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134-512: (Redirected from T-37 ) T37 may refer to: Vehicles [ edit ] T-37A tank , a Soviet amphibious light tank T37 light tank, a prototype American tank developed into the M41 Walker Bulldog Bugatti Type 37 , a French sports car Cessna T-37 Tweet , a Cessna trainer aircraft Prussian T 37 , a 1904 German steam locomotive Slingsby T.37 Skylark 1 ,

268-716: A C-5 Galaxy in November 1989, days before the invasion. They were attached to TF Bayonet (193rd Infantry Brigade), and attached down further to TF Gator. These Sheridans took part in the attack on the Comandancia, initially supported by fire from Quarry Heights, and later displacing forward into the city. As part of Team Armor, these Sheridans later provided support to JSOC elements as they secured high-value targets throughout Panama City. The remaining 10 Sheridans were delivered via C-141 low-velocity airdrop ( LVAD ) to Torrijos-Tocumen Airport some hours after H-hour. One of these

402-471: A torsion bar suspension , which supports five road wheels with the drive sprocket at the rear and idler towards the front, and three track return rollers. The first, second, and fifth road wheel stations have hydraulic shock absorbers. Although the M41 is not considered amphibious, it was designed for fording up to 1.016 meters of water without preparation, and up to 2.44 meters of water with preparation. The hull

536-654: A 76 mm gun was installed in the turret of an M551 at Rock Island Arsenal . Neither configuration was adopted. The Army ultimately decided to arm the Sheridan with just 152 mm conventional rounds until the Shillelagh was more mature. The first of 12 pilots was delivered in June 1962. Pilots 1–3 comprised the first generation. With the second-generation pilots 4–6, the band track was replaced with single-pin, link type tracks. An XM551 test bed turret with gun-launcher

670-477: A British glider Other uses [ edit ] T37 (classification) , a disability sport classification T-37 (rocket) , an American demolition rocket T.37 , an ITU-T recommendation Goldthwaite Municipal Airport , in Goldthwaite, Texas; FAA location identifier [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title formed as

804-661: A PAVN tank battalion equipped with T-54 and PT-76 tanks attempted to overrun one of the ARVN's designated landing zones. In the first major armor engagement of the Vietnam War, the M41s counterattacked, and ARVN claimed six T-54s and seventeen PT-76s were destroyed. Five M41s and 25 APCs were lost during the same encounter, mostly to land mines and rocket-propelled grenades. However, the PAVN continued to regroup and counterattack over

938-466: A contract awarded by the Army in 1959. The gun's primary purpose was to fire the Shillelagh missile, but it could also fire more conventional combustible case ammunition. Two factors contributed to the selection of such a large-caliber gun. The Army desired a gun that would be capable of penetrating 150 mm of armor at 60 degrees, more than the 76 mm guns of the M41 or T92 were capable of. Secondly,

1072-792: A contract to begin producing the AN/VVG-1 laser rangefinder for the M551A1 upgrade. The U.S. Army staff in Washington had been recommending since 1966 to the commander of U.S. forces in South Vietnam , General Westmoreland , that the Sheridan should be used there. Since the main gun ammunition was not available, he argued that it was simply a $ 300,000 machine gun platform. By 1968, the new, or soon to be, U.S. commander in South Vietnam, General Creighton Abrams , had been notified that

1206-663: A desert environment. The OPFOR Sheridans no longer fulfill that role, having been retired at the end of 2003 and subsequently scrapped or made available as "hard targets" or, in a few cases, as museum pieces. Many were dumped to create artificial reefs . The Sheridan's only air drop in combat occurred during the United States invasion of Panama (Operation Just Cause) in 1989, when 14 M551s were deployed with C Company, 3/73rd Armor, 82nd Airborne Division. Four M551s were secretly delivered to Howard Air Force Base in Panama aboard

1340-533: A desert environment. They were retired from the NTC in 2003. In the immediate post-World War II era, the U.S. Army introduced the M41 Walker Bulldog into service to fill the role of a light tank . The lifespan of the M41 was fairly short. At 25 tons it was considered too heavy to be a true light tank, and had a rather short cruising range. Plans were started to build an even lighter replacement mounting

1474-400: A lack of adequate air support, the brigadista M41s had to land under heavy fire from circling Cuban aircraft, although all of the tanks succeeded in advancing past the beach intact. They immediately attacked a local airstrip, inflicting heavy casualties among the defending Cuban militiamen, who did not possess adequate anti-tank weapons. The militia organized an ill-advised counterattack with

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1608-540: A letter–number combination. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=T37&oldid=1228320420 " Category : Letter–number combination disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages M41 Walker Bulldog The M41 Walker Bulldog , officially 76-mm gun tank M41 ,

1742-616: A light tank acquisition program called Mobile Protected Firepower , selecting the General Dynamics Land Systems Griffin II in June 2022.. The U.S. Army took delivery of the first production vehicle in February 2024, and the vehicle has been type classified as the M10 Booker . The 152 mm M81 gun-launcher that came to be used in the Sheridan was developed by Ford - Aeronutronic under

1876-461: A modular hull capable of being converted for a variety of other specialized roles. For example, the US Army requirement called not only for a light tank, but an air defense platform and an armored personnel carrier based on the same chassis. A specific powerplant had even been pre-selected for all three proposed vehicles: a Continental or Lycoming six-cylinder, air-cooled gasoline engine. This made

2010-400: A payload. The Shillelagh missile system experienced problems with its missile guidance system early in its development. Two problems were identified. First, smoke from the rocket motor disrupted the infrared signal, necessary for guidance, between the tank and missile. A similar issue was identified during conditions where the sun was behind the turret. The first issue was resolved by changing

2144-559: A problem that was later tracked to the "key" on the missiles that ran in a slot cut into the barrel. Most field units were modified to help address the problem, but later the modified M81E1 was introduced with a shallower slot, along with a matching modification to the missile, that cured the problem. In March 1969, after the Army invoked secrecy in declining to disclose program costs, a Government Accounting Office (GAO) official said that development costs had reached $ 1.3 billion. Congressman Samuel S. Stratton criticized Army officials for

2278-575: A single battalion, which was annihilated by the tanks and brigadista mortar crews in an engagement remembered in Cuba as the "Slaughter of the Lost Battalion". Although the exiles had arrived at multiple landing sites, since Playa Girón was the furthest inland Cuban president Fidel Castro ordered the military to concentrate on destroying the exile force there. Four infantry battalions and two companies of Cuban T-34-85 tanks were ordered to retake

