The M59 was an American armored personnel carrier that entered service in the spring of 1954 replacing the M75.[1] It had three key advantages over the M75: it was amphibious, had a lower profile, and was considerably cheaper to produce. Production ended in 1960, by which time approximately 6,300 had been built. The M84 Mortar Carrier was a derivative of the M59. The M59 was replaced in service by the M113 family of vehicles.
Development
Development work on a replacement for the M75 began in late 1951, with the Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation producing a number of prototypes. The best performing of these, the T59, was selected and type classified as the M59 in May 1953. FMC was awarded the production contract.
In order to keep costs down the vehicle used two smaller less powerful civilian truck engines, instead of a single large powerful engine, one mounted in each side of the hull. The unreliability of this power system and reduced armor protection provided, were the major disadvantages of this APC compared to the M75.