Does anyone know where I can a get a copy of Peace Makers the story of the peace keeping efforts in East Timor? --M. Salter Peace Makers is available by mail, fax or telephone from Fullbore Magazines in Brisbane Australia. It retails for $Australian 45 (including P&H) in Australia. A $ 7Aust overseas postal fee applies to buyers wanting books forwarded to the USA and Europe. Total price at the moment is $US 27.50. You can buy Peace Makers by telephone (61 7 3392 7068), fax (61 7 3392 7068) or you can mail your order to Fullbore Magazines Pty Ltd, PO Box 114, Brisbane Market, Qld, 4106. All cheques and money orders should be made out to Fullbore Magazines Pty Ltd. Question: In Vietnam, what were the chances of seeing M113 ACAV's on the battlefield? --I. Butcher Answer: ACAVs were part of the cavalry, and not used by the regular grunts at all. The standard cavalry squadron consisted of two tanks, two ACAVs, a standard M113 carrying an 11 man squad, and an 81mm mortar carrier. Being cavalry, they were expected to fight from their vehicles, ACAVs on paper had a 5 or six man crew (commander, three gunners, driver), but being full strength was probably a rarity. The M-60s were probably never dismounted, as they were usually fitted with the helicopter-type spade grips where possible, and this made them quite difficult to fire from the shoulder. I've seen pictures of one ACAV with a 90mm recoiless on a pintle above and behind the .50 tub, but this was probably a local modification. The infantry squad carried on the regular M113 was the dismount ('scout') squad for the squadron, although they'd rarely, I understand, go far from their track. Oh, a note on the M113 - they all have the side pintles for mounting additional M-60s, whether they're ACAVs or not. This is commonly where the M60 will be mounted while moving, as it gives a more stable firing platform. Inside an ACAV, you'll find several layers of sandbags and rubber matting (on the floor, sometimes the walls too), extra ammo, boxes of C-rations, duffles, everything, generally, but the crew, who preferred to ride on top becuse of the danger from mines. Drivers often rigged extra-long controls so they could ride with most of their body already outside the track, so they could bail out easily if it caught fire. Scenario wise, armored cavalry will be found doing several things. Probably the most common use will be patrolling roads or protecting truck convoys. They were often used in 'sweeps', where a village would be cordoned off. They could chase or encircle a fleeing unit (rarely successfully), defend firebases or counterattack an encircling enemy, or be attached to an Infantry unit that needs some direct fire support. From what I've read, mortar carriers typically left their mortars home and were used as spare tracks to replace losses, all the mortar sections being grouped together into a battery. You'll rarely see just ONE vehicle attached to another unit, since the smallest subunit likely to be cross-attached would be a full squadron. Back to Frontline Vol. 2 Iss. 2 Table of Contents Back to Frontline List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Rolfe Hedges This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com