2412-602: A subcommittee on African relations. According to the minutes from the discussion, the delivery of one M41 Walker Bulldog to South Africa was acknowledged by the Department of State , presumably for evaluation purposes, although this took place in the early 1950s and predated the arms embargo. William H. Lewis, director of the Bureau of Inter-African Affairs at the State Department, debunked Gervasi's allegations that

2546-430: A third disabled by track damage, and a fourth captured by the rebels intact when its crew surrendered. The M41s succeeded in knocking out several more attacking T-34-85s which became stranded on the narrow road and bottlenecked due to difficulties their crews encountered in skirting the existing wreckage. However, this success was short-lived: the unexpectedly heavy resistance encountered by Cuban armor ensured that by noon

2680-474: A variety of technical issues due to their somewhat rushed production, and a second mark, the M41A1, was introduced to correct these problems. Over 4,000 engineering design changes were requested by the US Army between July 1951 and July 1952. Approval to issue the M41 type to regular units was denied until December 1952, when the new mark was introduced. Another 1,631 baseline M41s were also relegated to storage at

2814-505: Is Mobile Protected Firepower . A large number of Sheridans were retained in service at the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin , California and as Armor Officer Basic training at Armor Training Center , then located at Fort Knox , Kentucky. They worked as simulated Soviet armored opposition force ( OPFOR ) to train U.S. military units on simulated tank on tank armored combat to test on combat effectiveness in

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2948-422: Is also provided with a hinged hatch cover opening forwards. Both the loader and gunner are also provided with periscopes. In some models, there is an additional stowage basket welded to the rear of the turret, and a dome-shaped ventilator on the turret roof. The M41 has a very distinctive, well sloped glacis plate with a horizontal top, and may also be readily identified by its large exhaust pipes on each side of

3082-460: Is fitted with electric bilge pumps accordingly. Standard M41 turrets are of cast and welded steel construction and fitted with a turret basket. The crew commander and gunner are seated to the right and a loader seated to the left. Turret rotation is assisted by hydraulic/electrical drives and takes approximately ten seconds to traverse a full 360°. Crew commanders have a day periscope and a turret cupola with five vision blocks for observation; this

3216-477: Is of welded steel construction, with the driving compartment located at the front of the tank and to the left. This may be accessed through the hull by a single piece hatch cover opening to the right. When the hatch is closed, the tank is navigated by three driving periscopes mounted forward of the driver's position and one to the left. There is no night vision equipment fitted as standard, although in some models an infrared searchlight could be mounted externally on

3350-609: Is unclear how many additional M41s actually reached the operational area. Due in part to conflicting orders, the final ARVN withdrawal from Laos, conducted while under pursuit from PAVN T-54s, was disorderly and resulted in a number of M41s being abandoned intact by their crews. The ARVN lost 54 M41 tanks during its abortive incursion into Laos. During the PAVN Easter Offensive of 1972, M41s were again dug into static positions, and typically engaged attacking T-54 or Type 59 tanks from defile. As this tactic sacrificed

3484-656: The 1966 Buddhist Uprising . The tanks were mostly used to support ARVN infantry in street fighting, especially around Da Nang . Seventeen ARVN M41s were initially sent into Laos as part of Operation Lam Son 719 between February and March 1971, an abortive cross-border incursion to disrupt strategic supply lines for the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Viet Cong . The tanks were to coordinate their actions with several ARVN heliborne and paratroop units, who would be joining them by air. Their offensive soon stalled when

3618-585: The Brazilian Marine Corps well into the twenty-first century. In 1960, an initiative to modernize existing Brazilian armored units led to the purchase of 386 second-hand M41s from the US government. The tanks were delivered in successive shipments over a period of seven years. Between 1984 and 1985, Bernardini S/A Industria e Comercio , an industrial firm in São Paulo , rebuilt and modernized all

3752-589: The Fernand Braudel Center claimed that the SADF was in possession of 100 M41s. Similar figures were subsequently repeated in a variety of literature and academic sources. As a voluntary arms embargo had been imposed on South Africa due to the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 181 , Gervasi was invited to testify on this claim before the US House of Representatives , which had

3886-856: The General Motors (GM) for the production of the M109 howitzer and the XM551 General Sheridan. Limited production was approved in May, and then classified as "Standard A" in May 1966. Production took place at the Cleveland Army Tank Automotive Plant. The first two production units were delivered to the Army in July. During development, the Marine Corps evaluated the Sheridan as a possible replacement for

4020-588: The Lebanese Arab Army (LAA), Army of Free Lebanon (AFL), Kataeb Regulatory Forces (KRF), Tigers Militia , and the People's Liberation Army (PLA). At least 18 M41s were eventually returned by the militias to the Lebanese Army in 1977–78, and remained in service until the 1983-84 Mountain War , when they were retired and quickly replaced by M48A1 and M48A5 main battle tanks provided by

4154-458: The M24 Chaffee light tank in the reconnaissance role. For preliminary purposes this hypothetical tank was to be known as T37 . However, in the wake of World War II most armored vehicle development programs suffered from a lack of impetus and inadequate funding. The T37 concept did not reach viability until 1949, when three disparate prototypes were finally built. The second prototype of

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4288-508: The M47 Patton . As early as mid-1952 the US government had become so disillusioned by the M41's perceived shortcomings that it recommended the M41 acquisition process be terminated and a new light tank development project initiated; however, General J. Lawton Collins , then Army Chief of Staff , successfully argued for the existing purchase orders to be filled. With the introduction of increasingly well-armored Soviet main battle tanks ,

4422-532: The M50 Ontos . The Corps determined that the Sheridan would be too costly. The Sheridan entered service in June 1967 with 1st Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment at Fort Riley . 2,426 Sheridans were planned. In the end, 1,662 Sheridans were built between 1966 and November 1970. The total cost of the M551 program was $ 1.3 billion. The M81 gun had problems with cracks developing near the breech after repeated firing,

4556-632: The M551A1 TTS model, including a thermal sighting system for the commander and gunner. In the early 1980s, the M551A1 was fitted with a visual modification kit to resemble Warsaw Pact vehicles from Soviet BMP-1 , ZSU-23 , T-55 to T-80s , at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California. These modified vehicles were used in part of the U.S. Army's Soviet opposition forces (OPFOR) by providing realistic ground training to U.S. military units about Soviet combat doctrine in

