M578 light recovery vehicle


The M578 light recovery vehicle was an American Cold War-era armored recovery vehicle. The M578 utilized the same chassis as the M107 self-propelled gun and M110 self-propelled howitzer. The M578 provided maintenance support to mechanized infantry and artillery units. Its primary mission was to recover damaged light armored vehicles from the battlefield using its crane boom.

History

In 1956 the US Army commissioned the Pacific Car & Foundry Company to design an undercarriage for a new series of self-propelled artillery systems that would be lighter, air transportable, and provide a common chassis for multiple vehicles. This would then become the M107 self-propelled gun and M110 self-propelled gun with the Army expanding the program in 1957 to include a field ambulance and an armored light recovery vehicle with the T119 being dropped from the program during the prototype phase. The T120 went through testing starting in 1959, now being designated the T120E1 and was accepted for service after completing testing with production of the vehicle starting in late 1962 by FMC Corp. and would continue in production till the end of the 1960s. In 1975 production resumed under Bowen-McLaughlin-York with an additional 448 vehicles for the US Army between 1975 and 1977 at a cost of US$189,000 per vehicle, followed by export orders to other countries. In 1981 production would be discontinued permanently.

Vehicle Operation

The cab could rotate 360°, and had a 30,000 lb capacity winch which ran through a crane on the cab. Another winch, 60,000 lb capacity, was mounted on the front of the cab. Access to the cab was through a door on each side and by double doors in the rear, while the crane operator and rigger both had vision cupolas in the cab roof.

Operators