page_title: M60 AVLB
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: M60 AVLB / Design / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Soldiers from the Idaho Army National Guard's 116th Engineer Battalion and the U.S. Army Reserve's 321st Engineer Battalion conducted a live-fire M58 Mine Clearing Line Charge (MICLIC) range June 13, 2018, at the Orchard Combat Training Center, Boise, Idaho
context_page_description: The M60 AVLB is an armored vehicle based on the M60 Patton main battle tank's hull and used for the launching and retrieval of a 60-foot scissors-type bridge. The AVLB consists of three major sections: the launcher, the vehicle hull, and the bridge. The M60 AVLB or Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge was introduced in 1963. This combat engineer vehicle was developed by the US Army Engineer Research & Development Laboratories under contract with General Dynamics to replace the previous M48 AVLB. It was designed to launch bridge for tanks and other wheeled combat vehicles across trenches and water obstacles in combat conditions. A total of 400 armored bridge launchers and bridges were built. 125 M60 AVLBs of all variants were constructed.
context_section_description: The M60 AVLB is based on the M60 or the M60A1 hulls. Initial construction of the M60 AVLB was from 1963 to 1967. Most of the hulls for the M60A1 AVLB were former M60A2 Pattons converted to AVLBs from 1987 to 1996. All AVLBs were constructed at the Anniston Army Depot, Alabama under contract with General Dynamics Land Systems. The driver and commander are seated side by side in what would normally be the turret ring. Instead of a turret, launching equipment for a scissor bridge is fitted. The scissor bridge is carried in folded position on top of the chassis and the hydraulics for the launcher installed in the former driver's compartment. It is launched towards the front by means of a hydraulic launching arm. The driver has controls to launch and retrieve the bridge. The launching arm features a large bar that features as an outrigger during emplacement.  After assault force vehicles have passed over the bridge, the AVLB can cross over, pick up the bridge on the far bank and continue along in support of assault forces. It can produce a limited smokescreen by dumping raw diesel fuel into the exhaust system to visually obscure the area around the vehicle.  The smokescreen does not provide protection against infrared, thermal or laser detection. The vehicle does not provide full NBC protection to the crew.
  The vehicle itself is unarmed; however, the crewmembers are typically armed with assault rifles (M16 or M4), pistols, flares, and/or colored smoke grenades. The M60 AVLM carries up to 2 M58 Mine Clearing Line Charges mounted on the vehicle. The system consists of an M147 firing kit, an M58A3 line charge and a 5-inch MK22 Mod 4 rocket. The line charge is 350 feet long and contains 5 pounds per linear foot of C-4 explosive. In the event a MICLIC fails to detonate normally, it can be manually activated by time-delay fuses every few feet along the length of it. The modification of the AVLB into an AVLM is a temporary expedient, to employ the system the vehicle cannot be carrying a bridge.
caption: M60 AVLMs of Idaho Army National Guard firing M58 MICLIC
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