| Bravia Chaimite | |
|---|---|
 Chaimite in Bosnia | |
| Type | Light Armoured Vehicle |
| Place of origin |  Portugal
|
| Service history | |
| In service | 1967-Present |
| Used by | See Operators |
| Wars | Portuguese Colonial War
Lebanese Civil War |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Bravia |
| Number built | over 600 |
| Variants | See Variants |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 6.800 to 8500 kg |
| Length | 5.6 m |
| Width | 2.26 m |
| Height | 2.39 m |
| Crew | 1+10 |
| Armor | up to 7.62 mm |
| Primary armament |
depend of variant |
| Secondary armament |
depend of variant |
| Engine | diesel engine 155 hp (115 kW) at 3300 rpm |
| Payload capacity | 804 kg |
| Transmission | automatic gear |
| Operational range |
804 km |
| Speed | 99 km/h (62 mph) 4.8 km/h on water |
The Bravia Chaimite is an armored vehicle built by the Portuguese company Bravia and used by the Portuguese Army in the Portuguese colonial wars in Angola, Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea, from 1967 to 1974 when it ended.
There were two versions of the Chaimite, the VBTP V-200 and the VBPM V-600. The VBTP, (Viatura Blindada de Transporte de Pessoal, Armoured Personnel Transport Vehicle), had an 11-man capacity and was armed with one .50 Browning heavy machine-gun, while the VBPM, (in Portuguese, armoured mortar carrier), had only a 4-man capacity and was armed with one Browning .30 heavy machine-gun and one 81 mm mortar. These vehicles had diesel engines with 155 hp (115 kW) at 3300 rpm with automatic gear capable of taking on speeds to a maximum of 99 km/h (62 mph). The armour of this APC was capable of defeating rounds up to 7.62 mm NATO.
The Chaimite is now being gradually phased out of Portuguese Army service and replaced by the Austrian Pandur II 8x8 APC.
Variants[]
- V-200: armoured personnel carrier
- V-200 Armada 60: special variant for the Portuguese Marines of the V-200 armed with a multiple 60 mm rocket launcher
- V-300: light fire support with 7.62 NATO to 20 mm gun
- V-400: heavy fire support with 90 mm gun
- V-500: communications and command vehicle
- V-600: mortar carrier with 81 mm or 120 mm mortars
- V-700: anti-tank with Swingfire or HOT missile launcher
- V-800: ambulance
- V-900: armoured recovery vehicle
- V-1000: anti-riot with water cannon
Operators[]
- Portugal: Portuguese Army & Portuguese Marine Corps - 80 being retired from service.
Palestine: Palestinian Liberation Organization - 1 supplied by Lybia, captured by the Israeli Defense Forces at the Beqaa valley in 1982[1].- Peru: Peruvian Marines - 32
- Philippines - 20
- Lebanon: Internal Security Forces - 30, with a few passed on to the Guardians of the Cedars in 1976[2].
- Libya: Presidential Guard - 16
See also[]
- Battle of the Hotels
- Bravia Commando MK III APC
Pop culture[]
The Chaimite made some major film appearances, notably in the 1993 movie The House of Spirits, portraying Chilean Army APCs in action during the September 1973 military Coup and in the 2002 movie The Dancer Upstairs, again in the colours of an undisclosed Latin American Army. It was also featured in the 2000 film April Captains, set in during the Portuguese Carnation Revolution of April 1974.
References[]
|
This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Bravia Chaimite. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Tractor & Construction Plant Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons by Attribution License and/or GNU Free Documentation License. Please check page history for when the original article was copied to Wikia |
- ↑ http://www.ecsbdefesa.com.br/fts/Chaimite
- ↑ http://milinme.wordpress.com/category/v-200-chaimite – An ex-ISF V-200 Chaimite employed by the Guardians of the Cedar pictured at Houche-el-Oumara during the Battle for Zahle, April–June 1981.
- Christopher F. Foss, Jane's Tank and Combat Vehicle Recognition Guide, HarperCollins Publishers, London 2002. ISBN 0-00-712759-6