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The lack of side firing ports on this vehicle identifies it as a cavalry fighting vehicle M3, and the periscopes in the rear roof hatch further specify it as an M3A1. The coaxial machine gun is covered by a barrel shroud, and the large trim vane is present on the vehicle's bow. The vehicle commander is on the turret's right side, and the gunner is opposite the commander, behind the armored boxes containing the sights. The TOW missile launcher is stowed on the turret's left side. (Picture taken 8 Jun 1983 by LCPL Contreras; available from the Defense Visual Information Center.)
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The side skirts on this vehicle have been raised, and details of the suspension are visible. The two single and one dual return rollers can be seen, as well as placement of the forward shock absorbers.
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The mounting of the coaxial M240C machine gun can be seen in this view. The expended casing chutes for the Bushmaster gun are also visible.
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The vehicle's transmission can be seen here. The engine is behind the transmission, to the right of the driver.
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The upgraded armor first seen on the M3A2 Bradley replaced the trim vane on the front hull. The spaced armor track skirts are also visible in this head-on view. The coaxial machine gun lacks the barrel shroud present on earlier models. The driver's hatch is open on this vehicle, and the positioning of his four hatch periscopes can be seen. The commander's independent thermal viewer is mounted on the turret's right rear.
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The troop compartment hatch is open on this vehicle. The four periscopes common since the M3A1 can be seen in the hatch. The CITV mount is visible on this side of the turret, and mounting points for applique passive or reactive armor are found on the vehicle's side skirts.
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The twin TOW missile launcher is seen here raised to the firing position. The plate that covers the front of the launcher falls due to gravity when the device is raised. Details of the diver's hatch and additional turret armor can be seen. The armored flaps for the gunner's sights are also open.
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Further details of the erected missile launcher can be seen in this view. The launcher is raised electrically, and has its own elevation mechanism to give a total vertical field of fire of 48°.
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The commander's independent thermal viewer is rotated down for stowage here. When in use, this device allows the Bradley commander to search for targets while the gunner is engaging the enemy. An antenna guard is present on the side of the turret, and more details of the periscope placement in the rear hatch are visible.
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This view into the troop compartment shows the results of the restowage that was intended to reduce the vehicle's vulnerability. The scouts have a bench along the left of the hull (compared with a front- and rear-facing seat in earlier vehicles). Access to the turret is visible, and the driver's position is accessible from the rear compartment via the tunnel that is formed between the turret and the left side of the hull. Access to floor ammunition stowage is also visible.
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A closer view of the scouts' bench seat is presented here. A hose for air filtration is stowed above the seat, two fire extinguishers are on the upper shelf with the filtration masks, and a black clip for an M16 rifle is visible near the front of the shelf. The small tunnel to the driver's compartment can be seen to the front of the vehicle.
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A stowage rack for TOW and Javelin antitank missiles is opposite the scouts' bench. Stowage was changed to accomodate the Javelin upon its acceptance, replacing that for the earlier Dragon missile. The label by the black knob reads: "FUEL FILLER COMBAT LOCK. PULL TO LOCK."
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The driver's position is illustrated here, looking down into his hatch. The large door to the driver's rear contains gun tools and spare parts, and a pump handle. The large placard on the door to the driver's right contains instructions on starting the vehicle, as well as for swimming and fording water obstacles. The shift pattern is ilustrated on the black shifter housing, and the yellow sticker on this housing gives instructions on the parking brake release method. The switch box placed behind the driver by the turret basket is for fan control. The additional armor protection on the hull is obvious to the right of the hatch.
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This blurry shot shows the front of the driver's compartment. The steering yoke is front and center, and the gauge above this is the speedometer. The three indicator lights to the speedometer's right warn the driver of, from top to bottom, unusual transmission oil pressure, high transmission oil temperature, and a clogged fuel filter. The transmission selector is to the right of the steering yoke, and has markings for reverse, pivot, drive, and low gear ranges. The meshed accelerator pedal is placed at the driver's right foot, the green brake pedal is to the left of the accelerator, and there is stowage for a pamphlet bag beside the driver's right leg.
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The gunner's instruments and controls are visible in this picture. The gun control cadillacs are in the center of the picture, below the sighting periscope housing. The day sight of the IBAS is on the right, while the gunner's night sight is under the browpad. The black-handled knob to the right of the periscope housings is for opening the protective flaps for the sights and laser rangefinder. As illustrated on the meshed center panel, pivoting the handle down to the vertical position closes the doors. The gunner's seat is visible in the lower left of the picture, and his hatch can be seen in the turret roof.
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The Bradley commander sits just to the gunner's right. The turret control box seen on the left of the picture is the same one that was to the right in the picture of the gunner's station above. The screen serves as the commander's thermal viewer, as well as information displays which can be transmitted digitally to or from other units. The commander's override handle is visible on the right side of the turret. The controls below the commander's information screen are for, left to right: stowage of the CITV; adjusting the autotrack feature and gaze size of the IBAS; adjusting the RBD display, and below this selecting whether the laser rangefinder uses the first or last return; and adjusting the mode, polarity, zoom level, etc., of the CITV. Two periscopes can be seen in the turret roof.
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© Copyright 2006-07 Chris Conners