The M76 Otter was an amphibious cargo carrier used by the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

(USMC).

History

It was designed and built by Pontiac Motor Division in the late 1940s and intended as a replacement for the

M29 Weasel The M29 Weasel is a World War II tracked vehicle designed for operation in snow. Built by Studebaker, Weasels were also used in sandy, muddy, and desert terrains, including towing loads over terrain wheeled vehicles could not negotiate as in the ...

. It entered service with the USMC in the early 1950s and many saw action in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. It was replaced in USMC service by the M116 Husky.

Preserved vehicles on display

There are Otters on display at the following locations: * Pacific War Museum,

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

* Kensington American Legion,

Kensington, New Hampshire Kensington is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,095 at the 2020 census. History Once a parish of Hampton, Kensington was incorporated in 1737 by New Hampshire governor Jonathan Belcher. Of the 27 town ...

* Marine Corps Mechanized Museum, Camp Pendleton

References

External links

Video of M76 used as a firefighting vehicle
{{Post-WWII US Soft Vehicles Military vehicles of the United States Tracked amphibious vehicles Armored personnel carriers of the United States Amphibious armoured personnel carriers Military vehicles introduced in the 1950s