The MAP75 Armoured Personnel Carrier (a.k.a. MAP 'seven five') is a Rhodesian 4x4 heavy troop-carrying vehicle (TCV) first introduced in 1978 based on a Mercedes-Benz truck chassis. It remains in use with the Zimbabwe National Army.
The MAP75 consists of an all-welded body with a fully enclosed troop compartment built on a modified Mercedes-Benz 7.5 ton Series LA1113/42 truck chassis ('Rodef 75').[1] Adapted from the Crocodile Armoured Personnel Carrier, the open-topped hull or 'capsule' is faceted at the sides, which were designed to deflect small-arms' rounds, and a flat deck reinforced by a v-shaped 'crush box' meant to deflect landmine blasts. Three inverted U-shaped 'roll bars' shorter than those on the Crocodile were fitted to protect the fighting compartment from being crushed in case the vehicle turned and roll over after a mine detonation. However, the reduced height of the 'roll bars' often hampered the crew's movements inside the vehicle, though the problem was rectified only in the post-war Zimbabwean versions by fitting higher bars. Access to the vehicle's interior is made by means of two medium-sized doors at the vertical hull rear whilst two square hatches placed low at the hull sides allowed for rapid debussing, an innovation that reflected the vehicle's combat offensive role.
Protectionedit
The hull was made of ballistic 10mm mild steel plate; front windscreen and side windows had 40mm bullet-prooflaminated glass.
Armamentedit
Rhodesian MAP75s were usually armed with a FN MAG-58 7.62mm Light Machine Gun (LMG), sometimes installed on a locally produced one-man MG armoured turret to protect the gunner. Vehicles assigned to convoy escorting duties ('E-type') had a Browning M1919A4 7.62mm medium machine gun mounted on an open-topped, cylinder-shaped turret (dubbed 'the dustbin'). Twin Browning MG pintle mounts placed behind the driver’s compartment were often added on 'Seven fives' employed for 'externals'. The Zimbabwean vehicles after 1980 sported pintle-mounted Soviet-made 12.7mm and 14.5mm Heavy Machine Guns (HMG) instead.
Variantsedit
Troop-Carrying Vehicle (TCV) or "Puma" – is the standard IFV/APC version, armed with either a single LMG (Rhodesian SF 1978-79) or HMG (ZNA 1980–present) and capable of carrying 16 infantrymen.
Convoy escorting version – basic IFV/APC version ('E-type') fitted with 'dustbin' Browning MG turret (Rhodesian SF 1978-79).
Command vehicle – command version equipped with radios and map boards.
Ambulance – modified version of the command vehicle intended for medical support and casualty evacuation.
Cargo vehicle – transport version with shortened, open-top cargo hull.[2]
Articulated tractor – heavy transport truck with a four-wheel cargo trailer.
Horse-carrying vehicle (HCV) – modified transport version with wooden box for horses ('horse box').
Armoured horse-carrying vehicle – one specially-modified articulated tractor in service with the Grey's Scouts, later converted to a mobile operations and command room (Rhodesian SF 1978-79).[3]
Wrecker – recovery version with shortened cab mounting a 6-tonne Model 600 Holmes jib, with A-frame and tooling.[4]
After independence, the MAP75 entered service with the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) in early 1980 and equipped both the 1st and 2nd Battalions, RAR, which participated in the large military exercises conducted at Somabula Plain, Matabeleland that same year. ZNA's 'Seven Fives' were thrown into action in November 1980 against ZIPRA troops at the 1st Battle of Entumbane and later at the February 1981 2nd Battle of Entumbane (near Bulawayo, Matabeleland), and later again after February 1982 by helping to put down the Super-ZAPU insurgency in Matabeleland. During the Mozambican Civil War, 'Seven Fives' were also employed by the ZNA forces in Mozambique guarding the Mutare-Beiraoil pipeline in 1982-1993 from RENAMO guerrilla attacks. The MAP75 served with the ZNA contingent sent to the Democratic Republic of Congo during the Second Congo War from 1998 to 2002.[10]
Operatorsedit
Rhodesia – In service with the Rhodesian Security Forces in 1978-1980 passed on to successor state.
^Touchard, Guerre dans le bush! Les blindés de l'Armée rhodésienne au combat (1964-1979), p. 73.
^Locke & Cooke, Fighting Vehicles and Weapons of Rhodesia 1965-80 (1995), p. 56.
^Locke & Cooke, Fighting Vehicles and Weapons of Rhodesia 1965-80 (1995), p. 55.
^Locke & Cooke, Fighting Vehicles and Weapons of Rhodesia 1965-80 (1995), p. 57.
^Baxter, Selous Scouts: Rhodesian Counter-Insurgency Specialists (2011), pp. 109; 130.
^Grant & Dennis, Rhodesian Light Infantryman 1961–80 (2015), pp. 24-25
^Baxter, Selous Scouts: Rhodesian Counter-Insurgency Specialists (2011), p. 138.
^Locke & Cooke, Fighting Vehicles and Weapons of Rhodesia 1965-80 (1995), p. 58.
