M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle

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M728 CEV (Combat Engineer Vehicle)
M782 CEV (Combat Engineer Vehicle)
General characteristics
Crew	4 (Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver)
Length	8.83 m
Width	3.7 m
Height	3.3 m
Weight	52.2 tonnes
Armour and armament
Armour	13 - 143 mm
Main armament	165 mm M135 Gun 30 rounds
Secondary armament	.50 cal M85 machine gun 600 rounds 7.62 mm M73 machine gun 2,000 rounds
Mobility
Power plant	Continental AVDS-1790-2; 12 cylinder, turbocharged diesel 750 hp (560 kW)
Suspension	Torsion bar
Road speed	48 km/h
Power/weight	13.2 hp/tonne
Range	450 km

The M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle was based on an M60A1 Patton MBT (Main Battle Tank) chassis with a hydraulically operated dozer blade mounted on the front, an A-frame crane hinged on each side of the turret and a winch. The vehicle can also be equipped with a mine clearing rake. The armament was changed from using the 105 mm M68 rifled tank gun used on the standard M60/A1/A3, to use an M135 165 mm short-barrelled demolition gun with 30 rounds of HEP (High Explosive, Plastic) ammunition, it is a license built copy of the 165 mm L9A1 gun that was used on the British Army's FV4003 Centurion Mk.5 AVRE (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers) tank. It is also armed with a coaxial 7.62 × 51 mm NATO M73 machine gun, with 2,000 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition, as well as a .50 cal M85 machine gun mounted on the commander's cupola, with 600 rounds of ammunition.

291 units were produced, the M728 was first deployed in 1965 during the Vietnam War. It was also used in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm in (1990-1991). The vehicle was found to be too slow to keep pace with newer armored vehicles such as the M1 Abrams tank and from 2000 is not used by active duty units. The M728 was also deployed in the Siege of Waco, Texas where it perhaps became most closely associated with as it was caught in dramatic fashion on video tape.[1]