IDF Achzarit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

IDF Achzarit Mk1
Achzarit in Yad la-Shiryon museum, Israel
Type	Heavy armored personnel carrier
Place of origin	Israel
Service history
Wars	Second Intifada Second Lebanon War
Production history
Designer	Israeli Defence Forces Corps of Ordnance
Manufacturer	Israeli Defence Forces Corps of Ordnance
Produced	1988 - Present
Specifications
Weight	44 tonnes
Length	6.20 m
Width	3.60 m
Height	>2 m (estimate)
Crew	3 + 7 passengers

Armor	200 mm
Primary armament	3×7.62mm machine gun, 7.62mm MAG Rafael Overhead Weapon Station
Engine	diesel 850 hp (630 kW)
Power/weight	19 hp/tonne
Suspension	torsion-bar
Speed	km/h

Rear view of an Achzarit

The Achzarit (אכזרית in Hebrew: "cruel", female inflection) is a heavily armored armored personnel carrier manufactured by the Israeli Defence Forces Corps of Ordnance.

1 History
2 Design
3 Operations
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

The Achzarit is based on the Soviet-built T-54/T-55 tank, beginning with those captured from Arab armies during the Arab-Israeli wars. The IDF took the old T-55 tank and removed its turret. The chassis was modified for troop carriage by adding a troop compartment and a rear door. The original Soviet-made water-cooled diesel engine was replaced with a more compact and powerful diesel engine, and other internal systems were upgraded. Reactive armor was installed over the original armored tank chassis. The APC was created in 1988.

[edit] Design

The Achzarit Mk 1 has a 650-hp engine, while the Mk 2 has an 850-hp engine.

It is armed with 7.62 mm machine guns, including one Rafael Overhead Weapons Station, a machine gun controlled from within the cabin, developed by the Israeli Armament Development Authority (Rafael).

As a lesson from the Second Intifada, a bulletproof glass turret was installed over one of the hatches to allow the commander to see outside well without being exposed to sniper fire and shrapnel.

Several Achzarit are equipped with a RAFAEL RCWS armed with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun in place of the standard OWS with its 7.62 mm machine gun.

[edit] Operations

Because of its heavy armor, the Achzarit is sometimes called a heavy APC (HAPC). Achzarit APCs are in service with the IDF Golani Brigade, which operates near the Lebanese border and in the northern part of the West Bank and with part of the IDF Givati Brigade.

Achzarit APCs took part in Operation Rainbow in Rafah, after a comparatively lightly-armored M113 APC was destroyed by an RPG round.