Alamo Armory T-113 Armored Personnel Carrier:

"Starting up a new Mercenary Company? Short of Credits? Don't want to buy refitted Pre-Rifts vehicles and their maintenance nightmares? Don't like the prices of other modern armored vehicles?"

"Northern Gun and Iron Armory combat vehicles can set you back several million each. Even an Iron Heart APC costs at least a million credits and with current events, support for the vehicle is questionable.

"Our vehicles are all based on the well proven M-113 platform but are new construction. Extremely survivable and with a host of different options, almost three of our Armored Personnel Carrier can be purchased for the cost of a single used Iron Maiden. With our diesel electric hybrid engine, our design has fifty percent greater range as well and the flexible fuel system means that you will not have to worry about fuel either.

"Quality at an affordable price. Consider Alamo Armory for your next combat vehicle."

Alamo Armory is based in a Pre-Rifts automobile factory near the border of what was once the Old American Empire state of Texas with Mexico. A relatively small facility, the founders of the company came from widely separated origins. Some are engineers from Iron Heart Industries who managed to escape the Coalition take over of their facilities. Others are from Golden Age Weaponsmiths and it is possible that they are still working for that company but working to expand into new construction of military vehicles. The company stated goal is to produce reasonably priced combat vehicles which are still quite capable.

All of Alamo Armories' designs are based on the Pre-Rifts M-113 Armored Personnel Carrier which first entered service in the Nineteen-Fifties. From this venerable design, the company manufacturing a standard Armored Personnel Carrier, an Infantry Fighting Vehicle, a Mortar Vehicle, and a pair of different missile battery designs. It is believed that one of the founding members brought plans of the M-113 with him when they first started the company. The designs share most of the same components to reduce manufacturing costs. The series are generally designed to be easy to build and maintain. As well, the large amount of shared components makes logistics far simpler. On a tactical standpoint, they work extremely well together.

The most basic of Alamo Armory's designs, the T-113 design shares many similarities with what are common upgrades to Pre-Rifts versions of the M-113 sold by Golden Age. As a result, it is most like what the company might produce if they went into the manufacture of new vehicles. The old vehicle have the problem of having been run for years and simply are worn out even if fully restored. At the prices of the vehicles, the facility has been completely unable to keep up with demands. As might be expected, the vehicles are extremely popular with starting mercenary companies who have tight budgets.

One problem with the more advanced combat vehicle such as what Iron Armory and Northern Gun produce is that they are expensive. Even the products of Iron Heart Industries could get rather expensive. The key to reducing the cost of vehicles is to use serviceable components but none of the advanced systems carried on the products manufactured by most other companies. Still, the company is not like Chipwell Armaments Inc and their products are quite serviceable. This is much due to tracked vehicles being much easier to produce than power armors and robots.

Unlike pre-rifts upgraded M-113 vehicles produced by Golden Age and others, the Alamo Armory T-113 Armored Personnel Carrier is made from Pre-Rifts composites and alloys. The most advanced materials are not used but even so, the armor materials offers a significant upgrade over the Golden Age products. There is also the added advantage of being virtually immune to corrosion and to greatly reduce basic maintenance. Dimensions of the vehicle are unchanged from the original M-113.

The original engine and transmission of the M-113 is not retained but instead a hybrid diesel and electric system is carried on the vehicle. The engine offers double the range of the original power plant. Advanced Fuel Cell, Pure Electrical, and Nuclear were all rejected due to cost. Even gas turbines like are mounted in the Iron Heart designs were rejected due to fuel consumption. The engine is designed to operate with a variety of fuels including vegetable based fuels for more flexibility. Top speed is slightly faster than the original M-113 with a top speed right around forty-five miles per hour and retains the ability to travel amphibiously using the tracks as a form of water propulsion.

A crew of two operates the vehicle and while the vehicle does not have full life support, it does have basic NBC protection. With most troops in full environmental body armor, they are generally already protected. There is not much in the way of optics and no radar. Communication is rather basic as well. The vehicle simply mounts a thermal image system. A maximum of eleven soldiers can be carried and the T-113 has a back hatch for troop egress.

