M42 Duster

M42 Duster. . The U.S. Army introduced the M19 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage in 1944. It was a self propelled anti-aircraft gun armed with twin 40mm Bofors rifles. The Bofors had proved devastating to aircraft in the war up to that point. Using them for mobile air defense was an obvious choice. Post war the Army decided to move away from the M24 Chaffee chassis on which the M19 rode. The M41 Walker Bulldog was chosen to replace it. The 40mm was still deemed effective, however. Installing the 40mm turret on the Bulldog chassis became the new M42 Duster in 1952. The move to the Bulldog chassis improved reliability and simplified supply lines. A total of 3,700 M42's were built at GM's Cleveland Tank Plant. , Production began in 1952, which meant the M42 missed serving in the Korea War. It operated with armored divisions. Late in the 1950's the Army decided that supersonic aircraft were too fast and high flying for the Duster to effectively combat against. So, the decision was made to gradually phase it out. The Army replaced it with the self propelled HAWK surface to air missile (SAM) system. It was the Army's opinion that only a missile could effectively and consistently engage hostile aircraft. The M42 was given to the National Guard by 1963, though the 517th Air Defense Regiment did keep their M42's in the Panama Canal Zone into the 1970's. SAM performance in Vietnam would change things. , At low altitudes the HAWK SAMS performed poorly. The Army began to recall the M42 in order to cover U.S. troops on the ground. While the nearly twenty year old Dusters achieved a few early kills, the threat of North Vietnamese air attack never really materialized. More often than not they supported troops with direct fire. The North Vietnamese were so overwhelmed by the volume of tracer and high explosive projectiles they dubbed it, "The Fire Dragon." Ultimately, the Army decided to pull the M42 out of Vietnam. Their drivetrain was prone to breakdown and overheating engines would even catch fire. The remainder of their service life would be spent with the National Guard. While the last of the Dusters in U.S. service were finally retired in 1988, some nations still operate them today in small numbers. , Technical Data , Height - 9 feet 4 inches , Width - 10 feet 7 inches , Length - 19 feet 1 inch , Weight - 49,600 lbs. , Speed - 45 mph , Range - 99 miles , Armament - two M2A1 40mm Bofors , Hull - Welded RH Steel , Engine - Air Cooled Gasoline V6 500 hp, Did you know? , The twin 40mm Bofors that act as the main armament for the "Duster" are the same anti-aircraft guns found on the USS Alabama., Captions , Upper Right: The crew of the M42 "George of the Jungle" pose for a picture in Vietnam. , Source: Armorama.com