So, remember how the M113 became very successful to the point of seeing service worldwide for a little over half a century? This vehicle did not get that ending.

This is a prototype model of the M114, but for the sake of me wanting to do the thing I always do and talk about the vehicle and its history, we will be treating it as any other M114. Moving ahead, let's talk about the M114 and how it ended up being a dumpster fire of an AFV while it's boxier sibling got to be a global workhorse for decades.

The M114 was essentially supposed to be a low-profile recon vehicle with amphibious and air-dropabble capabilities. This was further emphasized by it's smaller and sleeker appearance by comparison to the bulkier M113. Apart from appearances and intended roles, the M114 used a gasoline-powered V8 rather than the Detroit Diesel used in the M113, and had a three-man crew (as far as I know it wasn't meant to carry any extra passengers). Main weaponry consisted of the M2HB and stowage space for three LAW anti-tank weapons. A variant of the M114, known as the M114A2, replaced the .50 caliber with a 20mm M139 autocannon, presumably to augment the M114's firepower in situations where the M2 did not provide adequate defense. Another variant existed also, mounting a 106mm (or 105mm if you want to get technical) recoilless rifle that was autoloading-capable; this particular variant never reached mass-production.

Regarding service history, the M114 pretty much debuted alongside the M113 in Vietnam (if you'll notice a recurring pattern here, it's that Vietnam was basically a testing ground for a lot of stuff the Army wanted to try out). Problems already began to show up; the M114 was found to be rather unreliable mechanically-speaking, was underpowered, and did not fare well over cross-country. But perhaps the most glaring issue this vehicle faced was the fact that landmines were VERY bad news for it and the crew; an M113 hitting a mine might result in some casualties, but an M114 hitting a mine basically means 100% fatalities. In just two years, the M114 got pulled from 'Nam and was deemed an absolute failure, though it did continue to see service elsewhere that wasn't Vietnam. Apparently General Abrams wanted this thing taken out of service entirely, but because of budget reasons they couldn't really do that. It wouldn't be until 1979-80 when the last M114 was finally retired from service.

Make no mistake, even if it stayed in service for up to a decade and some spare change, this thing didn't really have much of a career past the debacle that happened over in the jungle. And it's a real shame too since I do like the look of the vehicle. It's the design turned out to be very flawed in practice, even if it started off sound on paper. As it were, the M114 is something of an anomaly to me on account of that very reason: it looks like it should work just fine for the role it was given, and perhaps maybe that was true, but practice showed a different picture and what we ended up with was a vehicle that was a death trap for the crew if you drove over a landmine.

Anyways, been a while. Still have a lot to post. In the meantime, take pity upon this poor aluminum box.