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The Marine Corps has a very rich armor history. I found that to be quite surprising. I always assumed that being primarily an infantry force, that wouldn't be the case. But it is. The pics above show some of the vehicles that I've found and also some of the vehicles that I can't find a designation of. The top two vehicles are complete mysteries but the bottom one is the Ontos. Whoever came up with the idea of mounting six 106mm recoil-less rifles to a "mini" armored vehicle should have been tested for crack. That's one of the craziest things I've ever seen, but apparently it worked well in Vietnam. AMAZING.
The top one is an M49 Otter amphibious cargo/troop carrier. It is NOT armored - aircraft aluminum sides. It went through mud a slop well and swam rivers in Nam until folks realized you could poke a pencil through the side.
ReplyDeleteThe Ontos was the best anti-sniper tool I ever saw. Had one with us whe we were the anvil for a sweep south of DaNang.
good stuff as always. i thought i was well versed when it came to all things Marine Corps but it seems i still have alot to learn!
ReplyDeleteThe Ontos was considered an infantry weapon. It used rifles after all. The MOS for the three crew was 0353 IIRC. Check out http://ontos.homestead.com/ms3.html
ReplyDeleteSecond one is an armoured variant of the M116, the XM733 Assault Vehicle.
ReplyDeleteMore details: http://olive-drab.com/idphoto/id_photos_m116_husky.php
wow. good find Chris! mystery solved. interesting! thanks guy!
ReplyDelete