M41 Walker Bulldog

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M41 Walker Bulldog

Type	Light tank
Place of origin	United States
Specifications
Weight	23.5 t
Length	27 ft (8.2 m)
Width	10.5 ft (3.2 m)
Height	8.9 ft (2.71 m)
Crew	4

Armor	up to 1.5 inches (38 mm)
Primary armament	1 x 76 mm M32 gun
Secondary armament	1 x .50 cal MG, 1 x .30 cal MG
Engine	Continental AOS 895-3 6-cylinder gasoline 500 hp (373 kW)
Power/weight	21.3 hp/tonne
Suspension	torsion bar
Operational range	100 miles (161 km)
Speed	45 mph (72 km/h)

The M41 Walker Bulldog was an American light tank developed to replace the M24 Chaffee. It was named for General Walton Walker who was killed in a jeep accident in Korea.

1 History
2 Legacy
3 Variants
4 Current and Former Operators
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

While the M24 Chaffee was a successful design, its main gun was not effective enough against well armored opponents. Although the primary mission of light tank was scouting, Armored Force wanted one with more powerful armament. The development of the new tank, T37, began in 1947. The vehicle was designed to be air-transportable, and the desired anti-tank capabilities were provided by installing a long 76 mm gun with an advanced rangefinder. In 1949, with the adoption of a less ambitious rangefinder, project changed its designation to M41. Production started in 1951 at Cadillac's Cleveland Tank Plant, and by 1953 the new tank completely replaced the M24 in the US Army. Initially it was nicknamed "Little Bulldog", then renamed to "Walker Bulldog" after General Walton Walker, who was killed in a jeep accident in Korea in 1950.

The M41 was an agile and well armed vehicle. On the other hand, it was noisy, fuel-hungry and heavy enough to cause problems with air transport. In 1952 work began on lighter designs (T71, T92), but those projects came to naught and were eventually abandoned.

The Walker Bulldog saw limited combat with the US Army during the Korean War, but for the most part, the conflict served as a testing ground to work out the tank's deficiencies, especially with its rangefinder. At the time, it was designated as the T-41, and was rushed to the battlefield even before its first test run.^{[citation needed]} This was due to the fact that the North Koreans were supplied with Soviet T-34 tanks, which were superior to the M-24. By 1961, one hundred fifty were delivered to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force to supplement their Type 61 medium tanks. Furthermore, in 1965 a number of vehicles were supplied to South Vietnam. The M41 went on to form the bulk of the ARVN Armored Force, and played a significant role in the Vietnam War. Being too lightly armored for most battlefield tasks, the tank was used mostly for internal security missions. On several occasions when the tank encountered North Vietnamese armor its gun was reportedly effective against enemy tanks, up until first encounters with the T-54 in 1971, when M41 was found inadequate and had to be gradually replaced with M48s.

The M41 has been also exported to Brazil (300), Chile (60), Dominican Republic (12), Guatemala (10), New Zealand (10), Somalia (10), Taiwan (675), Thailand (200), Tunisia (10) and other countries. Many of these tanks were upgraded to prolong their life. Some are still in service. Thai M41s were used in the Thailand coup d'état in September, 2006.

[edit] Legacy

The M41 was replaced in the US Army by the advanced, but troublesome M551 Sheridan light tank which had a gun/missile which could destroy any heavy tank, could swim and was air drop capable. The chassis of the M41 was used for the M42 Duster, which mounted two 40 mm anti-aircraft guns. It was also built up into the M75 Armored Personnel Carrier, one of the first enclosed box-shaped personnel carriers. The M75 would be the pattern for the M113 APC which would become the most widely produced US armoured combat vehicle.

[edit] Variants

M41A3.

M41 (1951).
M41A1 (1953) - Hydraulic turret traverse instead of the electrical one. The more compact system allowed to increase 76 mm ammunition stowage from 57 to 65 rounds.
M41A2 (1956) - Cummins VTA-903T diesel was installed.
M41A3 - M41/M41A1 with engine replaced by Cummins VTA-903T diesel.
M41 DK-1 - Danish upgrade. New engine, thermal sights, NBC protection, side skirts.
M41D - Taiwanese upgrade. New locally produced gun, new targeting systems, Detroit Diesel 8V-71T diesel engine, reactive armor.^[1]

M42 Duster (1952) - Self propelled anti-aircraft defense weapon system based on the M41 chassis. Two Bofors 40 mm guns were mounted in the turret.

Also Brazilian, German, Spanish, Uruguayan upgraded variants. Another upgrade package for the M41 was developed by the Nimda Group, Israel, solely for export.