IDF M113 1973 Versus 1982

I’ve seen pictures of M113’s in 1982 Lebanon, and they look the same as those from 1973. Or are there differences I failed to see?

Yes, long ago I thought of doing a Merkava for 1982 Lebanon, but those were comparatively rare while other tanks were more common, and a smaller M113 would fit better into a urban landscape.

In the initial phase of the three year war they were largely the same, although some examples seen in Beirut were already equipped with cage armor. More sophisticated spaced-armor variants started to appear from '83.

True, Magachs and Shots outnumbered Merkavas more than 4:1 during the opening phases of the 82 war. Nevertheless, at least five armored battalions (I know of) equipped with Merkavas participated in the invasion.

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Thanks for the info. I should mention that Merkavas would probably have been impractically large for urban fighting in certain areas. That’s why I thought of the M113’s which were probably much more common.

Merkavas in and around Sidon and Beirut are pretty well documented.