The M113’s story begins in the late 1950s when FMC Corporation set out to build a lightweight, air-transportable personnel carrier. By 1960 the aluminum-hulled M113 rolled off the line, trading heavy steel for enough armor to stop small-arms fire while keeping weight down for airlift and even basic amphibious ops.In 1961 the U.S. Army in Europe began swapping M59s for M113s, and by April 1962 South Vietnamese units under MACV were using them in combat. In Vietnam the M113—and its gun-toting ACAV (Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle) upgrade—proved invaluable for hacking through dense jungle, ferrying infantry into hot landing zones and shrugging off ambushes that would have shredded unarmored trucks.Back home, the M113 spawned a family of variants—ambulances, mortar carriers, engineer vehicles and command posts—that together now make up roughly half of all U.S. Army armored vehicles. By the 1980s Bradleys took over front-line roles, but thousands of M113s soldiered on in support tasks, while allied armies worldwide adopted their own versions—over 80 000 in more than 50 nations.Production ran until 2007, after which the U.S. launched the AMPV program and picked a turretless Bradley variant to replace 2 800 M113s. Yet the aging carrier still fights on—in Israel’s armored divisions, in training units and with countless armies that value its simple reliability. From jungle trails to parade grounds, the M113’s aluminum hull and endless adaptability have cemented its place as one of history’s most enduring armored vehicles.