Prologue: The Sequel No One Knew They Didn’t Want
As of writing this essay; my first one on the PT-76 has yet to be posted on my website! But this was too good to just ignore. What is “this” you may be wondering? Is it a boat? Is it a tank? It’s neither! It is…
The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV)!
Chapter 1: Semper Fi
Since the founding of the USMC, their doctrine has been specifically combat on both land and sea; mostly shoreline or coastal combat.
(idk, i know not how marines do marine things)
To aid this doctrine; a number of vehicles are or were used to provide mobility and protection. These range from IFVs like the LAV-25 and light trucks like the Humvee to…
Chapter 2: Floating Shoebox
This abomination is what our subject matter was set to replace. In service since 1972, the AAV was the amphibious landing vehicle that the USMC had traded in their Ducks for. The AAV, unlike the early DUKWs, was armoured and, like the DUKWs in general, could swim!
Come the 1980s though, the AAV was due to be replaced! The reason: “Over The Horizon”…
Basically: the Marines’ landing craft needed to have extended operational range so that the ships deploying them were better protected from shore-batteries and infantry-carried anti-vehicle weaponry. (As we will soon get to; this was not the case anymore)
Chapter 3: General Dynamics’ Spectacular Fuster Cluck
The company that would win the contract from the Marines to build the proposed “Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle” was General Dynamics; the same company that successfully developed the Stryker Armoured Infantry Transport, the Buffalo MRAP and the M1 Abrams. The fruits of GD’s labour was promising… at first… The first prototype was ready in 2006; after GD got the contract in 1996!
Furthermore; the first prototype was a flaming disaster! It had, among other things;
- Leakage issues (a BIG problem for an AMPHIBIOUS vehicle!)
- Electrical failures while in the water
- And the gun was less than adequate (and that was the SMALLEST issue!)
Chapter 4: The Inevitable Obituary
Following the trainwreck that was the first prototype of the EFV; which, for those that are keeping track, is 30 years behind schedule, the skunkworks at General Dynamics went back to redesign the EFV from the ground up. The second prototype, as a result, was a resounding success! “Then why the chapter title?”
Well, in 2009, Undersecretary Of The Navy, Robert O. Work declared that future beachlanding warfare would basically result in either:
- The Marines pulping their obstacles like the UNIT they are
Or
- The ENTIRE UNITED STATES MILITARY pulping their obstacles in the event the Marines are overwhelmed.
This nearly self-aggrandizing comment would be followed by something ACTUALLY impactful to the fate of the USMC Doctrine. With the AAV surviving retirement as a consequence.
Chapter 5: [Saints Row IV Intro Here]
With the advent of the V-1 missile back in WWII, the idea of rocket-propelled munitions has evolved significantly; so much so that the EFV befell a fate similar to the British Super Heavy Tank TOG II; in that it was too little, too late and WAY too expensive to justify continued development. Case and point, in a followup to Robert O. Work’s comment above: Two things were deduced by the Public Interest Research Group and the National Taxpayers Union in a joint report filed soon after. Namely that the EFV was needlessly expensive and the end product thus far was terribly obsolete. As suggested above; a key factor of the EFV’s obsolescence was the humble Ballistic Missile, which endangered not only the EFV itself, but also the ships they were meant to keep out of the line of fire. The EFV project was officially cancelled in 2011 and struck from the 2012 budget. That wouldn’t be the end of the EFV, however…
Chapter 6: Enter The Snail
As of writing, an event is slated to begin on Thursday in the video game, War Thunder, where the EFV is to be released to celebrate the anniversary of the USMC! It’s through War Thunder that I and MANY more people have become savvy to this vehicle at all! And if their handling of the TOG, the UK Super Heavy mentioned above, is anything to go by, then the EFV has a chance to forge its legacy anew! Otherwise, time will tell…
Epilogue: Closing Thoughts
I like the EFV already; haven’t even played with it yet, already like it. Because if one thing is clear about vehicles like the EFV, M103, TOG II and even the Maus, it’s that I somewhat relate to them: failures of their time that have found success in unexpected places. In my case: it’s writing and voice work. In the case of these four tanks and many, MANY other prototype vehicles, failed, incomplete or otherwise: it’s videogames. Sappyness aside (and neither the Maus or TOG being available for purchase anymore), I close this with the humble message: Thanks for reading!
Records of an Aspie 