them to float was another issue.

Most vehicles that were designed to float and drive on hardball did neither well.

When I was at Fort Benning my unit used to have to take a M916 and lowboy out to Victory Pond and wait for Bradleys to sink while doing swim training.
It used to piss off the TC when we asked if they wanted to go ahead and hook the cable to the tow pintle so they wouldn't have to dive down to do it.

The DUKW was an exception...it think it was one of the better vehicles the military bought.

 

[deuceman51]

Not a clue, lol. It isn't for a 113 as far as I know, I've never seen anything like that ever installed or mentioned in any manual for a 113. Sorry.

 

[Gamagoat1]

Nothing like that goes on a Goat.

 

[BillIdaho]

I have never heard of or seen an official bow for a Goat. I have read where a barrel (or barrels) would be tied around Goats in order to help them float, but the extra drag it created all but negated any forward trust the wheels could produce. I don't recall anything in the TM's.
How about M114?

 

[Jones]

Goats would float if you could drive them into the water at a very shallow angle. If you hit a drop off or came in too steep you'd end up driving them under water.
The one's with the aluminum-blocked engines were not as heavy in the front but it only meant you could retrieve them with a lighter wrecker.

 

[doghead]

I was told that there was a "splash shield" for the Marine Gama Goats. Mine(wifes) has the brackets for this,on it.

The item posted above does not look like anything I am aware of that goes on a goat. I do wonder if that panel could fit underneath the goat, for extra flotation? Are there any numbers on the panel?

 

[cranetruck]

Goats were supposed to float......getting them to float was another issue.

Most vehicles that were designed to float and drive on hardball did neither well.
......

I have seen APG videos from the 1960s with M548 swimming....newer TMs only have them fording, no swimming requirement.

Image below from a site member....the Goat floats pretty high empty, all APG movies pictures I have seen show the vehicles loaded to spec.

 

[poof]

There was flotation for the m113 types.. 3 piece for the sides.. attached on sides above the track shrouds.. and front(side) piece was slope contured to track... and had a front flotation that fit where the trimvane is..
Its use was for tracks with gun platforms and such (like vulcans?)
The M114 might have had a similar flotation?
http://home.comcast.net/~genericdad/m113gavin.html

 

[Nonotagain]

The company that I work for built a composite M113 back in the late 80's which I was tasked to assemble.

The trim vane was as described earlier, plywood with an aluminum skin.

We took the M113 out to Dark Head Cove behind the plant to see if it would float, as it was supposed to.

I still remember reading the TM on fording water.

Step 1. Close all hatches.

Step 2. Turn on bilge pumps.

Step 3. Slowly enter water.

Step 4. Once vehicle becomes buoyant (or starts to sink), open all hatches.

Our craft floated and motored around the cove quite nicely. We ate lunch and fished the rest of the day off the craft.

 

[MWMULES]

poof you were right all along couldn't find a good picture 5 years ago to prove it and at the time the only Vulcan I had messed with was the towed M167 so it didn't click. Steinmeister brought it up today about the M163 Vulcan and thanks to Google there they are the ones I saw in DS had the cells taken off this has the skirts off and you can see the notches.