4690-487: The Republic of Vietnam Air Force base security units and replaced by M41A3s. The M41 proved extremely popular with South Vietnamese tank crews, who were generally of smaller stature than their American counterparts and did not experience the same discomfort operating within the tank's limited interior space. ARVN M41s undertook their first combat employment less than a year later, and played an instrumental role in crushing

4824-541: The Royal Australian Armoured Corps newly formed cavalry regiments. The main trials took place in the tropical Innisfail area of north Queensland between January and June 1968. In January 1969 the Minister for the Army announced that Australia would not purchase any Sheridans as the tanks did not meet the Army's requirements. The main shortcoming revealed in the trials concerned the safety of

4958-910: The Souk el-Khan sector of " Fatahland " in the early 1970s. Later during the Lebanese Civil War , M41s were extensively employed by the Lebanese Army and various armed groups in and outside Beirut between 1975 and 1977, following the collapse of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) structure in January 1976. During this period, most of the regular Army's M41s fell into the hands of the competing Christian-rightist Lebanese Front and Muslim-leftist Lebanese National Movement (LNM) militias or were taken way by dissident rebellious Lebanese Army factions. Captured M41s were employed by

5092-587: The invasion of Panama and the Gulf War . The Army sought to replace the Sheridan with the M8 Armored Gun System , but this was canceled in 1996, late in its development. The Sheridan was retired without a designated replacement in 1996. The Army acquired the M1128 mobile gun system to fulfill a similar requirement, but this is being retired in 2022. The Army's current light tank acquisition program

5226-640: The 11th ACR in Vietnam, and knew the vehicle's shortcomings. Starry's arguments prevailed over those of Army Material Command commander General John R. Guthrie , a Sheridan defender, and Meyer agreed the Sheridan would be retired. The Army decided on the M60A1 as the service's interim successor until the M3 Bradley was ready. At the time, 567 Sheridans existed in USAREUR , 535 in the continental U.S., and 41 in

5360-526: The 152 mm rounds were now available for the Sheridan. However, as General Abrams began to make preparations for the equipping of U.S. cavalry squadrons for the vehicle, the affected squadrons expressed their concerns that the new aluminum tanks were not only highly vulnerable to mines and anti-tank rocket fire, but they would not be as capable of "jungle busting" as the M48A3 medium tanks. In late 1968, General Abrams met with Colonel George S. Patton IV –

5494-652: The AR/AAV XM551. In August 1961, the Secretary of the Army approved the name "Sheridan," after Major General Philip Sheridan . A test bed underwent operations at Cleveland Tank Plant in December 1961. The decision to use the 152 mm caliber XM81 gun-launcher instead of a more conventional gun was driven by the desire to save weight. The XM81 weighed about half as much as the 105 mm caliber M68 , and could fire both conventional and missile rounds. Testing of

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5628-479: The Army chose to designate the Sheridan as an armored reconnaissance vehicle rather than a light tank. The Army also believed "tank" too much evoked the main battle tank, a different role altogether, so the new project was instead officially classified as an "Armored Reconnaissance/Airborne Assault Vehicle." In April 1965 the Army awarded a four-year $ 114.5 million contract to the Cadillac Gage division of

5762-468: The Brazilian M41s to prolong their service life. The principal features of the modernization program were a replacement of the original Chrysler petrol engine with a diesel model, thicker armor, and replacement of the 76 mm gun with a 90 mm gun produced by boring out the original armament. The rebored gun was modified to fire Belgian fin-stabilized, shaped charge projectiles developed for

5896-458: The Bundeswehr, and by 1966 all its M41s had been retired and replaced with the much heavier M48 Patton and Leopard 1 in armored reconnaissance battalions. Additionally, the M41 was used in a tank destroyer role until 1969, first in divisional tank destroyer battalions and later also in the tank destroyer platoon of the heavy company of a mechanized infantry battalion. The hull of the M41

6030-586: The CIA procured five M41 tanks from US Army reserve stocks and earmarked them for this purpose. American instructors trained the prospective Cuban tank crews at Fort Knox in March 1961, teaching them driving and gunnery basics. The tanks were transported to the Cuban coast by a single Mechanized Landing Craft on April 17, then came ashore with infantry support in a combined arms amphibious assault on Playa Girón . Due to

6164-585: The Cadillac M42 Duster . The plant, employing 3700, delivered the first production M41 Walker Bulldog in March 1951. The first eight Bulldogs were delivered to the US Army in July. By March 1952 over 900 M41s had already been manufactured. These entered service too late to take part in the Korean War, though some may have been shipped out to US forces in that region just as the fighting ended. Roughly 1,802 were built, but these suffered from

6298-467: The Cockerill Mk. III smoothbore cannon already fitted to Brazil's preexisting fleet of EE-9 Cascavel armored cars. The tank's transmission was also upgraded to increase acceleration and give it a maximum road speed of 70 km/h (45 mph). In Brazilian service, these upgraded M41s received the designation M41B and M41C. In 1958, the Lebanese Army received either 20 or 50 M41A3 tanks from

6432-615: The General Motors 8V53T diesel engine and improved suspension. The vehicle's armament and some armor was removed. The uprated engine and improved suspension improved the power-to-weight ratio and cross-country mobility. The Army also evaluated a fully stabilized Staget sighting system. In 1987, the Army tested a version of the LAV-25 , classified as the M1047. The Army determined that these were unsuitable for LAPES , and could not match

6566-893: The High Mobility/Agility (HIMAG) program. Several concepts were pursued, including the High Survivability Test Vehicle (Lightweight) and the Elevated Kinetic Energy (ELKE) gun system. The latter was trialed on a Sheridan hull in 1982. Following the Iran hostage crisis , the Rapid Deployment Force concept was pursued by both the Army and the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps initiated the Mobile Protected Weapon System (MPWS) program. In 1983,

6700-539: The M41 program was slashed accordingly, and more emphasis placed on the development of new main battle tanks such as the M47 Patton . Cadillac ceased production of the M41A1 in late 1954. It was replaced by the M551 Sheridan during the 1960s when the gun could not longer penetrate fielded medium tanks. Beginning in 1946, the United States Army commissioned a project to oversee the replacement of

