Copied from the plaque:
"M42A1 Duster Tank
Side number 12L729
Tank M48A1(Patton)
Armament 1- 90MM Gun
2- 50 Cal. Machine Guns
Weight 99,000 lbs Combat Loaded
Crew 4 Men
Maximum Speed 28 MPH
Cruising Range 70 Miles
Grade Ascending Ability 60 Percent
**** NOTE: I have received an email from a serviceman who is personally familiar with this model of tank, and he indicates this is a M48 Patton Tank and not a M42-A1 Duster as the plaque indicates. Thank you to bagger92 for the info. I will leave all of the information on the waymark (both the plaque information and the update from bagger92).
Fording depth of water 4 Feet
Width of ditch tank will cross 8.5 Feet
Donated by U.S. Army Weapons Command"
*************
The following was taken from a longer article at the following website:
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visit link)
"From 1953 until the end of the Korean War the M42 served in the anti-aircraft battalions of the armored divisions. In 1956 a second model, the M42A1, was developed. The A1 model had a new AOSI-895-5 engine with a fuel injection system, the same used on the upgraded Walker Bulldog light tank variants, the M41A2 and M41A3. The improved engine system increased the M42’s cruising range to around 120 miles (190 km).
Production of the M42A1 was eventually halted in December 1959, but the system continued to be used in Army service until the early 1960s, when it was then transferred to the National Guard. Army studies had shown that guns could no longer provide adequate protection against enemy aircraft and would therefore be replaced by missile systems. During its nearly seven year production run, from 1952 to 1959, a total of 3,700 M42/M42A1s were built. In the early stages of the Vietnam War, the Army began recalling the M42A1s from the National Guard and organizing them into air defense artillery (ADA) battalions. In late 1966, the M42A1s began arriving in Vietnam. In all, three M42A1 equipped ADA battalions were deployed to Vietnam: 1st Battalion, 44th Artillery (Automatic Weapons, Self-Propelled), supporting the 3d Marine Division in northern I Corps; 5th Battalion, 2d Artillery (Automatic Weapons, Self-Propelled), assigned to II Field Force Artillery in II Corps; and 4th Battalion, 60th Artillery (Automatic Weapons, Self-Propelled), assigned to 41st Artillery Group, I Field Force Artillery, in III Corps. Each battalion numbered over a thousand men and consisted of a headquarters battery and four firing batteries. Each battery consisted of two platoons, with each platoon having four guns. Every battalion was further augmented by an attached M55 Quad .50 caliber machine gun battery and an artillery searchlight battery.
Although by 1966 the M42 was a fourteen year old system which had seen little combat, it was during the Vietnam War that the Duster came into its own. The North Vietnamese Air Force, relatively small and committed solely to air-to-air operations over its own airspace, posed no threat to U.S. ground forces. This gave the Duster the freedom to serve in a purely ground support role.
Dusters were usually deployed in pairs. Their massive firepower caused havoc and instilled sheer terror in the Viet Cong. "The VC call them ‘Fire Dragons’ because they don’t know what to make of them. Giving up is a pretty common occurrence," recalled 1LT Gene S. Lucas, 5/2nd Artillery. "Charlie doesn’t usually mess with us, unless he hasn’t seen a duster before. If the VC have ever come against one before, they’ll usually stay away," added SGT Ernest Smith, 5/2nd Artillery.
Because the dense jungle terrain caused severe wear on the Duster’s gasoline engine (which was susceptible to catching fire when overheated), transmission, and suspension, the vehicle could not fully utilize its cross country capability. Furthermore, the 40mm’s point-detonating ammunition had a very sensitive fuse which had a limited effect in the thick jungle foliage. As a result, the Duster was used primarily for point security, convoy escort, and perimeter defense. Other missions included counter-mortar fire, counter-rocket fire, and infantry support. The M42 also cruised the waters of the Mekong Delta aboard M8 landing craft, providing fire support for the 9th Infantry Division’s Mobile Riverine Force.
Having a Duster on point would give a sense of safety to accompanying ground troops and guarantee superior fire support if attacked. In convoy escort, the Duster’s speed, firepower, and armor protection served as a significant deterrent to enemy ambush. It was in their role of perimeter security, however, that the Duster’s could really shine. With their rapid rate of fire and the fifty meter bursting radius of their high explosive rounds, the Dusters were perfect for shattering enemy attacks and troop concentrations.
Dusters could also perform indirect fire missions using targeting data from artillery fire-direction centers. They were able to fire faster than standard artillery pieces with pinpoint accuracy at short ranges and put up a wall of fire on automatic or engage with a single round which allowed them greater target accessibility. On night security, the Dusters were paired with a searchlight set on infrared mode which could sweep an area without revealing its position. Once a target was detected, visible light mode was used to illuminate and engage the target.
In 1971 the Army began to withdraw its ADA units from Vietnam. By the middle of 1972 the Dusters, now twenty years old, were all gone. During their six year tour, the Duster’s had fired over four million rounds, all in a ground support role. Though over thirty years have passed since the Dusters last saw action, they can still be found in museums, military vehicle parks and, occasionally, driven in a parade by proud, smiling veterans who still remember their days with the "fire dragons."