Crane operator in cab right front Rigger in cab left front The M578 light recovery vehicle (G309) was an American Cold War-era armored recovery vehicle.

Its primary mission was to recover damaged light armored vehicles from the battlefield using its crane boom.

In 1956 the US Army commissioned the Pacific Car & Foundry Company to design an undercarriage for a new series of self-propelled artillery systems that would be lighter, air transportable, and provide a common chassis for multiple vehicles.

[2][3] This would then become the M107 self-propelled gun and M110 self-propelled gun with the Army expanding the program in 1957 to include a field ambulance (T119) and an armored light recovery vehicle (T120) with the T119 being dropped from the program during the prototype phase.

Another winch, 60,000 lb (27,000 kg) capacity,[4] was mounted on the front of the cab.