M42A1 Duster – Foto's &Video

Fotogalerij van een M42A1 Duster, The M42 40 mm Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun, or “Duster,” is an American armored light air-defense gun built for the United States Army from 1952 until December 1959, in service until 1988. Production of this vehicle was performed by the tank division of the General Motors Corporation. It used components from the M41 light tank and was constructed of all-welded steel.

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De M42A1 Duster was a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun developed by the United States Army in the 1950s. It was based on the chassis of the M41 Walker Bulldog light tank and armed with two 40 mm Bofors guns mounted in an open-topped turret. The M42A1 was designed to provide air defense for ground forces against low-flying aircraft and helicopters. It was also capable of engaging ground targets with its high-explosive shells.
De M42A1 kwam in 1953 in dienst en zag gevechten in de Koreaanse oorlog en de vietnamoorlog. Het was effectief tegen vijandelijke vliegtuigen in Korea, maar werd geconfronteerd met meer uitdagingen in Vietnam, waar het terrein en het weer het zicht en de mobiliteit beperkten. De M42A1 leed ook aan een gebrek aan pantserbescherming en een hoog silhouet dat hem kwetsbaar maakte voor vijandelijk vuur. Ondanks deze nadelen bleek de M42A1 een waardevolle aanwinst voor het ondersteunen van infanterie- en artillerie-eenheden met zijn snelvuurkanonnen.
De M42A1 was gradually replaced by more advanced air defense systems in the 1960s and 1970s, such as the M163 Vulcan and the MIM-72 Chaparral. The last M42A1 units were retired from the US Army in 1988. Some M42A1s were exported to other countries, such as Taiwan, South Korea, and Thailand, where they remained in service until the 1990s. The M42A1 is now a rare and collectible vehicle among military enthusiasts and historians.