6834-596: The M41 series to include various supporting vehicles built using the same chassis, engine, tracks and as many as other associated automotive components as possible to simplify logistics. Cadillac obligingly produced the M42 Duster anti-aircraft vehicle, as well as the M44 and M52 self-propelled howitzers, and the M75 armored personnel carrier , all based on an M41 chassis and drive train. The acquisition process for these vehicles

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6968-418: The M41 tank's lethality. Both Denmark and the Republic of China (Taiwan) purchased an undisclosed amount of the new ammunition. Background: History of the tank , Tank classification , Tanks in the Cold War M551 Sheridan The M551 Sheridan entered service with the United States Army in 1967. At the urging of General Creighton Abrams , the U.S. Commander, Military Assistance Command Vietnam , at

7102-449: The M41 was no longer perceived as powerful enough for frontline service, and it was replaced by the much lighter and more heavily armed Sheridan during the late 1960s. Most second-hand US M41s were refurbished and subsequently sold or donated to US allies abroad, namely Brazil, Japan, and South Vietnam. When the M41 entered production, it was not considered economical to simply manufacture a single tank chassis and hull. The US Army wanted

7236-417: The M551A1 model. The Army hastily sent 60 M551A1 TTS models with the thermal sight upgrade to replace the older models. The 3/73rd used the Sheridan as part of a flanking force in Operation Desert Storm, and saw tank-on-tank combat. Their role was limited to reconnaissance due to their age and light armor. It is likely that no more than six Shillelagh missiles were fired at Iraqi anti-tank guns or T-55s; this

7370-412: The M551s triggered mines, completely destroying them. In March 1971, five Sheridans from the 11th ACR were lost in one day to RPG fire; all five vehicles burst into flames and were totally destroyed. Over 200 Sheridans were shipped to Vietnam. The Sheridan was unpopular with American soldiers in Vietnam, mainly because of its perceived vulnerability. While the Sheridan brought superior firepower where it

7504-463: The Naval Surface Weapons Research Center Laboratory mounted a 105 mm caliber gun onto a Sheridan chassis. The Army initiated the Mobile Protected Gun program, and announced plans to modify Sheridans with 105 mm or 120 mm caliber guns. Neither program was pursued further; The Army project was canceled in 1985. From 1978 to 1980, under the joint Army–Marine Corps Advanced Antiarmor Vehicle Evaluation (ARMVAL), TACOM rebuilt 10 Sheridans with

7638-461: The Ordnance Corps Depot in Lima, Ohio until their deficiencies could be corrected. The M41A1 was later superseded by the M41A2 and M41A3, which had the advantage of greater ammunition stowage, and considerably simplified gun and turret systems. Despite these detail improvements, the M41 series did not prove especially popular in US service. Crew members seated in the turret often complained of limited interior space. Reconnaissance units criticized

7772-401: The Pacific. The Army began converting units in Europe in 1978, and in the rest of the service by 1980. The Army sustained 140 Sheridans in the 82nd Airborne Division and the National Guard. Some Sheridans were kept in pre-positioned reserve. Several attempts to improve or replace the Sheridan have been made over the years since it was introduced. In 1976, DARPA (followed by TACOM ) initiated

7906-429: The Pentagon before it could enter production. United Defense proposed the AGS as its mobile gun system variant in the Interim Armored Vehicle program. In 2000, the Army instead selected a variant of the General Dynamics LAV III, later type-classified as the M1128 mobile gun system . The Mobile Gun System's problematic service history led to the vehicle's planned retirement in 2022. The Army initiated development of

8040-467: The Sheridan had seen extensive action in the Vietnam War , being assigned to nearly all armored cavalry squadrons involved in that conflict. In 1969, armored cavalry units (minus the 11th ACR, which retained its M48 tank companies) began replacing their M48 Patton tanks, which were normally transferred to the Army of South Vietnam . The opinions of crews on Vietnam-era M551s were mixed at best and assessments from senior commanders were often negative. This

8174-609: The Sheridan use the same ammunition as the MBT-70 . In theory the combustible nitrocellulose case would be completely consumed during the firing of the ammunition. In practice, as often as 39 percent of the time, the case could absorb moisture from the air and only be partially consumed. This was dangerous to the crew as the smoldering case could prematurely detonate the next loaded round, as happened three times during five months of testing from November 1966 to March 1967. The cases could also break open, or swell so much with moisture that they could not be chambered. The Army started packaging

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8308-409: The Sheridan was known to put out only two 152 mm rounds during the same time frame. The caseless rounds needed air vents to clear the gun tube and breech prior to loading another round, while the M48 breech block opened as the used case was ejected and closed as the new round was shoved in. The faster the loader, the faster the Patton's gun could be fired. For the Sheridan, the loader had to wait for

8442-402: The Sheridan's arrival in South Vietnam, an M551 from the 3/4th Cavalry detonated a 25-pound pressure-activated land mine, which ruptured its hull and ignited the combustible-case charges of the 152 mm rounds, resulting in a secondary explosion that destroyed the tank. In late 1969, nine Sheridans from the 4th Squadron, 12th Cavalry Regiment were fording a river near the DMZ , when three of

8576-445: The Sheridan, and after the war in 1975 began to eliminate the vehicle from its units in 1979. A modest fleet of vehicles remained in the 82nd Airborne Division and the National Guard. Various improvement programs were successfully undertaken to improve the Sheridan's reliability. Problems persisted with the 152 mm gun/launcher, and various efforts explored to replace it with a more conventional model. The Sheridan went on to serve in

8710-426: The Shillelagh missile housed complicated electronics in addition to its warhead. As a consequence of the pairing of a large caliber gun and relatively lightweight vehicle, only low-velocity rounds would be compatible with the gun. A number of existing vehicles already mounted only ATGMs, or alternately recoilless rifles like the M50 Ontos , but these typically had limited utility in the infantry support role, or in

8844-457: The T41 circa August 1950. The tank was christened the "Walker Bulldog"—after the late General Walton Walker who was killed in a Jeep accident a year earlier—at a demonstration for President Harry S. Truman at Aberdeen Proving Ground in February 1951. Serial production was delayed by technical difficulties stemming from the decision to incorporate an integral rangefinder directly into the steel turret. A renewed sense of urgency introduced by

8978-410: The T41E1 one of the first American tanks to be designed around a preexisting engine type, rather than being built first and then adopting a suitable engine. Weighing nearly 52,000 pounds, the T41E1 was so heavy it would have easily been classed as a medium tank in its own right only about five years earlier, and was no longer deemed suitable for frequent airborne deployments. The Army placed orders for