^Touchard, Guerre dans le bush! Les blindés de l'Armée rhodésienne au combat (1964-1979), pp. 65; 73.
^Abbott & Ruggeri, Modern African Wars (4): The Congo 1960-2002 (2014), pp. 41-42.
Referencesedit
Laurent Touchard, Guerre dans le bush! Les blindés de l'Armée rhodésienne au combat (1964-1979), Batailles & Blindés Magazine No. 72, April–May 2016, Caraktère, Aix-en-Provence, pp. 64–75. ISSN 1765-0828 (in French)
Neil Grant & Peter Dennis, Rhodesian Light Infantryman 1961–80, Warrior series 177, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2015. ISBN978-1-4728-0962-9
Peter Abbott & Raffaele Ruggeri, Modern African Wars (4): The Congo 1960-2002, Men-at-arms series 492, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2014. ISBN978-1782000761
Peter Baxter, Selous Scouts: Rhodesian Counter-Insurgency Specialists, Helion & Company Limited and South Publishers (Pty) Ltd., Solihull UK 2011. ISBN978-1-907677-38-0
Peter Gerard Locke & Peter David Farquharson Cooke, Fighting Vehicles and Weapons of Rhodesia 1965-80, P&P Publishing, Wellington 1995. ISBN0-473-02413-6
Peter Stiff, Taming the Landmine, Galago Publishing Pty Ltd., Alberton (South Africa) 1986. ISBN9780947020040
External linksedit
A MAP75 TCV in Zimbabwe National Army service in 1999
MAP 7.5 (Mine & Ambush Protected) Vehicle.
Rhodesian Mine Ambush Protected Vehicles 1975-80
November 15, 2023
map75, armoured, personnel, carrier, seven, five, rhodesian, heavy, troop, carrying, vehicle, first, introduced, 1978, based, mercedes, benz, truck, chassis, remains, with, zimbabwe, national, army, typearmoured, personnel, carrierplace, originrhodesiaservice,. The MAP75 Armoured Personnel Carrier a k a MAP seven five is a Rhodesian 4x4 heavy troop carrying vehicle TCV first introduced in 1978 based on a Mercedes Benz truck chassis It remains in use with the Zimbabwe National Army MAP75 Armoured Personnel CarrierTypeArmoured personnel carrierPlace of originRhodesiaService historyIn service1978 presentUsed byRhodesiaZimbabweWarsRhodesian Bush War1980 Entumbane clashes1981 Entumbane uprisingMozambican Civil WarSecond Congo WarSpecificationsMass11 tonnes combat 9 29 tonnes empty Length7 2 m x 2 28 mWidth4 2 m WbHeight2 84 mCrew2 16Armor10 mm mild steelMainarmamentone 7 62 mm 12 7 mm or 14 5 mm machine gunsSecondaryarmamentpersonal weapons through gunportsEngine6 cylinder 5 67L Benz diesel OM352130 hpPower weighthp ton hp tonneDrive4 4Operationalrange600 to 700 kmMaximum speed80 km h 60 km h km h Contents 1 General description 1 1 Protection 1 2 Armament 2 Variants 3 Combat history 4 Operators 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External linksGeneral description editThe MAP75 consists of an all welded body with a fully enclosed troop compartment built on a modified Mercedes Benz 7 5 ton Series LA1113 42 truck chassis Rodef 75 1 Adapted from the Crocodile Armoured Personnel Carrier the open topped hull or capsule is faceted at the sides which were designed to deflect small arms rounds and a flat deck reinforced by a v shaped crush box meant to deflect landmine blasts Three inverted U shaped roll bars shorter than those on the Crocodile were fitted to protect the fighting compartment from being crushed in case the vehicle turned and roll over after a mine detonation However the reduced height of the roll bars often hampered the crew s movements inside the vehicle though the problem was rectified only in the post war Zimbabwean versions by fitting higher bars Access to the vehicle s interior is made by means of two medium sized doors at the vertical hull rear whilst two square hatches placed low at the hull sides allowed for rapid debussing an innovation that reflected the vehicle s combat offensive role Protection edit The hull was made of ballistic 10mm mild steel plate front windscreen and side windows had 40mm bullet proof laminated glass Armament edit Rhodesian MAP75s were usually armed with a FN MAG 58 7 62mm Light Machine Gun LMG sometimes installed on a locally produced one man MG armoured turret to protect the gunner Vehicles assigned to convoy escorting duties E type had a Browning M1919A4 7 62mm medium machine gun mounted on an open topped cylinder shaped turret dubbed the dustbin Twin Browning MG pintle mounts placed behind the driver s compartment were often added on Seven fives employed for externals The Zimbabwean vehicles after 1980 sported pintle mounted Soviet made 12 7mm and 14 5mm Heavy Machine Guns HMG instead Variants editTroop Carrying Vehicle TCV or Puma is the standard IFV APC version armed with either a single LMG Rhodesian SF 1978 79 or HMG ZNA 1980 present