History Main / AwesomePersonnelCarrier

** The BMD series are their respective BMPs with even more stuff thrown out to allow them to be [[ItsRainingMen parachute-dropped]] at the cost of paper-thin armour. The RedsWithRockets were, and the TricolorsWithRustingRockets are, the only military with ''fully mechanized'' paratroops.

* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'' features the [[FanNickname Cat-Tank]], something of a [[http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=189 cross between an APC and a Winnebago]], and designed to spend days at a time in [[DeathWorld the Silent World]] with a reasonable degree of safety and comfort. Although it's quite a bit less awesome than [[http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=185 some of the others in that garage]], and a bit [[UsedFuture used]] to boot.

** Israeli ''Azcharit'' and Russian ''BTR-T'' are both conversions of the venerable, but sadly outdated T-55. On a similar theme, the Israeli ''Puma'' is one of a number of conversions of the Centurion MBT used by IDF Engineers. The most awesome of the Centurion conversions would be the ''Nagmachon'', which instead of simply plating over the former turret location has a heavily armored mini-tower for machine guns, looking more than anything like a miniaturized version of a battleship's superstructure. This structure, known to troops as the "[[FanNickname doghouse]]", makes the Nagmachon an incredibly effective urban combat vehicle.

* In ''The Doomfarers of Coramonde'' by Creator/BrianDaley, a sorcerer from a parallel sword-and-sorcery universe grabs an APC and its crew from out of the middle of the Vietnam War...in order to [[CoolVersusAwesome fight a dragon]]. (The sorcerer was actually trying for a [[TankGoodness full-scale tank]], somewhat to the irritation of the APC crew.)

* ''The Zone'' series by James Rouch. The [=FV499=] Hovercraft APC used by the RagtagBunchOfMisfits in the CrapsackWorld of WW3 Europe. According to the stats at the start of "Hard Target"...

* In ''Film/ThePentagonWars'', {{Inverted|Trope}} to hell and back by the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, a stupid MasterOfNone rolling deathtrap designed by the whims of bureaucracy and self-interested politics. It is conceptualised as a combined weapons platform, troop transport and scout vehicle, and cannot effectively do ''any'' of those things. It can't fight because the armour is too thin (to save weight for the insane amount of stuff it carries, especially as it is also designed to be ''amphibious'') and dedicated combat vehicles will chew it up and spit it out; it can't carry a full squad because the planned spaces for the men were removed to make room for all the ammo; and it can't be stealthy because it is twelve feet tall and has a colossal cannon and missile launcher on it, which make it an obvious target for every enemy on the field. The "best" part? This is all TruthInTelevision; check out the RealLife section below.

** [[SergeantRock Shirakabe]], due to his rank in the ProvateMilitaryContractors organization Drankam, has one. It’s noted it’s standard to get a double share of mission rewards, to pay for its upkeep. It has automated machineguns on it, and it’s used to launch two of his buddies on motorcycles out the back during one battle, and for medevac operations during another.

*** It has been stated that the Bradley is a jack of all trades but master of none, since it's a track-laying, 30 ton, gun-and missile-toting thing that makes anybody who looks at it think "TANK!", carries only half a squad of infantry, and doesn't carry enough gun to be considered a full tank. It even got its own [[Film/ThePentagonWars movie mocking it.]] As the disgusted engineers put it, "It's a troop carrier that can't carry troops, a recon vehicle that's too conspicuous to do reconnaissance, a psuedo-tank with less armor than a snowblower, but carries enough ammo to take out half of DC." The Bradley's performance in actual combat so far has been excellent; at the battle of 73 Easting two troops of US Cavalry mounted mostly on Bradleys rolled up an entire Republican Guards armored division like a cheap rug while suffering almost no casualties, with each Bradley accounting for several Iraqi tanks and literally dozens of Iraqi [=BMPs=]. However, some argue this fine record is mostly due to the opposition being ''even worse''.

* In ''Film/BlackHawkDown'', the Pakistani troops display this trope by playing TheCavalry the smart way: by charging in heavy APCs that could withstand the withering crossfire that the American Humvees couldn't. However once rescued the Americans aren't happy to be told they're expected to ride on top of the vehicle, out in the open.

* In ''Film/BlackHawkDown'', the Pakistani troops display this trope by playing TheCavalry the smart way: by charging in heavy APCs that could withstand the withering crossfire that the American Humvees couldn't.

* ''VideoGame/ArmoredWarfare'', being a [[TankGoodness Tank-on-Tank]] combat game, has many RealLife examples, with more to be added in. These include the [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks M2 Bradley]] and the [[RedsWithRockets BMP series]].

** It looks suspiciously like a repainted M8 Greyhound, a UsefulNotes/WW2-vintage armoured car used in the reconnaissance role. It had a small calibre cannon and a crew of four, but no troop transport capacity.