9112-457: The U.S. had shipped 580 second-hand M41A3s to supply various ARVN tank units and replace losses sustained in combat. According to SIPRI, between 1972 and 1974 the ARVN only took delivery of M48 Pattons , which gradually superseded the M41 as the primary tank in South Vietnamese service. According to MACV South Vietnam received 19 M41 tanks during 1974. During the PAVN's 1975 Spring Offensive , 300 ARVN M41s were destroyed or captured. During

9246-413: The US Army's renewed demands for more tanks resulted in its being rushed into production. The haste with which it was initially produced led to technical problems, which, coupled with the relatively cramped dimensions of its hull interior, and poor armament gave it a mediocre reputation among American tank crews. It was also considered too large in comparison to the Chaffee for reconnaissance. Funding for

9380-505: The US and Jordan . In 1960, the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps procured ten M41s from the US to replace its obsolete Valentine tanks , which had been inherited from its close association with the British Army during World War II. As a result of their adoption and the retirement of the Valentines, the organization of New Zealand's armored corps was altered from two tank squadrons to a single cavalry squadron consisting of M41s and M113 armored personnel carriers . The decision to acquire

9514-472: The US had supplied South Africa with a large stockpile of tanks. As late as 1982 the Angolan government continued to make unsubstantiated claims that US-supplied M41s were being used during South African raids into Angola. The Republic of China Army (ROCA) began receiving M41A3s as military aid from the US in 1958. The ROCA once had 700 M41s in various configurations in service. Those in front-line service received heavy upgrades and were redesignated M41D;

9648-476: The US to replace its fleet of obsolete British Sherman Firefly medium tanks and French Hotchkiss H35 and Renault R35 light tanks employed in the 1958 Lebanon crisis . The Lebanese Army M41s first saw action in 21 November 1969, when they engaged Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) guerrillas at the town of Nabatiyeh during the border clashes in the Rashaya district of southern Lebanon, and again at

9782-526: The XM81 began at Erie Army Depot in late 1961. By 1962, the Army realized that the MGM-51 Shillelagh missile system would not immediately be ready for the Sheridan, and so considered several alternative gun systems. These including conventional 76 mm, 90 mm and 105 mm options, as well as missile systems such as ENTAC and TOW . In March 1967, a 105 mm howitzer XM103E7 and then

9916-539: The airfield and beachhead, but their radio transmissions were intercepted by the exiles, allowing them to plan their defense accordingly. The Cuban forces shelled Playa Girón with artillery around midnight, then advanced towards the village by road, with the T-34-85s in the lead. Three M41s which had taken up positions directly opposite the road junction nearest the beach then opened fire on the column at extremely close range. At least two T-34-85s were initially destroyed,

10050-436: The breach. This created problems of its own as the system could blow smoldering debris into the crew compartment. Recognizing the danger, the Army canceled production of this system. A closed breach system that solved the problem was put into production in 1968. Vehicles without this system, the first 700 off the production line were waylayed in storage pending the installation of this system. The gun with this new system installed

10184-529: The breech, the Army told Congress. The Army said the Sheridan had performed well enough that it was planning to send hundreds more. A Congressional report in July 1969 identified $ 1.2 billion wasted on the M60 and Sheridan. The report attributed several Vietnam War casualties to Sheridan design faults, and said that the tank had been wholly unready for combat there "without extensive and costly retrofits." In 1971, Frankford Arsenal awarded Hughes Aircraft Corporation

10318-587: The cannon has also been fitted with a bore evacuator, a blast deflector, and a concentric hydrospring recoil system. Ranging is manual and conducted through the gunner's M97A1 telescopic sight. Maximum range of the M32/T91E3 and M32A1 is estimated at 4,752 meters. In 1982, the AAI Corporation announced that it had developed a 76 mm APFSDS shell for the M32A1 and M32/T91E3, which greatly increased

10452-411: The case of Ontos could not be reloaded from within the vehicle. The XM551 appeared to offer a superior balance between anti-tank and infantry support. The gun was ideal for infantry support. The large, low velocity gun could fire a large high explosive projectile or canister shot. In comparison, high-velocity anti-tank guns over-penetrated soft targets, while smaller caliber weapons could not carry as great

10586-463: The closest to the 10-ton weight limit specified in the requirements. The Cadillac design was only slightly heavier, with four crew. The three-man turret of the Cadillac proposal was considered more effective than the two-man turret proposed by AAI. The weight limit was reset at 15 tons. In June 1960, Cadillac Motor Car Division signed a contract to develop their concept further, which was designated as

10720-476: The combustible case. The two Sheridans were returned to the U.S. Army in early 1969, and the Australian Army met its requirement by fitting turrets from Alvis Saladin armored cars to M113 armored personnel carriers. In 1977, TRADOC commander General Donn A. Starry met with Army Chief of Staff General Edward C. Meyer to convince him that the service should retire the Sheridan. Starry had commanded

10854-612: The deactivation of its last ( M103 ) heavy tank battalion, and the fielding of the new M60 series tank, the U.S. Army had adopted a main battle tank (MBT) doctrine; a single tank filling all combat roles. The U.S. Army still retained the M41 Walker Bulldog light tank in the Army National Guard, but other than the units undergoing the transitional process, the regular army consisted of MBTs. Fearing Congress would balk at funding two developmental tank programs,

10988-521: The designation Little Bulldog and subsequently, Walker Bulldog after the late General Walton Walker , who was killed in a Jeep accident in 1950. The M41 was the first postwar American light tank to see worldwide service, and was exported in considerable numbers by the United States, particularly to Asia. Development of the M41 proceeded slowly until the outbreak of the Korean War , when

11122-588: The early 1960s, Argentina received five M41s on ostensibly permanent loan from the United States. The terms of the transfer remain unclear, as despite formally entering service with the Argentine Army the five tanks were still listed as property of the American government. They were first publicly paraded in Buenos Aires following the 1966 revolution . Shortly afterwards, Argentine leaders ordered

11256-648: The engines from the ARVN M24s periodically sent to Japan for overhaul, but this was considered neither practical nor economic in the long term. In mid-1964, as part of a greater effort to introduce more modern equipment to the ARVN, the MACV proposed that the South Vietnamese armored corps be increased by five tank squadrons. Between January and April 1965 all the ARVN M24s were decommissioned or passed to

