M113A2 Firefighting Vehicle
Open-knowledge reference entry
The M113A2 Firefighting Vehicle was a US Army prototype of a M113 armoured personnel carrier (APC) modified to carry a system for dispensing fire suppressant liquid to combat petrochemical fires encountered on the battlefield. Only one vehicle was built and the system did not go into production.
Overview
Following the 1990-1991 Gulf War where the coalition forces experienced difficulties travelling through Kuwaiti oil fields after the retreating Iraqi army set fire to the well heads, the US Army Material Command (AMC) and Tank Automotive Command (TACOM) initiated a project to produce and evaluate an armoured vehicle specifically designed to combat large hydrocarbon and petrochemical fires typically encountered on the battlefield.
The M113A2, a modernised version of the ubiquitous M113 APC which has been in service with US military forces since the early 1960s, was chosen as a platform for the project, as its expansive interior was considered ideal for mounting a self-contained firefighting system, and its armour would provide the crew with protection not only from fires but also from enemy weapons fire.
The vehicle was not expected to put the whole fire out; instead, its purpose was to create a temporary "fire lane" through which other vehicles and troops could pass. Instead of just water, the system would employ fire suppressant liquid which would temporarily prevent the burning petroleum products from re-igniting; five to six minutes was considered optimal "burnback" time.
Design
An M113A2 was modified to carry an Amerex Corporation fire suppression system, mounted on a removal skid to be located in the vehicle's rear cargo space, which could be fitted or removed by a forklift after minimal modifications to the vehicle.
Welded to the skid was a tank which could hold 250 US gallons (946 litres) of mixed water/fire suppressant, to be delivered to an externally mounted deluge gun at between 200 and 240 psi. The tank was fitted with a 4" (101.6mm) cap on the top for easy refilling and a drainage valve was located on the bottom. The fire suppressant liquid was pressurised by two 220 cubic foot (6.23 m3) nitrogen or compressed air cylinders operating at 2,000 psi, which would deliver the suppressant at 150 to 200 gallons per minute.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “M113A2 Firefighting Vehicle” is open-knowledge reference entry. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through M113A2, Firefighting and Vehicle, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “open-knowledge reference entry” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 17, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q105563421. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1990 and 1991.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “M113A2 Firefighting Vehicle”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow M113A2 Firefighting Vehicle primary sources, M113A2 Firefighting Vehicle archive and M113A2 research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “M113A2 Firefighting Vehicle”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “M113A2 Firefighting Vehicle” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.