M3 Amphibious Rig

Predecessors: the Gillois and the M2

The idea of a self-propelled vehicle that could also form part of a floating bridge came from the French engineer officer Jean Gillois, who conceived it at the end of World War II ^[7]. In 1955 a contract was signed with Eisenwerke Kaiserslautern (EWK) in West Germany to build his design, and the Gillois served with the French Army from 1963 to 1997, with about 250 built for France ^[6][7]. Small numbers were also used by West Germany, a US Army engineer company and a British field squadron, and Israel used Gillois rafts to cross the Suez Canal in 1973 ^[7].

In 1958 the West German army asked industry for an aluminum amphibious bridge vehicle, and EWK's design, the M2, was chosen over a rival from MAN and Krupp ^[6][8]. The Bundeswehr received M2s from 1967, and the type also served with the British and Singapore armies ^[6][8]. Sources give 235 M2s built, either in total or for the Bundeswehr alone ^[6][8]. The M2 needed a crew of four, and ferrying a Class 70 tracked vehicle took two M2s plus extra buoyancy bags ^[2][8].

Development and service

EWK developed the M3 between 1982 and 1992 and unveiled it in 1992 ^[1][2]. The British and German armies ordered a first batch of 64 in 1994, and the M3 entered service in 1996 ^[1][2]. EWK was taken over by General Dynamics in 2002 and is now part of General Dynamics European Land Systems ^[1][2].

British M3s saw combat in Iraq in 2003. From 25 March the Royal Engineers' 23 Amphibious Engineer Squadron ferried elements of 3 Commando Brigade across the Shatt al-Basrah waterway, and M3s later carried AS90 self-propelled guns across water near the Rumaila oil fields ^[1]. During NATO's Anakonda exercise in 2016, M3s formed a 350 m (1,150 ft) bridge across the Vistula River in Poland, described as the longest M3 bridge built ^[4].

Germany and the United Kingdom operate their M3s together in the binational Engineer Bridge Battalion 130 at Minden, which had 30 German and 10 British vehicles in 2025 ^[3]. Other users include Singapore and Taiwan, which use an armored version called the M3G, as well as Indonesia, Latvia and Sweden, which calls it Amfibiebro 400 and placed its first order in 2022 ^[1][2][4][5]. South Korea planned a fleet of 110 vehicles adapted with Hanwha, which would make it the largest user, and the Netherlands supplied six to Ukraine in 2023 ^[1][4].

Design and how it works

On the road the M3 is a large 4x4 vehicle with four-wheel steering, about 13 m (42 ft 9 in) long, with two aluminum side pontoons folded over its hull ^[1][2]. At the water the crew of three swings the pontoons out, widening the vehicle from 3.35 m (11 ft) to 6.57 m (21 ft 7 in), and two pump jets that swivel through 360 degrees drive and steer it at up to 14 km/h (9 mph) unladen ^[1][2].

Each vehicle carries ramps. One two-bay M3 can ferry a Class 70 tracked vehicle, and eight vehicles with 24 soldiers can build a 100 m (330 ft) bridge for main battle tanks in about 15 minutes ^[1][2][5]. On land the M3 reaches 80 km/h (50 mph) and has a range of 750 km (466 miles) ^[1][2].

Successor

In October 2025 the German parliament's budget committee approved the M3 EVO as the successor under the Schwimmschnellbrücke 2 program, with 66 vehicles planned by 2036 at a projected cost of about 488 million euros ^[3]. The current M3 reaches the end of its service life in 2035, and the M3 EVO is planned for both Germany and the United Kingdom ^[1][3].

Related entries

• Alvis StalwartMilitary amphibians · 1963 to 1993
• PT-76Military amphibians · 1951 to present
• BAV-485Military amphibians · 1952 to 1962 (production)
• How amphibious vehicles workHow it works ·