M578 light recovery vehicle


The M578 light recovery vehicle was an American Cold War-era armored recovery vehicle. The M578 utilized the same chassis as the M107 self-propelled gun and M110 self-propelled howitzer. The M578 provided maintenance support to mechanized infantry and artillery units. Its primary mission was to recover damaged light armored vehicles from the battlefield using its crane boom.

Operation

The cab could rotate 360°, and had a 30,000 lb capacity winch which ran through a crane on the cab. Another winch, 60,000 lb capacity, was mounted on the front of the cab. Access to the cab was through a door on each side and by double doors in the rear, while the crane operator and rigger both had vision cupolas in the cab roof.

Users