What is vehicle assault?

During the Vietnam War there were three specifically designed and named "assault vehicles."

1. ASPB=Assault Support Patrol Boat, nicknamed the "Alpha Boat", US Navy.

2. M551 Sheridan Airborne Reconnaissance Assault Vehicle (lSheridan light tank), US Army.

3. M113 APC/ACAV (Armored Personnel Carrier/Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle), US Army.

The M113 & M551 were constructed of aluminum (minus gun/turret for the M551 which were steel); both vehicles were air transportable & both could swim across bodies of water. Both were fielded for the first time in the Vietnam war (1962 & 1969 respectively). Although all armored fighting vehicles are designed for fighting...the term "assault" is generally reserved for "close quarter combat" thus the M113 ACAV (not the APC version) & M551 where designed for close quarter combat (assault).