Bravia Chaimite

Bravia Chaimite
Chaimite in Bosnia
Type	Light Armoured Vehicle
Place of origin	Portugal
Service history
In service	1967-Present
Used by	See Operators
Wars	Portuguese Colonial War Lebanese Civil War
Production history
Manufacturer	Bravia
Number built	over 600
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Weight	6.800 to 8500 kg
Length	5.6 m
Width	2.26 m
Height	2.39 m
Crew	1+10
Armor	up to 7.62 mm
Main armament	depend of variant
Secondary armament	depend of variant
Engine	diesel engine 155 hp (115 kW) at 3300 rpm
Payload capacity	804 kg
Transmission	automatic gear
Operational range	804 km
Speed	99 km/h (62 mph) 4.8 km/h on water

The Bravia Chaimite is an armored vehicle built by the Portuguese company Bravia and used by the Portuguese Army in the Portuguese colonial wars in Angola, Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea, from 1967 to 1974 when it ended.

There were two versions of the Chaimite, the VBTP V-200 and the VBPM V-600. The VBTP, (Viatura Blindada de Transporte de Pessoal, Armoured Personnel Transport Vehicle), had an 11-man capacity and was armed with one .50 Browning heavy machine-gun, while the VBPM, (in Portuguese, armoured mortar carrier), had only a 4-man capacity and was armed with one Browning .30 heavy machine-gun and one 81 mm mortar. These vehicles had diesel engines with 155 hp (115 kW) at 3300 rpm with automatic gear capable of taking on speeds to a maximum of 99 km/h (62 mph). The armour of this APC was capable of defeating rounds up to 7.62 mm NATO.

The Chaimite is now being gradually phased out of Portuguese Army service and replaced by the Austrian Pandur II 8x8 APC.

Variants

• V-200: armoured personnel carrier
• V-200 Armada 60: special variant for the Portuguese Marines of the V-200 armed with a multiple 60 mm rocket launcher
• V-300: light fire support with 7.62 NATO to 20 mm gun
• V-400: heavy fire support with 90 mm gun
• V-500: communications and command vehicle
• V-600: mortar carrier with 81 mm or 120 mm mortars
• V-700: anti-tank with Swingfire or HOT missile launcher
• V-800: ambulance
• V-900: armoured recovery vehicle
• V-1000: anti-riot with water cannon

Operators

•  Portugal: Portuguese Army & Portuguese Marine Corps - 80 being retired from service.
•  Palestine: Palestinian Liberation Organization - 1 supplied by Libya, captured by the Israeli Defense Forces at the Beqaa valley in 1982^[1].
•  Peru: Peruvian Marines - 32
•  Philippines - Philippine Army & Philippine Marine Corps - 40
•  Lebanon: Internal Security Forces - 30, with a few passed on to the Guardians of the Cedars in 1976^[2].
•  Libya: Presidential Guard - 16

Pop culture

The Chaimite made some major film appearances, notably in the 1993 movie The House of Spirits, portraying Chilean Army APCs in action during the September 1973 military Coup and in the 2002 movie The Dancer Upstairs, again in the colours of an undisclosed Latin American Army. It was also featured in the 2000 film April Captains, set in during the Portuguese Carnation Revolution of April 1974.

See also

• Battle of the Hotels
• Bravia Commando MK III APC

Notes

1. ^ http://www.ecsbdefesa.com.br/fts/Chaimite
2. ^ http://milinme.wordpress.com/category/v-200-chaimite – An ex-ISF V-200 Chaimite employed by the Guardians of the Cedar pictured at Houche-el-Oumara during the Battle for Zahle, April–June 1981.

References

• Christopher F. Foss, Jane's Tank and Combat Vehicle Recognition Guide, HarperCollins Publishers, London 2002. ISBN 0-00-712759-6
• CHAIMITE V-200, by Miguel Silva Machado in "Operacional"