U.S. Armor

[jimmyj]

Were there U.S. Tanks in Vietnam prior to 1964 ?

 

[lihpster]

According to Google, no.

No, there were no U.S. tanks in Vietnam prior to 1964. The official combat commitment of U.S. ground forces, including tanks, began in 1965.
Key details about the deployment of tanks:

• Initial deployments: The first U.S. tank to arrive in Vietnam was an M48A3 Patton tank, which came ashore with the U.S. Marines on March 3, 1965.
• Prior involvement: Before 1965, American involvement in Vietnam was limited to an advisory role, providing military assistance and training to the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN). U.S. armored personnel carriers, like the M113, were supplied to the ARVN as early as 1962, but these were used by South Vietnamese forces, not American troops.
• Military outlook before 1965: Prior to the major escalation, many U.S. military strategists viewed Vietnam as an infantry war. U.S. armor schools in 1964, for example, did not even discuss Vietnam as a potential theater for armored units, focusing instead on conventional tank warfare scenarios in Europe.

 

[Onomea]

I'm no military historian, and am not a veteran, but.... I wonder how effective the use of tanks would have been for us in the Vietnam War...

I'm thinking if the primary enemy is the Viet Cong, guerrillas.... Hit and run, fade away, hiding among civilians, how useful is a tank?

There were some battles against the NVA, North Vietnamese Army regulars, I think. (Not many, I don't think, because that was playing to our strength.) Maybe tanks were useful then.

Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than I am will comment.

 

[Greyman50]

M-551 Sheridans were used by several units. Not actually a tank in conventional terms but a light armored recon vehicle. 11 ACR used them as we supported them. Aluminum hull with a steel armor "clam shell" looking turret armed with a 152 mm gun. Originally designed to fire the Shileglagh missile and conventional shells. Problem with the shileglagh missile was firing it would knock the laser aiming system out and system had to be recalibrated after firing. Missiles were not used in Vietnam as they were usually anti armor..Here's a few pics, one on the road and couple inside turret.
The M-48 Patton tanks were heavy, real heavy and use kind of limited to terrain. M-48 were armed with 90 mm main gun. BTW, the flywheel of the engine of a M-48 weighed 900 pounds.

 

[lihpster]

I'm no military historian, and am not a veteran, but.... I wonder how effective the use of tanks would have been for us in the Vietnam War...

I'm thinking if the primary enemy is the Viet Cong, guerrillas.... Hit and run, fade away, hiding among civilians, how useful is a tank?

There were some battles against the NVA, North Vietnamese Army regulars, I think. (Not many, I don't think, because that was playing to our strength.) Maybe tanks were useful then.

Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than I am will comment.

The north had very few tanks and terrain being what it was, heavy tanks were limited in use. Lighter armored vehicles of different kinds were used. One that was reportedly very effective at close infantry support was the M50 Ontos. With 6 recoilless rifles it packed a pretty good punch. Load them all with beehive rounds and they were pretty devastating on troops without hard cover.

 

[Greyman50]

We gave the ARVNs many older US tanks (M-41s)and even some M-48s later. Tanks were used in many combat situations, defense of bunker lines and many search and destroy missions. Unless the vc or nva had several RPGs they had little defense against any armor. They did use many kinds of " mines" to destroy our armor and the ARVNs. We had the remains of a 551 that had run over a vc "mine" made from a 250 pound A/C bomb. Killed entire crew and hull was only about 2' tall.

 

[bgrafsr]

I worked at the GM tank plant next to the Cleveland Airport. M551's were built there. To check the guns laser sighting system, they would go outside the plant, aim the gun at the Ford Company's smoke stack, and run the tank in circles. The gun never waivered from the stack.
We had a proving ground off plant property where the 551's and M109's were driven around test tracks for reliability. I was a guard and worked at the proving grounds a lot. The workers there would let me drive the 551's and 109's on the test tracks, but had to stop if Union Reps came out to the facility.
There was a lake on the grounds too and they would float the vehicles in the lake as one of the tests. I would fish the lake and get good sized large mouthed bass and huge bluegills. I would let the main plant know I would be fishing, as we were suppose to check in every hour to let them know all was well.