11390-543: The firepower of the Sheridan. Congress did not favor the M1047, though a few were deployed with the 3/73rd Armor in the Gulf War . The Marine Corps also developed the LAV-105 to meet its requirements, but later canceled that project as well. In 1992, the Army selected FMC Corporation to produce the Armored Gun System (AGS), later type classified as the M8 Armored Gun System . The AGS was canceled in 1996 by

11524-717: The first concept studies were initiated for the armored reconnaissance/airborne assault vehicle that would replace both the M41 and M56 Scorpion self-propelled gun . By October 1959, 12 proposals had been received by the Ordnance Tank Automotive Command. Two proposals were downselected in December: One from Cadillac Motor Car Division of General Motors Corporation, and a joint venture of AAI Corporation and Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company . Mockups of both proposals were evaluated in May 1960. The AAI candidate had three crewmen, and weighed

11658-467: The following afternoon all the M41 crews had exhausted their ammunition. At one point American Defense Secretary Robert McNamara proposed using the US Navy vessels within the vicinity to move another eight M41s and their associated ammunition to support the exiles; however, without sufficient supplies or air support Brigade 2506 was unable to hold its positions against repeated Cuban armored attacks and

11792-427: The front road wheels. Chain-link fencing was applied over the front of the hull in Vietnam to counter rocket-propelled grenades . The Army began to phase out the Sheridan in 1978, although at the time there was no real replacement. Nevertheless, the 82d Airborne Division was able to keep them until 1996. The Sheridan was the only "rapidly" air-deployable tank in the inventory. Their units were later upgraded to

11926-470: The gun often adversely affected the delicate electronics, which were at the early stages of the transition to solid state devices, so the missile and its guidance system was omitted from vehicles deployed to South Vietnam. The expensive missile was fired in anger only in the Persian Gulf War's Operation Desert Storm, despite a production run of 88,000 units. Ammunition: The commander's cupola

12060-452: The height and size of the design, which reduced its ability to reconnoiter discreetly, and although it was intended for employment with airborne units, its weight made it impractical for airdrops. This led to the development of the M551 Sheridan , which was designed for airdrops, and in which low combat weight was considered a key factor. M41 production ceased around late 1954, allowing the US Army to refocus on developing medium tanks such as

12194-444: The installation of new armor plate by a German contractor, and replacement of the turret armament with a 90 mm Cockerill Mk. IV cannon and an FN MAG co-axial machine gun, respectively. The new cannon fired fin-stabilized high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) and high explosive squash head (HESH) shells. These M41s were designated M41A1U and were retrofitted with diesel engines by a Brazilian firm in 1991. The M41 Walker Bulldog

12328-417: The mechanism. After firing, the loader would have to wait, as the breech slowly opened rearward then turned downward. After another instrument indicated that all turret systems were still operational, the loader would gently push the 152 mm fixed round into the breech and watch the breech block slowly rotate upward, then forward into the breech, then again, wait for the lights. A common field modification

12462-486: The new tanks was made a year earlier, in 1959, and this allowed army maintenance technicians to be sent to the US well in advance and receive the necessary familiarization training at Fort Knox before the tanks reached New Zealand. After the acceleration of the US military commitment to Vietnam, General Maxwell D. Taylor suggested the New Zealand M41s be deployed there to support allied operations. The proposal

12596-456: The new vehicles were issued to the 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment , and the 1st Squadron of the 11th ACR. By the end of 1970, there were more than 200 Sheridans in South Vietnam. They stayed in the field until the last U.S. armored cavalry unit, the 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment prepared for re-deployment back to the United States in April 1972. By the end of its combat debut in 1972,

12730-477: The next week, forcing the outnumbered South Vietnamese units to abandon the landing zone and withdraw further south. Failure to maintain a cohesive withdrawal led to individual infantry or mechanized units with no armor support of their own being cut off and surrounded by PAVN tanks. ARVN commanders declared they did not possess enough tanks or anti-tank weapons to eliminate the PAVN armored threat, which had been underestimated during their operational planning. For

12864-555: The non-upgraded M41A3s were relegated to training and reserve roles. In February 2022, the ROCA announced it would be retiring its remaining M41A3s, although the M41D would remain in service. Uruguay embarked on a significant revitalization campaign for its armored corps in 1981, purchasing 20 FN-4RM/62F light armored cars and 22 M41A1 Walker Bulldog tanks from Belgium. The tanks underwent a significant rebuild prior to their export, including

12998-584: The outbreak of the Korean War and increasing demands by the US Army for more tanks resulted in production hurriedly commencing in mid-1951. The hasty production cycle led to numerous modifications during the course of and after manufacture. Cadillac repurposed a warehouse in Cleveland in August 1950 and began outfitting the location for production of the Walker Bulldog and other combat vehicles, namely

13132-435: The program's high costs, and accused officials of concealing cost figures to cover up for their own "bumbling ineptness". A GAO report leaked in May 1969 revealed the Army had fast-tracked the program to avoid budgetary scrutiny, despite indications by May 1966 that the tank's caseless ammunition was prone to cooking off . The problem had since then been resolved by a compressed-air system that forced hot ammunition residue from

13266-413: The projectile separated from the combustible-case during loading, which was not uncommon, the crewmen were instructed not to load the round. Sometimes, the combustible-cases and their charges remained on the turret floor due to the emergencies at the time, and additionally, all of the remaining serviceable 152 mm rounds were combustible-cased, and sleeved into a re-usable white nine-ply nylon bag, which

13400-420: The propellant to a composition that produced less smoke. This and other fixes were successful in resolving the problems with the missile guidance. In a year-long test that concluded in 1964, 58 out of 63 launches were successful. The M81 fired combustible case conventional ammunition in addition to the Shillelagh missile. This solution was chosen rather than a conventional metal case because the Army desired that

13534-491: The remainder of the operation, the M41s were dug into defensive positions and essentially used as static artillery. This prevented the ARVN from taking full advantage of their mobility, and units elsewhere had to depend solely on well-timed air support from South Vietnamese or US bombers to stave off PAVN tanks. Armor reinforcements were eventually dispatched to help bolster the ARVN forces in Laos, but these arrived piecemeal and it

