The following information has been copied from Jane’s Light Tanks and Armoured Cars 1984 by Christopher F. Foss. It is posted here for educational purposes:



OTO Melara OTO R3 Capraia Reconnaissance Vehicle



Development

The OTO R3 reconnaissance vehicle has been developed as a private venture by OTO Melara and the prototype was shown for the first time at the 1982 Italian Naval Exhibition held in Genoa.

The lower part of the body, engine and mechanical groups are the same as on the special task vehicle Gorgona. Two versions have so far been developed; a scout/reconnaissance vehicle which has a four-man crew and an armoured personnel carrier which has a five-man crew including the commander and driver.



Description

The hull of the OTO R3 is of all-welded aluminium armour construction with a maximum thickness of 32 mm which provides the crew with complete protection from small arms fire (7.62 mm NATO) and shell splinters.

The driver is seated at the front of the vehicle with a single-piece hatch cover above his position that opens to the left. To his immediate front are five vision blocks each with a wiper which give excellent observation to his front and sides.

The commander is seated to the rear of the driver, offset to the right and has a single-piece hatch cover that opens to the rear and six periscopes for all-round observation.

The armament is mounted to the rear of the commander’s position and the following installations are currently being offered by OTO Melara:



T 12.7 FA

This consists of an externally-mounted 12.7 mm M2 HB machine gun provided with 100 rounds of ready use ammunition. The turret, which consists of the carriage, machine gun, sighting system, power drives and ammunition weighs 120 kg. Turret traverse is a full 360 degrees at a speed of 60 degrees a second, with elevation being from -10 degrees to +50 degrees at a speed of 40 degrees a second. The gunner has a sight with a magnification of ×1.5 and ×5.



T 7.62 FA

This consists of an externally-mounted 7.62 mm machine gun provided with 80 rounds of ready use ammunition. The turret, which consists of the carriage, machine gun, sighting system, power drives and ready use ammunition weighs 180 kg. Turret traverse is a full 360 degrees at a speed of 60 degrees a second, with elevation being from -10 degrees to +25 degrees at a speed of 40 degrees a second. The gunner has a sight with a magnification of ×1.



T 20 FA-HS

This turret is fitted with an externally-mounted Oerlikon KAD-B17 20 mm cannon which is provided with 120 rounds of ready use ammunition. The turret, which consists of the carriage, armament, sighting system, power drives and ready use ammunition, weighs about 450 kg. Turret traverse is a full 360 degrees at a speed of 45 degrees a second, with elevation being from -10 to +60 degrees at a speed of 30 degrees a second. The gunner has a sight with a magnification of ×1.5 and ×5.



Folgore ×2 FA

This turret is armed with two Breda Folgore anti-tank launchers with a 7.62 mm machine gun being mounted slightly above and between the weapons. Each launcher has one missile in the ready-to-launch position with the machine gun having 80 rounds of ready use ammunition. The turret, which consists of the weapons, ready use ammunition, carriage, sighting system and power drives, weighs 150 kg. The turret can be traversed through a full 360 degrees at a speed of 30 degrees a second and the weapons can be elevated from -7 to + 10 degrees at a speed of 5 degrees a second. The gunner has a sight with a magnification of ×1.5 and ×5.



T 106 ×2 FA

This turret is armed with two externally-mounted 106 mm M40 type recoilless rifles and consists of the carriage, armament, sighting system, power drives and two rounds of ready use ammunition, weighing a total of 550 kg. The turret can be traversed through a full 360 degrees at a speed of 30 degrees a second and elevated from -7 to + 10 degrees at a speed of 5 degrees a second. The gunner has a sight with a magnification of ×1.5 and ×5.



TOW turret

This has an externally-mounted launcher for a Hughes TOW ATGW system which can be traversed through a full 360 degrees and elevated from -7 to +10 degrees. The turret, which consists of the carriage, launcher, sighting system and ammunition, weighs 150 kg.



In the roof of the R3, to the rear and either side of the armament installation are two periscopes that give observation to the front of the vehicle; a further two periscopes are mounted in the very rear to give rearward observation.

There is an entry door in each side of the hull with two vision blocks being provided in the left and one in the right side of the hull. Under the forward vision block, which is to the left of the vehicle commander, is a circular firing port.

The power plant is installed in the rear of the vehicle and includes the engine, automatic transmission and transfer case. The automatic transmission is coupled to the two-speed transfer case which permanently drives the front and rear wheels through a controlled differential. The cooling system consists of two radiators installed in the rear of the vehicle cooled by two fan-air conveyor units driven by the engine through V-belts and thermostatic devices. Engine oil is cooled by a heat exchanger. The electric system is powered at 24 V by a 1200 NV generator through two 90 Ah batteries.

The vehicle is fully amphibious being propelled in the water by two water jets mounted at the hull rear.

Standard equipment includes run-flat tyres, air conditioning, servo-assisted steering with the steering wheel being adjustable in height, heating and ventilation system and a front-mounted electrically operated winch with a capacity of 2000 kg.

Optional equipment includes air pressurisation with filtering system and infra-red or passive night vision equipment.



Variants

There are no variants apart from the different armament installations mentioned previously.



SPECIFICATIONS



CREW 4 or 5 (depending on role)

CONFIGURATION 4 × 4

COMBAT WEIGHT 3200 kg

MAXIMUM PERMITTED WEIGHT 3500 kg

POWER-TO-WEIGHT RATIO 29.68 bhp/tonne (at weight of 3200 kg)

LENGTH 4.86 m

WIDTH 1.78 m

HEIGHT (to hull top) 1.55 m

GROUND CLEARANCE 0.35 m

TRACK (front) 1.418 m (rear) 1.45 m

WHEELBASE 2.5 m

ANGLE OF APPROACH/DEPARTURE 40°/40°

MAX ROAD SPEED (forwards) 120 km/h

MAX WATER SPEED 6 km/h

RANGE 500 km

FORDING amphibious

GRADIENT 75%

SIDE SLOPE 40%

TURNING RADIUS 5.5 m

ENGINE FIAT model 8144.81.200 4-cylinder water-cooled supercharged diesel developing 95 hp at 4200 rpm

TRANSMISSION OTR 6 automatic, 4 forward and 1 reverse gears (or S5/18 manual with 5 forward and 1 reverse gears)

TRANSFER CASE 2-speed

STEERING servo-assisted

SUSPENSION TYPE independent, McPhearson type with longitudinal torsion bars

TYRES 7.50 × 16

BRAKES servo-assisted dual hydraulic circuit, acting on front disc brakes and on rear drum brakes. Parking brake acts on rear brakes

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 24 V

BATTERIES 2 × 12 V, 90 Ah



Status: Prototype.



Manufacturer: OTO Melara, via Valdilocchi 15, 19 100 La Spezia, Italy.



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Prototype of OTO R3 reconnaissance vehicle being tested. Prototype has different vision blocks to that anticipated in production vehicles



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Driver's position in OTO R3 reconnaissance vehicle looking forward



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OTO R3 reconnaissance vehicle with T 20 FA-HS turret



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OTO R3 reconnaissance vehicle fitted with T 20 FA-HS turret armed with 20 mm cannon



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OTO R3 reconnaissance vehicle from rear fitted with T 20 FA-HS turret armed with 20 mm cannon