MAP75 armoured personnel carrier

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The MAP75 armoured personnel carrier, or MAP 'seven five', is a Rhodesian 4x4 heavy troop carrier first built in 1978. It’s based on a modified Mercedes-Benz 7.5-ton truck chassis and was later adapted from the Crocodile APC. The vehicle has an all-welded, enclosed troop compartment, built from 10 mm mild steel, with bulletproof glass in the windscreen and side windows. It was designed to protect troops from small arms fire and mines, featuring a reinforced flat deck with a v-shaped crush box to deflect blasts. Early versions used shorter roll bars, which limited crew movement, but Zimbabwean updates later raised the bars for more space and safety. Access is via two rear doors and side hatches for quick debussing.

Crew is 2 plus up to 16 passengers. Armament varied: early Rhodesian models commonly used a FN MAG-58 7.62 mm light machine gun, sometimes on a one-man turret; convoy-protection vehicles had a dustbin-style open turret, and there were twin pintle mounts behind the driver. After 1980, Zimbabwean versions often carried Soviet 12.7 mm or 14.5 mm heavy machine guns.

Power comes from a 6-cylinder Benz diesel engine (about 130 hp), giving a top speed around 80 km/h and a range of roughly 600–700 km. The MAP75 served with Rhodesian forces in Fireforce operations and cross-border raids during the Rhodesian Bush War. After independence in 1980, it joined the Zimbabwe National Army, taking part in battles at Entumbane in 1980–81 and later actions against ZIPRA and ZAPU. It also guarded the Mutare–Beira oil pipeline during the Mozambican Civil War (1982–1993) and served with Zimbabwean forces in the Second Congo War (1998–2002).