Chaimite

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A Portuguese Army Chaimite in Bosnia with a U.S. Army helicopter

Chaimite is an armored vehicle built by the Portuguese company Bravia and used by the Portuguese Army in the colonial war in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau, 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 had an 11 man capacity and was armed with one .50 Browning heavy machine-gun, while the VBPM 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 90 km/h (55 mph).

[edit] Versions

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: heavy fire support with 90 mm gun
V-400: light fire support with 20 mm cannon
V-500: anti-tank with Swingfire or HOT missile launcher
V-600: mortar carrier with 81 mm or 120 mm mortars
V-700: ambulance
V-800: communications and command vehicle
V-900: armoured recovery vehicle
V-1000: anti-riot with water cannon

[edit] Users

The main user of the Chaimite is the Portuguese Army, with the V-200 and V-600 versions in service. The V-500 with SS-11 missiles was in service in the 1980s but is no longer used. The Chaimite was also in service with the Portuguese Marines from the late 1960s to the early 1980s.