This article details a wheeled APC, which reminds me, in some ways, of the one in the movie Aliens.  My thanks to Clare for granting permission for me to host it on my web site. - Kevin Clark - Jul. 13th, 1998.

INTRODUCTION

With a top speed of 140 kph and a cruising speed of 100 kph, the M17A1 is designed to carry its troops to the battlefield, then support the dismounted troops with its own armament.

The M17A1 is a wheeled, armored personnel carrier designed and manufactured for the U.S. Marine Corps, and first introduced in 2271.  The M17A1 is powered by a pair of A.T.I. model-D01 hydrogen fuel cells, providing the vehicle with a top speed of 140 kph and a cruising speed of 100 kph.  The twin power plant design gives the M17 good battlefield survivability as the vehicle can still run with only one power plant operational.  In such a case, the vehicle's top speed drops 70 kph and cruising speed to 50 kph.  Being a wheeled vehicle, the M17 doesn't have quite the terrain-crossing capability as a tracked or hover vehicle, but it is completely amphibious.  On the water, the vehicle can travel at up to 20 knots.

The M17 can carry a maximum of 12 passengers plus 250 kg of equipment in addition to its three-man crew ( consisting of a driver, gunner, and commander).  A large access door allows quick entry and exit during combat.  This door is actually a bottom-hinged ramp with a door mounted in it and is located at the back of the APC.  To better protect troops, the rear ramp is recessed approximately half a meter, allowing the armored walls of the vehicle to stick out and cover the mounting or dismounting troops.

Designed only to carry its troops to the battlefield, then support the dismounted troops with its own armament, the M17 has no firing ports, but it does have four troop hatches which the passengers may fire from.  Its support weapons consist of a 30mm autocannon and a 30mm automatic grenade launcher, both mounted in a remote turret atop the forward end of the vehicle.  A 100-round drum magazine feeds the autocannon, while the grenade launcher has two 25-round magazines: one with smoke and the other with HEAP rounds.  The gunner can switch back and forth between the grenade magazines at any time.  The M17A1's primary antivehicle weapon is the Javelin missile.  A pair of these light-weight missiles, commonly carried by marine rifle teams, is mounted on the right side of the main remote turret, protected from small arms fire by an armor sheath.

The turret-mounted weapons may fire at the same time, but only if they are both firing at the same target.  Also, because of the mounting of a turret at the rear of the vehicle, the main turret is incapable of firing on targets in the rear 30-degree arc.  It can traverse through this area, as the gun automatically elevates to clear the obstruction.

Mounted inside the rear turret is a limited-arc 30mm grenade launcher.  This unit, unlike the forward-mounted grenade launcher, is fed from a single, 25-round magazine, which is easily changed by the passengers or crew.  Most vehicles carry a total of at least two spare magazines during combat operations, usually containing high-explosive or concealment rounds.  The turret design itself limits the operation of this second grenade launcher to the rear 180-degree arc of the vehicle.

Since the development of the M24 hover APC, the marine corps has been decreasing its reliance on the wheeled M17.  Presently, only about one-third of all marine APC battalions are still equipped with the older wheeled vehicle.  The remaining battalions are mostly equipped with the newer hovercraft.  Even so, the M17 is likely to remain in service for some time yet considering its own design advantages.

Being a wheeled vehicle, the M17 cannot cross terrain as quickly as most hovercraft, and cannot cross some obstacles at all, but the M17 has a greater acceleration rate and better maneuverability than the M24.  More important, since the wheeled APC does not rely on air to operate, it can be used in a vacuum, whereas the M24 cannot.  For this last purpose, the M17 was designed airtight, so that its occupants do not have to completely rely on their space suits' life-support systems.  In fact, the vehicle's life-support units can keep up to 12 people comfortable for 12 hours with a 24-hour emergency reserve.  During major operations, this is normally supplemented by packages mounted on the sides of the vehicle, providing an additional 24 hours of normal life support.  The M17 does not have an air lock and must depressurize in order to open any door or hatch.  During combat conditions, though, the interior is normally depressurized anyway, with each person's space suit plugged into the vehicle's life support.

Of the M17A1s still in service with the U.S. Marine Corps, most are assigned to the 3rd and 5th marine divisions.  Several variants of the M17 are also found throughout the corps.  The APC is currently in service with the U.S. Army, as well as the armies of Australia, Nigeria, and Texas, with some variants also sold to Canada.  Most of the Ml7s that were replaced by the newer M24s were sold to the civilian sector as the unarmed variant described below.
 

VARIANTS

The M17A3 is the most common variant used today.  This vehicle is an armored cavalry version which carries a set of enhanced communications and detection gear, and additional ammunition for all its weapon systems.  These additions come with the reduction of the passenger-carrying capacity to three, plus the three-man crew.  The variant vehicle is constructed with a pair of firing ports, one on each side near the rear of the vehicle.  Also, the M17A3 carries a second pair of Javelin antivehicle missiles mounted on the left side of the turret in a mounting identical to the one on the right side.

The M17 can be found outside of military use in an unarmed version which normally comes with much of the outer layer of armor plating removed.  This version is marketed as the Thunder, a rugged all-terrain vehicle.  It is commonly found in use by various colony militia as a standard armored carrier, with various armored car services, planetary survey companies, and so on.
 

M17A1

M17A3

Thunder ATV

WEAPONS

DH30 30mm Autocannon

Javelin Antivehicle Missile

M901 30mm Autogrenade Launcher

M901A 30mm Autogrenade Launcher

-Clare W. Hess

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