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flatsix911 In reply to Rodd929 [2014-12-16 22:35:07 +0000 UTC]

I like it too.  It has nice lines.  There used to be a very clean example at the US Army Ordinance Museum in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.  However, that museum has been closed and all exhibits have been moved to storage.  There is a picture of that vehicle somewhere in my gallery.

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flatsix911 In reply to Exploration10 [2014-12-16 22:32:29 +0000 UTC]

This was actually an anti-aircraft gun mounted on a modified M41 light tank hull.  Pretty good use of recycling materials.  It was built in the 1950's and saw combat service in Vietnam.  Because North Vietnam did pose much of an aviation threat in South Vietnam, the Duster was used, effectively, in a ground support role.

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Exploration10 In reply to flatsix911 [2014-12-17 01:18:54 +0000 UTC]

Oh, i see. That's very resourceful indeed. 

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flatsix911 In reply to Exploration10 [2014-12-23 02:48:14 +0000 UTC]

The US Army did their own tank designs up until the 1960.  The Army had a team of engineers and very skilled technicians that would hand assemble prototypes for testing.  These prototypes were sent out to various proving grounds to be "run to failure", they were blown up, the weapons systems were tested.  After the prototype was "type classified" and issued an "M" number M-48 for example, the government owned factory, Detroit Tank Plant, started making the production vehicles.  The Production line allowed for continuous improvement throughout production.  After the tanks were fielded they were improved further.

Tank evolution occurred very quickly and armor fighting doctrine also evolved.  When the Main Battle Tank concept took hold, the Army eliminated the Light, Medium, and Heavy classes of tanks in favor of fielding a Main Battle Tank.  This left a lot of old style tanks with no home, they instantly became obsolete.  Hating to throw good stuff away, the government looked for a way to recycle some of their more successful platform.  The Duster was born of the desire to mate a proven anti aircraft gun with the hull of a light tank.  This gave the air defenders a highly mobile gun platform that could keep up with the mechanized/armor maneuver units.

The Duster wasn't used very much in it's intended roll in Vietnam since the North Vietnamese Air Force did not pose much of a threat in the south.  Therefore, the Dusters were used in a direct fire ground support roll.  By most reports, it performed fairly well, however, the 40mm ammunition had a point detonating fuse that would pre detonate against vegetation in the thick jungles of Vietnam.  A great many of these vehicles were towed out to tank gunnery ranges for use as hard targets.  The lucky ones were transported to static displays and museums.

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