13668-469: The rounds in Neoprene bags to reduce the impact of moisture on the combustible case rounds. These were removed by the loader before the round was used. The combustible case was made more durable, and less likely to break, in subsequent generations of ammunition. An open- breach scavenging system using compressed air to blow any debris out of the gun was installed to resolve the issue of smoldering debris in

13802-472: The same gun, the T71 and T92 . The T92 appeared to be the more promising of the two. As the prototypes were entering testing, information about the new Soviet PT-76 light tank became available. The PT-76 was amphibious, and soon there were demands that any U.S. light tank should be able to swim as well. The T92 could not be easily refitted for this role, so the Army canceled the program in 1958. In January 1959,

13936-696: The series, coupled with those of the M41 in general, led to the US Army only adopting the M75 in large numbers. During the prelude to the Bay of Pigs Invasion , the Central Intelligence Agency proposed creating a single tank platoon composed of anti-communist exiles to support Brigade 2506 's incursion and subsequent seizure of strategic sites in Cuba likely to be patrolled or defended by armor, mostly Soviet-supplied T-34 -85 medium tanks. To that end,

14070-613: The son of World War II General Patton – commander of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (11th ACR), the only full regiment of cavalry in South Vietnam. When Abrams mentioned the cavalry's concerns over the new vehicle, Patton recommended that the Sheridans be combat tested by a divisional cavalry squadron as well as a squadron from his own regiment, as the squadrons had completely different missions. The first Sheridans arrived in South Vietnam in January 1969 and were accompanied by their factory representatives, instructors and evaluators as

14204-594: The tanks withdrawn from service and returned to the US due to continued political differences between the two countries. They were superseded in Argentine service by the AMX-13 , and a proposal to purchase or request the loan of more M41s from the US was canceled. The M41 was the first tank to be adopted in large quantities by Brazil's armed forces, and formed the armored mainstay of both the Brazilian Army and

14338-532: The tanks' superior maneuverability, the PAVN tanks responded with flanking movements which enveloped and overran the M41s before they could maneuver. North Vietnamese infantrymen also succeeded in knocking out several platoons of static M41s with 9M14 Malyutka ( AT-3 Sagger ) anti-tank guided missiles. Still others were captured, and used by the PAVN at the Battle of An Lộc , where defending US troops were forced to destroy them with M72 LAWs . Between 1965 and 1972

14472-527: The time, the M551 was rushed into combat service to South Vietnam in January 1969. Later that year, M551s were deployed to units in Europe and South Korea. The Sheridan saw extensive combat in the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1973. However, problems with the platform became evident, particularly its poor survivability and reliability. Based on its experiences in Vietnam, the Army realized the shortcomings of

14606-491: The trio, T37 Phase Two , was selected for further testing and received a unique designation, T41 . In its final, pre-production form this model was known as T41E1 to the US Army. The T41E1 was envisaged as a highly mobile light tank, capable of undertaking aggressive reconnaissance and being sufficiently armed to engage the latest Soviet medium tanks if necessary. It was to utilize automotive parts and components already common to other US military vehicles and incorporate

14740-408: The turret itself had 125 electric faults, several recoil system faults and instances of blown up guns. An additional problem was that much of the carried machine-gun ammunition had to be stored outside the turret as the internal space was extremely limited. Although an average M48 crew could fire as many as seventeen 90 mm rounds during a "mad minute" (60 seconds with all guns firing on command),

14874-454: The turret or the day periscopes replaced with new infrared periscopes. An emergency escape hatch is situated beneath the driver's seat. The engine compartment is located towards the rear of the hull and is insulated from the crew by a fireproof bulkhead. The Allison Cross-Drive Model CD-500-3 transmission is located within this compartment, immediately behind the engine, and includes one forward and one reverse gear ratios. All M41 tanks utilize

15008-438: The upper corner where the side met the top of the hull, and held up at the back with poles. The front of the "hull" was provided with a plastic window, but in practice it was found that water splashing onto it made it almost useless, and the driver instead usually had to take steering directions from the vehicle commander. The M2 Bradley adopted a similar solution, but dropped it with upgraded armor. The Sheridan could swim across

15142-490: The upper hull rear. Both turret sides are vertical and slightly sloped. Other identifying features on the turret include the bustle and stowage box at the rear, the commander's cupola to the right, and the muzzle brake with fume extractor on the main armament. The M41A1, M41A2, and M41A3 were equipped with a 76 mm M32A1 high velocity rifled cannon firing fixed high explosive (HE), armor piercing (AP), or high velocity armor piercing (HVAP) ammunition. The baseline M41

15276-463: The vehicle if the spalling contacted the caseless main gun rounds . Like the M113 armored personnel carrier , it was vulnerable to mines. The Sheridan was powered by a large 300-hp (224 kW) Detroit Diesel 6V53T diesel engine, and a flat track (no support rollers). The XM551 thus had an excellent power-to-weight ratio and mobility, able to run at speeds up to 72 km/h (45 mph). However,

15410-441: The vehicle proved to be very noisy and early Sheridans were unreliable under combat conditions. Swimming capability was provided by a flotation screen. The front armor was overlain by folding "surfboard". This could be opened up into a sloping vertical surface in front of the driver, providing a bow of a boat hull, about level with the top of the turret. Fabric formed the rest of the water barrier, folding up from compartments lining

15544-554: Was an American light tank developed for armed reconnaissance purposes. It was produced by Cadillac between 1951 and 1954 and marketed successfully to the United States Army as a replacement for its aging fleet of World War II -vintage M24 Chaffee tanks. Although engineered as a reconnaissance vehicle, the M41's weight and armament also made it effective in the close infantry support role and for rapid airborne deployments. Upon entering US service, all M41s received

15678-473: Was armed with a .50 caliber M2HB in a flexible anti-aircraft mount on the turret. Stowage capacity was for 1000 rounds Early production Sheridans were armed with the 7.62 mm M73 coaxial machine gun. These were soon replaced with the M73E1 model and then the 7.62 mm M219 variant. The M73 and M219 were problematic designs and were replaced by the 7.62 mm M240 machine gun. Stowage capacity

15812-465: Was called the M81E1. Sheridans with this system installed carried 29 rounds of ammunition instead of 30 due to space constraints. The second and even third road wheels could clear off the ground when the main gun fired high-explosive anti-tank rounds. The recoil was so violent that components such as the commander's birdcage armor and the searchlight were liable to come off. In the Vietnam War , firing

