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Informationen zum Autor Kenneth W Estes is a Naval Academy graduate who served in a variety of command and staff assignments in the US Marine Corps until his retirement in 1993. He earned his doctorate in European History in 1984 and has taught at Duke University, the US Naval Academy, and local schools. He is the editor of several books, and has written extensively in military and academic journals throughout his career. Kenneth was made an Honorary Legionnaire in the Spanish Legion in 1992. Klappentext Designed in the 1950s, the US Marines' M50 Ontos and the US Army's M56 Scorpion were both intended to be fast, light, air-droppable tank-killers for the Cold War battlefield--an answer to the cumbersome and ineffective World War II-vintage tanks that had taken to the battlefield during the Korean War. Although they shared the aim of bringing light, mobile, and lethal antitank firepower to the infantry, the two vehicles varied wildly in design to cater for their unique mission demands. They first saw service in the Lebanon intervention of 1958 but it was in the Vietnam War that they made their name, with the M50 Ontos seeing intense combat action in the 1968 Battle of Hue. Detailed illustrations and expert analysis provide the reader with a comprehensive history of these deadly antitank vehicles, from early development through to their combat history and the eventual disbandment of the Marine Corps' last antitank battalion with M50A1s in 1971. Vorwort Designed as fast, light tank destroyers for the Cold War battlefield, the agile, heavily armed M50 Ontos and M56 Scorpion instead found their raison d'être in the jungles of Vietnam. This book offers a technical and combat history of these intriguing vehicles that will appeal to historians of the Vietnam War and US tank enthusiasts. Zusammenfassung A technical and combat history of these agile, heavily armed vehicles in the jungles of Vietnam, ideal for historians of the Vietnam War and US tank enthusiasts. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction: original procurement concept of M50 & M56 /M50 Ontos development /M56 Scorpion development /Into service, 1950s to Vietnam /Combat history in Vietnam /Analysis & Conclusion /Bibliography /Index...