and capable of carrying 16 infantrymen Convoy escorting version basic IFV APC version E type fitted with dustbin Browning MG turret Rhodesian SF 1978 79 Command vehicle command version equipped with radios and map boards Ambulance modified version of the command vehicle intended for medical support and casualty evacuation Cargo vehicle transport version with shortened open top cargo hull 2 Articulated tractor heavy transport truck with a four wheel cargo trailer Horse carrying vehicle HCV modified transport version with wooden box for horses horse box Armoured horse carrying vehicle one specially modified articulated tractor in service with the Grey s Scouts later converted to a mobile operations and command room Rhodesian SF 1978 79 3 Wrecker recovery version with shortened cab mounting a 6 tonne Model 600 Holmes jib with A frame and tooling 4 Combat history editThe MAP75 TCV was employed late in the war by the elite units of the Rhodesian Security Forces the Rhodesian African Rifles RAR the Rhodesian Light Infantry RLI 5 6 the Selous Scouts 7 and the Rhodesian SAS on their cross border covert raids externals against ZIPRA and ZANLA guerrilla bases in the neighboring Countries 8 such as the September 1979 raid on the ZANLA s New Chimoio base in Mozambique Operation Miracle 9 After independence the MAP75 entered service with the Zimbabwe National Army ZNA in early 1980 and equipped both the 1st and 2nd Battalions RAR which participated in the large military exercises conducted at Somabula Plain Matabeleland that same year ZNA s Seven Fives were thrown into action in November 1980 against ZIPRA troops at the 1st Battle of Entumbane and later at the February 1981 2nd Battle of Entumbane near Bulawayo Matabeleland and later again after February 1982 by helping to put down the Super ZAPU insurgency in Matabeleland During the Mozambican Civil War Seven Fives were also employed by the ZNA forces in Mozambique guarding the Mutare Beira oil pipeline in 1982 1993 from RENAMO guerrilla attacks The MAP75 served with the ZNA contingent sent to the Democratic Republic of Congo during the Second Congo War from 1998 to 2002 10 Operators edit nbsp Rhodesia In service with the Rhodesian Security Forces in 1978 1980 passed on to successor state nbsp Zimbabwe Still in service with the ZNA See also editCrocodile Armoured Personnel Carrier Hippo APC Thyssen Henschel UR 416 Rhodesian Armoured Corps MAP45 Armoured Personnel Carrier Mine Protected Combat Vehicle List of weapons of the Rhodesian Bush WarNotes edit Touchard Guerre dans le bush Les blindes de l Armee rhodesienne au combat 1964 1979 p 73 Locke amp Cooke Fighting Vehicles and Weapons of Rhodesia 1965 80 1995 p 56 Locke amp Cooke Fighting Vehicles and Weapons of Rhodesia 1965 80 1995 p 55 Locke amp Cooke Fighting Vehicles and Weapons of Rhodesia 1965 80 1995 p 57 Baxter Selous Scouts Rhodesian Counter Insurgency Specialists 2011 pp 109 130 Grant amp Dennis Rhodesian Light Infantryman 1961 80 2015 pp 24 25 Baxter Selous Scouts Rhodesian Counter Insurgency Specialists 2011 p 138 Locke amp Cooke Fighting Vehicles and Weapons of Rhodesia 1965 80 1995 p 58 Touchard Guerre dans le bush Les blindes de l Armee rhodesienne au combat 1964 1979 pp 65 73 Abbott amp Ruggeri Modern African Wars 4 The Congo 1960 2002 2014 pp 41 42 References editLaurent Touchard Guerre dans le bush Les blindes de l Armee rhodesienne au combat 1964 1979 Batailles amp Blindes Magazine No 72 April May 2016 Caraktere Aix en Provence pp 64 75 ISSN 1765 0828 in French Neil Grant amp Peter Dennis Rhodesian Light Infantryman 1961 80 Warrior series 177 Osprey Publishing Ltd Oxford 2015 ISBN 978 1 4728 0962 9 Peter Abbott amp Raffaele Ruggeri Modern African Wars 4 The Congo 1960 2002 Men at arms series 492 Osprey Publishing Ltd Oxford 2014 ISBN 978 1782000761 Peter Baxter Selous Scouts Rhodesian Counter Insurgency Specialists Helion amp Company Limited and South Publishers Pty Ltd Solihull UK 2011 ISBN 978 1 907677 38 0 Peter Gerard Locke amp Peter David Farquharson Cooke Fighting Vehicles and Weapons of Rhodesia 1965 80 P amp P Publishing Wellington 1995 ISBN 0 473 02413 6 Peter Stiff Taming the Landmine Galago Publishing Pty Ltd Alberton South Africa 1986 ISBN 9780947020040External links editPhoto and caption of Rhodesian MAP75 TCV in 1978 79 A MAP75 TCV in Zimbabwe National Army service in 1999 MAP 7 5 Mine amp Ambush Protected Vehicle Rhodesian Mine Ambush Protected Vehicles 1975 80 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title MAP75 Armoured Personnel Carrier amp oldid 1182716988, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