15946-611: Was destroyed after its parachutes failed to deploy, while another was damaged. As of 2009, this marked the first and only combat air-drop of tanks in history. The Sheridan was praised for its performance in Panama. A U.S. after-action report noted the Sheridan's "extreme psychological effect on enemy forces", who were apparently deterred from firing at U.S. forces reinforced by tanks. In the early days of Desert Shield , Sheridans were airlanded in Saudi Arabia before coalition heavy armor arrived by ship. The first Sheridans sent were

16080-470: Was due largely to the high loss rate of Sheridans and casualty rates among crews. Landmines and RPGs that would damage an M48 Patton tank, tended to destroy a Sheridan and either kill or wound most of its crew. A 1969 evaluation of the vehicles found that the M551 was employed in reconnaissance, night patrol and road clearing, accumulating 39,455 road miles and 520 combat missions, with a ready rate of 81.3 percent. Despite vulnerability to rockets and mines, it

16214-502: Was equipped with a very similar 76 mm M32/T91E3 cannon. In all four marks, a co-axial .30 caliber machine gun is mounted to the left of the main armament; additionally, in US service an external .50 caliber machine gun was also mounted to the turret roof. The 76 mm cannon has a maximum elevation of +19.75° and a depression of −9.75°. It utilizes a vertical sliding breech block and a spring actuated, inertia percussion firing mechanism. To prevent overpressure and help absorb recoil,

16348-476: Was for 3,000 rounds. Early XM551 pilots had a .50 caliber spotting rifle , and pilot #7 had a 15mm XM122 spotting rifle. Development of spotting rifles was ended when it was decided to eventually install laser rangefinders on the production vehicle. The vehicle had a steel turret and aluminum hull. Although the hull could deflect heavy machine gun fire of up to 12.7 mm AP, it was easily penetrated by rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), which could destroy

16482-449: Was form-fitted to hold the combustible-case portion of the round. The white/silver-colored bag had a strap attached to the bottom, which the loader would grab and pull off prior to gently inserting the round into the breech. Once a mine or RPG-type weapon created an ignition source, smoke and fire became imminent, and it became a matter of Standing Operating Procedure to abandon the tank immediately. On 15 February 1969, just one month after

16616-421: Was judged worthy of applying modifications and equipping all cavalry squadrons with the Sheridan. In addition to the problems presented by aluminum construction, the Sheridan had a defect that no other common armored vehicle possessed: it fired combustible-cased 152 mm main gun rounds. These rounds were "fixed", meaning that the projectile was firmly attached to the combustible-cased propellant charge, and if

16750-512: Was mated to an M41 chassis, which began firing tests in August 1962 at Aberdeen Proving Ground. The third generation of pilots, starting with pilot 7, eliminated the water jet propulsion. Pilots 9–11 were delivered in 1964, and pilot 12 was delivered in February 1965. In the 1960s the Army was also developing the MBT-70 main battle tank with West Germany. The U.S. Army no longer used the heavy, medium, and light tank classifications. In 1960, with

16884-686: Was often unserviceable due to logistical problems and age. With the formation of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) in 1962, US influence on ARVN doctrine grew; all armored units were subsequently reorganized and patterned after the US cavalry regiments. American advisers also made a concerted attempted to refurbish the ARVN M24 fleet but encountered sourcing problems with the US Army supply system's dwindling stock of M24 parts, most of which had already been disposed of or donated to other countries. They arranged to have

17018-486: Was overwhelmed. The surviving M41s were abandoned on the beach near Playa Girón when the invasion ended. The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)'s fledgling armored corps had its roots in a colonial armored corps established by French Indochina in 1950 and equipped with old M24 Chaffee and M5 Stuart light tanks. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s South Vietnamese armor was not used in offensive maneuvers and

17152-482: Was rejected, but Australia offered to send a squadron of Centurion tanks in their stead. By 1978, New Zealand's M41s were no longer regarded as cost-effective due to their increasing age, as well as an inadequate budget for their continued maintenance. The Ministry of Defence argued that a cheaper light tank was needed, and in 1983 the M41s were decommissioned and replaced by the FV101 Scorpion . Only one

17286-635: Was retained in operational condition; this was donated to the New Zealand National Army Museum . During the mid to late 1970s, the purported presence of M41 Walker Bulldog tanks in the South African Defence Force (SADF) aroused international interest, especially when press reports suggested they had been used as part of Operation Savannah , a controversial 1975 South African military incursion into Angola . In 1977, an economist named Sean Gervasi at

17420-566: Was risky because unlike the M41, no prototype or test models were manufactured and trialed. In January 1951, under intense pressure to meet the US Army's requirements, representatives of the Army Ordnance Corps agreed to approve the anti-aircraft platform, self-propelled guns, and armored personnel carrier for production "with the full knowledge that in doing so there were certain inherent risks involved by foregoing complete tests and evaluation". The technical problems encountered with

17554-473: Was the first postwar tank to be adopted by the Bundeswehr after its formation in 1955. In German service, it was primarily utilized for its traditional role of reconnaissance. Each Bundeswehr division was organized with an integral armored reconnaissance battalion of one M41 company and two companies of Schützenpanzer SPz 11-2 Kurz tracked scout vehicles. The concept of light tanks proved unpopular with

17688-507: Was the only occasion in which Shillelagh missiles were fired in anger, from the inventory of 88,000 missiles produced. Other than some overheating problems in the summer months of the buildup, the Sheridan suffered no mechanical breakdowns in combat and performed extremely well. During 1967 and 1968 the Australian Army trialed two Sheridans to determine if the type met a requirement for light armored fighting vehicles to serve with

17822-539: Was to mount a large steel shield , from the M113 Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle, around the commander's 50-cal. (12.7 mm) gun, allowing it to be fired with some level of protection. This evolved into an "armored birdcage". Anti-mine armor kits composed of spaced aluminum and steel plates were applied to the hull bottom, although only covering from the front to halfway to the end. Later, steel plates were applied to hull sides above

17956-574: Was used in lieu of the M113 ACAV, the Sheridan was a poor substitute for the better armored M48 Patton . The Sheridan had several advantages: it did not get stuck in the mud as often as the 52-ton M48 did, nor did it throw its track off as often. The reliability of the engine system and gun of the tank was, however, not fully up to the task. Of 74 M551 sent to Vietnam in February 1969, by May there were recorded 16 serious mechanical faults, 41 failed shots, 140 defective ammunitions and 25 burned engines;

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