Gillois Series 2

The Gillois Series 2 is a development of the Gillois amphibious bridge and ferry system, intended mainly for ferrying. Compared with the original it has a higher load capacity of 45,000 kg, and every stage of preparation is powered, cutting the time needed to get it ready to about five minutes. The French Army ordered 60.

Design

In layout it resembles the ramp unit of the original Gillois. On the road the crew of four ride in a cab at the front; only two are needed to operate the system. The main hull is steel, while the ramp on top and the side walls are aluminium. The side walls are raised hydraulically so that the main flotation cells can be inflated, and the ramp is raised and lowered by power, working at up to 26.5 degrees above or 15 degrees below the horizontal.

The 50 square metre deck, 3.3 m wide, can take French armoured vehicles such as the AMX-30 tank or the 155 mm GCT self-propelled gun. In the water it is driven by a propeller that swivels through 360 degrees for manoeuvring.

Background

A trade article in the archive notes that the German firm EWK built 264 Gillois-EWK vehicles, and that first-generation designs with inflatable rubber side pontoons were later replaced by vehicles with aluminium side pontoons, such as the M2 and M3.