Alamo Armory does not currently manufacture any weapon systems but instead purchases ready made weapon systems with Wellington systems being most prominent. For the T-113, the position which originally mounted a .50 machine gun mounts a Wellington automatic grenade launcher with eight hundred rounds of ammunition. As well, the vehicle mounts smoke grenade launchers which can use tear gas and decoy grenades as well. There are also several options including fitting the vehicle with a pair of mini-missile launchers and claymore mines on the sides for anti-personal defense. Finally, the vehicle can be fitted with firing ports for the troops carried. Two are fitted on each side with two in the back hatch. There is no power hookups provided to power energy weapon carried by the troops.

Model Type: Alamo Armory T-113
Vehicle Type: Armored Personnel Carrier
Crew: Two (Driver and Gunner)
Troops: Eleven (11) in Full Gear.

M. D. C. by Location:

	[1] Tractor Treads (2):	50 each
	WI-GL21 Automatic Grenade Launcher:	40
	WI-25 Four Tube Mini-Missile Launchers - Optional (2, sides):	30 each
	WI-CL3 "Super Claymore" Mine - Optional (6, sides and front):	20 each
	[2] Smoke / Gas Dispensers (2):	20 each
	[2] Headlights (2):	10 each
	Rear Hatch:	80
	Reinforced Crew Compartment:	80
	Reinforced Personnel Bay:	80
	[3] Main Body:	280

Notes:
[1] Depleting the M.D.C. of a tread will immobilize the platform until it is replaced. Replacing a tread will take 1D6x10 minutes by a trained crew (2 replacements are carried on board) or three times as long by the inexperienced. Changing the tread is only advisable when the vehicle is not under attack.
[2] These are small and difficult targets to strike, requiring the attacker to make a "called shot," but even then the attacker is -4 to strike.
[3] If all the M.D.C. of the main body is depleted, the vehicle is completely shut down and is unsalvageable.

Speed:
Ground: Maximum speed on land is 45 mph (72.4 kph.) The vehicle is designed to traverse virtually all terrain and can climb at up to a 60% grade although at a much slower speed (About 10% of maximum road speed). It can also climb barriers and ford trenches. The vehicle can also handle side slopes of up to 40%.
Water Capabilities: The T-113 Armored Personnel Carrier is designed to be amphibious and can cross small bodies of water. It is not designed for deep water use. The T-113 can travel in this manner at 4.0 mph (6.4 kph/3.5 knots).
Maximum Range: 620 miles (997.8 km)

Statistical Data:
Height: 6.06 feet (1.85 meters) to hull top and 8.27 feet (2.52 meters) overall
Width: 8.81 feet (2.866 meter)
Length: 15.95 feet (4.863 meters)
Weight: 22,046.2 pounds (10,000 kg) empty, 26,455.5 pounds (12,000 kg) combat loaded, and 31,305.6 pounds (14,200 kg) maximum load.
Power Source: Conventional, Diesel / Electric Hybrid developing 300 hp
Cargo Capacity: Without troops, can carry up to 3.0 tons (2.72 metric tons)
Black Market Cost: 350,000 Credits for standard model. Unarmed versions cost 200,000 Credits.
Mini-Missile Batteries cost 65,000 Credits and Super Claymore Mines cost 30,000 Credits (for six.) Firing ports are available at no cost.

Weapon Systems:

