War engines have been built and used since the ancient Chinese and Greek armies took to the field thousands of years ago. These mobile weapons were designed and used in hundreds of campaigns past, present and future. The one thing they all had in common was the fact that they were all designed to be as fast, simple and hard hitting as possible. One of the more funky war engines of the 20th century that fits this bill well was the French made TAP – the Troupes Aeról Portées Mle 56 (Aerial Troop Carrier model of 1956). Military collectors have dubbed it by its better known name as the "Bazooka Vespa"
The Italian made Vespa motor scooter took Europe by storm in the early 1950s and was subsequently made under license in many countries. In France the Vespa model 150 was assembled by ACMA and sold commercially. They offered the simple and economical machine to the French Army for testing in hope of a contract. The offer was accepted and nearly 2000 of the Vespa scooters were accepted from 1956-59 in three different models. One was a basic scooter to be used for general purposes, one was to carry a 81mm mortar and its rounds, and the third carried a six-foot-long US made M-20 75mm recoilless rifle. Each of the models used the same basic frame, 11hp air-cooled 250cc two-stroke gas/oil mix engine, three-speed transmission, 8-inch wheels, and could travel at speeds up to 60mph (100kph) for 200 kilometers before having to refuel.
In operation five parachutes would drop two scooters, a recoilless rifle, 16 twenty pound rounds of ammunition and two paratroopers. On the ground they paratroopers would load the rifle on one scooter with six rounds, the other ten rounds on the second scooter and cruise away into combat like a well armed tourist in a post-apocalypse Rome. The Vespa’s M20 recoilless rifle had a range of 6900 meters and penetrate the armor of a Soviet T34, the most common tank of the day. These military scooters were used with French Parachute units in the Suez campaign, Indochina (after the end of direct fighting but before the eventual French withdrawal in 1957), combat in Algeria (until 1962) and cold war service with NATO facing down the potential Soviet threat to Western Europe. The Vespa was phased out by the mid 1970s and replaced by larger vehicles.
They have become immensely collectible and are coveted by military museums, eccentric collectors and Vespa fans the world over.
Sources -
Jorgenson, Dana Big Bang Ricochet 023: France’s Troupes Aeról Portées 2003 Alternative Realities Publications ATN-11023
Vespa Company Vespa Tecnica Vol. 4 1964
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