According to reports, four of the LVTH-6 variants are still in service with the Philippine naval infantry force.
Over the years, the Philippine Marines have worked hard to upgrade its amphibious vehicles. However, due to budget constraints, the old combat vehicles continued to serve. Surprisingly, the LVTP-5, a family of amphibious armored fighting vehicles, is still operated by the Philippine Marines. According to reports, four of the LVTH-6 variants are still in service with the Philippine naval infantry force. This is the only country still operating these combat vehicles.
The LVTP-5 was first accepted into service in 1956. Some 1,124 basic units were produced, and many saw action in the Vietnam War. The LVTP-5 was an evolution of the LVT-1 to LVT-4 World War II-era landing vehicle tracked series, but was considerably larger and could carry 30-34 combat-armed troops.
In 1975, 50 LVTP-5s were delivered to the Philippine Marines. These vehicles were notably for its involvement during the 1986 People Power Revolution. Much of the fleet was decommissioned. In 2006, some vehicles were refurbished and returned to service with upgraded armor, and a new digitized camouflage.
The Philippine LVTH-6 variant is armed with a 105mm M49 cannon mounted on the T172 turret. The auxiliary weapon is a 7.62mm machine gun coaxially mounted with the main weapon. There is also a 12.7mm M2HB heavy machine gun for low-altitude air defense.
The LVTP-5 has a fairly basic rectangular design with a forward-slanted bow housing a powered ramp doubling as a section of the front wall. The sides of the vehicle were vertical as was much of the roof line and rear hull facing. The vehicle was equipped with a Continental LV-1790-1 V-12 gasoline engine with 704 hp. The maximum road speed reaches 48 km/h, while the swimming speed is 11 km/h. Range at cruising speed is 306 km, and on water is 92 km. The LVTP-5 can accommodate up to 34 combat-ready infantry.