1. WI-GL21 Automatic Grenade Launcher: Replaces the .50 Machine Gun in the original M-113. It si mounted in a pintle mound which has a 360 degree rotation and can angle up to 60 degrees. Mostly designed for anti-personnel, the weapon is extremely powerful and can damage other armored vehicles as well. As a result, many crews use the armor piercing round even with a smaller blast radius. The gunner is outside the vehicle when he uses the weapon mount.
   Maximum Effective Range: 3,000 feet (914 meters)
   Mega-Damage: 4D6 for Fragmentation with a blast area of 12 feet (3.6 meters) and 1D4x10 for Armor Piercing with a blast area of 3 feet (0.9 meter), burst of 10 rounds does 2D6x10 for Fragmentation with a blast area of 40 feet (12 meters) and 3D6x10 for Armor Piercing with a blast area of 8 feet (2.4 meters.)
   Rate of Fire: Equal to combined hand to hand attacks of gunner.
   Payload: 800 Rounds.
2. Two (2) WI-25 Four Tube Mini-Missile Launchers (Optional): Mounted on either side of the vehicle, these launchers are lightweight but add greatly to the potential firepower of the vehicle. Controlled by the gunner, each one has four tubes than can be fired individually or all four in each may be fired at the same time. The weapon has to be manually reloaded and more missiles can be carried in the vehicle (at the cost of reduced troops.)
   Maximum Effective Range: Varies by mini-missile type (Go to Revised bomb and missile table.)
   Mega-Damage: Varies by mini-missile type (Go to Revised bomb and missile table.)
   Rate of Fire: Single shot or all four mini-missiles only (Both launchers cannot be combined)
   Payload: 8 total (4 each), takes 15 seconds (one melee) to reload each launcher. Forty-Eight mini-missiles can be carried in the place of a single troop.
3. Six (6) WI-CL3 "Super Claymore" Mine (Optional): Two are positioned on either side with two in front. None are in the rear of the vehicle. Mounted on armored plates which prevent the mines from doing damage to the vehicle itself. Derived from the pre-Rifts claymore mine, this weapon is extremely effective. It is slightly larger than the original Claymore mine and has 1000 super dense alloy spheres instead of steel balls and is backed by two pounds (0.9 kg) of powerful advanced explosive instead of the original C4 plastic explosive. The "Super Claymore" operates in a similar fashion to the original mine and creates a fan of projectiles for a 328 foot (100 meter) cone with a 60 degree arc of danger. Generally the Super Claymore is activated by the crew when it looks like the vehicle will be overrun.
   Maximum Effective Range: 820 feet (250 meters)
   Mega Damage: Front 60-degree horizontal Cone of Mine: 2D6x10 MD for a 164 foot (50 meter) range, 1D4x10 MD for a 328 foot (100 meter) range, and 2D6 MD for a 820 foot (250 meter) range. Sides of Mine: 4D6 MD for a 66 foot (20 meter) range and 2D6 MD for a 328 foot (100 meter) range.
   Rate of Fire: Each mine single use only.
   Payload: Six Mines.
4. Six (6) Firing Ports (Optional): The T-113 has six firing ports that allow soldiers to fire their guns out of the vehicle. There are two firing ports on either side and two on the rear hatch of the vehicle. Firing ports can be closed in order to make vehicle a sealed environment. Firing ports are fairly small and grenade launchers and missile launchers cannot be fired from firing ports. No power connectors are provided for using energy weapons.
5. Smoke Dispenser (2): Mounted on either side of the tank and launches smoke grenades. While other types of grenades can be used, they have been rarely carried. Recently, there has been consideration for the use of prismatic aerosol and decoy grenades to help protect the vehicle against lasers and other weaponry.
   Effect: Creates a cloud of smoke 40 ft (12 m) in diameter. Other special effects per grenade type
   Rate of Fire: Two per melee
   Range: 1,200 feet (365 m)
   Payload: Carries 12 smoke grenades per launcher.

Sensory Equipment:

• NBC Protection: While not full life support, the Armored vehicle is equipped with protection for the crew from most gas, radiation, and biological attacks. If fitted with firing slits, the slips have plates which can be closed and sealed.
• Nightvision Optics: Range: 2,000 ft (609 m). Uses light amplification to make a picture. Emits no light but will not work in absolute darkness. System can be dazzled by sudden bright lights but does not physically blind the pilot.
• Thermo-Imager: Range: 2,000 feet (609 meters). Finds the infra-red radiations of things that are warm. Also enables pilot to see in smoke, shadows and darkness.

[Golden Age Weaponsmiths TM, Wellington Industries TM, and Iron Heart Industries TM are trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]
[ Rifts® is a registered trademark owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc.]

By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

Copyright © 2008, Kitsune. All rights reserved.