* The villain's soldiers in ''Film/{{Sheena}}'' use a UR-416 armored car as one of their main vehicles. Subverted in that it gets taken out by an elephant, who easily overturns it during the climax.

Naturally, compare CoolTank. [[UsefulNotes/IsraelisWithInfraredMissiles Merkavas]] cheat by being both, and the Russian Mi-24 Hind ups the stakes ''again'' by flying. If the [=APC=] often gets confused with an actual tank you've got TanksButNoTanks.

* Note that current (c. 2010) military thinking is that the IFV concept really is AwesomeButImpractical; for many years, militaries were hoping they'd be a GameBreaker (or at least, DifficultButAwesome). They suffer from the MasterOfNone problems: not enough armor to handle modern man-portable anti-tank weapons (let alone vehicle-mounted ones), large enough that they have a very noticeable profile, yet not big enough to transport a large number of troops (compared to the normal APC), '''very''' expensive, noisy (making them generally unsuitable for scouting duties many armies use them for), heavy (which restricts their mobility and transportability), and, oddly enough, underpowered. Many militaries are going back to the APC "battle taxi" strategy for their next generation, though many are including more potent firepower on their new APCs, to allow for infantry support in urban areas. The emphasis does seem to be swinging back to "carry infantry around then hang back", rather than "fight out in front with the infantry".
* That said, the Russians apparently still believe in the IFV concept, up to including ''both'' types of vehicles in all of the weight classes of their prospective lineup: [[TankGoodness the tank-based]] T-15 includes both the heavier armed[[note]]The current version is armed with the ubiquitous 30-mm autocannon, though in the future a 57-mm or a telescoping 45-mm upgrades are projected[[/note]] IFV version, and the lighter armed APC variant (their armor being pretty much the same). The lighter "Kurganets-25" platform mounts pretty much the same turrets, but the IFV version is also better armored as well, while the wheeled "Boomerang" platform is primarily an APC, but also features the more heavily armed version, with some designers even proposing fitting it with the [[GlassCannon 125-mm turret from a "Sprut" light tank]].

** Speaking of Teutonic engineering, there's also the Wiesel, which is absolutely tiny by comparison. It's half the size of the Puma, and is so compact that 4 or 5 of them can fit inside a C-130 Hercules. Size comes at a price though: most Wiesel variants can't fit more than 2 or 3 crew members, with the experimental personnel carrying variant carrying no more than 6 people altogether. However, it still manages to fulfill a wide variety of roles that would otherwise be given to APC-type vehicles, like fire support, anti-tank and anti-aircraft warfare, command and control, and reconnaissance.

* The Lancer seen in the first game/DLC shows up in ''FanFic/{{Fractured}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[=/=]''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover crossover]], albeit heavily modified for long-range travel. In the [[FanFic/SovereignGFCOrigins sequel]], ''Fireant'' blastboats serve this role [[RecycledInSPACE IN SPACE]] since troop-carrying shuttles without armaments have ([[JustifiedTrope justifiably]]) been out-of-favor for as long as ships have had point-defense guns, starfighter escorts [[spoiler:, or Flood infestations]].

*** It has been stated that the Bradley is a jack of all trades but master of none, since it's a track-laying, 30 ton, gun-and missile-toting thing that makes anybody who looks at it think "TANK!", carries only half a squad of infantry, and doesn't carry enough gun to be considered a full tank. It even got its own [[Film/ThePentagonWars movie mocking it.]] As the disgusted engineers put it, "It's a troop carrier that can't carry troops, a recon vehicle that's too conspicuous to do reconnaissance, a psuedo-tank with less armor than a snowblower, but carries enough ammo to take out half of DC." Which is ironic when you consider the Bradley's performance in actual combat so far has been excellent; at the battle of 73 Easting two troops of US Cavalry mounted mostly on Bradleys rolled up an entire Republican Guards armored division like a cheap rug while suffering almost no casualties, with each Bradley accounting for several Iraqi tanks and literally dozens of Iraqi [=BMPs=].

* In ''Film/ThePentagonWars'', {{Inverted|Trope}} to hell and back by the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, a stupid MasterOfNone rolling deathtrap designed by the whims of bureaucracy and self-interested politics. It is conceptualised as a combined weapons platform, troop transport and scout vehicle, and cannot effectively do ''any'' of those things. It can't fight because the armour is too thin (to save weight for the insane amount of stuff it carries, especially as it is also designed to be ''amphibious'') and dedicated combat vehicles will chew it up and spit it out, it can't carry a full squad because the planned spaces for the men were removed to make room for all the ammo, and it can't be stealthy because it is twelve feet tall and has a colossal cannon and missile launcher on it, which means every enemy on the field will pour all their firepower on it immediately because of the obvious threat it poses.

* WesternAnimation/TheMightyDucks travelled on the ground in the Migrator, which had various weapons and features built in. In one episode, it got damaged and they tried using a [[SuperPrototype new model]]... [[HilarityEnsues it didn't end well]].