weird military vehicles

Weird Military Vehicles - When news crews were filming the Battle of Hue during the 1968 Tet Offensive, dozens of small, ungainly vehicles were sometimes caught on camera running into enemy buildings.

They are not like traditional tanks and move very fast. They did not have a turret or a single main gun, and were only about 7 feet high and 8 feet wide.

Weird Military Vehicles

The vehicles are M50 Ontos tank destroyers. Abandoned by the military during its development, Ontos was adopted by the Marine Corps in 1956.

Gaijin's Choices About Adding Certain Vehicles Are Weird. Similar Issue With Sd.kfz. 234 Series

Despite its unusual appearance, it was an important part of the military corps during the Vietnam War.

An M50 Ontos, a light anti-tank vehicle with six 106mm unmounted guns, at La Port, Indiana, in 1955.

Development of the M50 began in the 1950s as a joint Army-Marine Corps project. The idea is to create a light-weight destroyer that can be moved and deployed quickly to support the military against enemy weapons.

In order to be transported by plane, it would only weigh about 10 tons. The result is a specimen so unique that it is called "Ontos", which roughly translates to "thing" in Greek.

World War 2 Tank

It is a small fixed vehicle that does not have bullets and anti-tank weapons. A traditional gun is too much for the suspension and suspension of the vehicle to hold when fired, so it was replaced with six M40A1C 105mm guns (called 106mm to avoid confusion with another non-reversible gun ) which can be switched on electronically from inside the car.

Ontos can fire his guns one at a time, in pairs, or all at once, and his cannon can be lowered 10 degrees, raised 20 degrees, or moved 40 degrees left or right. right. Four of the unmistakable guns are equipped with .50-caliber M8C sighting guns that revolve around a glowing tracer on the target to ensure the shooter has an accurate range.

The soldiers felt that it was too small for its crew of three, that its armor was too light (it usually failed to stop anything larger than a .50-caliber round), and that it force the carrier to release the vehicle to move it. gun defeat the purpose of the warship.

The soldiers canceled their orders and pursued the M56 Scorpion. But the Marines went ahead and ordered 297 people.

This Street Legal 8x8 Amphibious Apc Is Ready For The Apocalypse

An M50 Ontos landed at the US Marine Corps Station at Chu Lai Beach in South Vietnam, June 1965.

Its only kill against enemy artillery came during the US intervention in the Dominican Civil War in 1965, when it destroyed a French-built AMX-13 cruiser and a Swedish-built L-60 light tank.

The M50 saw real combat in Vietnam. Being lighter than a tank, it can move through jungles relatively easily and can be carried by CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters.

The North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong had no weapons of their own, but the Ontos were effective fire support vehicles, firing high-explosive charges at fixed positions and anti-personnel "hives". - which is filled with thousands of sharp. iron projectiles - when you charge enemy soldiers.

Weirdest Military Vehicles That Actually Saw Service

The M50 quickly gained a reputation for vertical protection. But in 1968, they were sent to commit crimes.

NVA and VC forces dug into South Vietnamese villages during the Tet Offensive and were difficult to dislodge. Introduce Ontos to eliminate them.

It turned out to be a huge urban warship. At a range of 300 to 500 meters, the muzzle-loading guns can punch holes in buildings for friendly troops to enter or destroy enemy positions within seconds.

His speed and maneuverability mean he can lead a "run and shoot" attack, arriving quickly, running away and returning to defense to reload.

Custom M36 Military Truck Is Really A Cozy Log Cabin You Can Buy

"If any support arm is to be considered more effective than any other, it must be the 106 mm recoilless gun, especially the M50 Ontos," said Col. said Stanley S. Hughes, commander of the 1st Marines in Hue, after the battle. war.

It can carry 24 guns for its gun alone, less than most other tanks. Standing behind the M50 when he fired his rifle was also dangerous because of their recoil.

His biggest problem is his thin armor, especially on the ground. The M50s quickly burst the anti-tank guns, which the VC used to great effect.

The ammo storage setup, which added more shells to the bottom of the car under the rear door, didn't help either. There is a high risk of a secondary explosion when they fly over a mine or are hit by a rocket bomb.

Weirdest Top Secret Soviet Military Vehicles That We Know About

The cramped interior, along with constant enemy fire at Hue, also affected the crew, who had yet to go out to transport. Then-Lt. Colonel Ernest C. Cheatham said during the battle that when the crew "came out of these tanks ... they looked like they had been hit."

The Corps' authorization system for the M50 also meant that when the unit was down, the Marines had to kill some while others ran.

By the 1970s, the M50 was withdrawn from service. The rest were sent home, where most of them were expelled. If you thought tanks looked awesome in a convoy, you ain't seen nothing. The military has produced some amazing, and valuable vehicles in its long history. The US, Germany, France and others have invented some unique wheel designs. Whether they are used to transport, deliver weapons, or confuse the enemy, take a look at these unknown and rare vehicles used in the military's past.

Where the tricycle meets the tank. The Kettenkrad is essentially a half motorcycle, half tank and is steered by turning the hand. The compact car was used by the Nazis during World War II to cope with hostile terrain. It was designed to work like any other car that is light and can be modified to fit in small spaces. It soon became a success and was replicated in more than 8,000 cars.

U.s. And China Build Replicas Of Each Other's Tanks

After the war, the cars continued to be used in agriculture, until they were discontinued in the late 1940s.

In 1899, the British Army ordered the deployment of armored vehicles. A massive 28-meter-long observatory was created, complete with 6mm-thick armor and a simple, four-cylinder engine. With two guns on the deck, the car required a team of four and traveled at a maximum speed of 9 mph. Another prototype was made but the model was not released.

The Vespa 150 TAP, was used in the early 1950s. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Always think of a Vespa, but with a bigger gun. That's the core of the 150 TAP, named after its 150cc engine. The gun was an unmistakable 75mm Mk 20, mounted on the front dashboard of the bike. These special Vespas were used in the 1950s in the Algerian War, specifically to attack guerrilla fighters, who were known to appear without warning. These guns can shoot almost four kilometers (!) and can penetrate 100 mm thick armor.

Crazy, Top Secret Soviet Military Vehicles That Make No Sense

Move to the battlefield in a one-man tank designed for reconnaissance missions. Japan received a model used by the Nazis during World War II, who later used the device. Not much is known about the Kugelpanzer, as plans or records for the latter have been broken.

Also known as "The Rolling Tank", it was equipped with a 5 mm cannon mounted on it from a slow-running two-cylinder engine.

Of course, the ability to move around on any surface sounds great, but in reality it may not be practical. That's what a group of Russian scientists discovered when they invented ZIL-2906 in the 1970s. Instead of wheels, the vehicle uses two large wheels to move forward on land, ice and even water, including wetlands.

But on the ground, the car goes up the road and can only travel at a speed limit of 3 mph. On water it can go faster, at 9 mph, and almost 30 mph in snow.

The T92 Light Tank

Despite its shortcomings, the vehicle allowed Russia to maneuver through rough terrain by loading the 2906 on a wheeled vehicle and delivering it when the towing vehicle could no longer cross rough terrain.