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Hi gentlemen,

Could anybody tell me if during Vientam war ontos vehicle was ever handed to the south vietnam army or remained in US hands ?

And what kind of ammunition its 106 recoilless gun used there ?

Thanks in advance.

J Valls

Hi Jose,
Don is your man, but I'm pretty sure they were all in Marine hands and none were handed over. I think the rounds available were HE and canister, which I believe we had for our 106's as well (not on ONTOS) but I'm not absolutely sure about that either.

D.

- javalls

Hi gentlemen,

Could anybody tell me if during Vientam war ontos vehicle was ever handed to the south vietnam army or remained in US hands ?

And what kind of ammunition its 106 recoilless gun used there ?

Thanks in advance.

J Valls

I think I can handle this one...

The Ontos originally fired two rounds, The M344 HEAT Round and the M346 HEP-T round.

In Vietnam the 'Bee-Hive' (APERS) round was added and used extensively.

In 1969-1970, All Ontos equipt Marine Corps elements departed Vietnam. Most of the M50A1's ended up being dumped in the desert in S. California.

An (as of yet) undetermined number of Ontos were transferred to a select US Army unit. They were utilized for a short period of time, and purportedly ended up as buried 'strongpoints' in perimeter defence.

No M50A1 Ontos were handed over to the ARVN.

The History of the Ontos

Hi Folks!

- Dontos

An (as of yet) undetermined number of Ontos were transferred to a select US Army unit. They were utilized for a short period of time, and purportedly ended up as buried 'strongpoints' in perimeter defence.

That 'select' US Army unit was the 173rd Airborne Brigade who used the Ontos as a replacement for their M56 SPATs.

An interesting turn of events sense the Army funded most of the Ontos developement, then dropped it, turned around and picked the M56 in place of it.

Spot Report!
Sgt, Scouts Out!

Thanks a lot guys.

Just another question. What kind of ammo was the canister. Something against infantry ?

Regards,

Jose

- javalls

Thanks a lot guys.

Just another question. What kind of ammo was the canister. Something against infantry ?

Regards,

Jose

Not Cannister, that is usually defined as 'buck-shot'.

The Ontos carried and used extensively, 'BEE-HIVE' (the dreaded 'flechette' round).




Don

Hi Folks!

"'BEE-HIVE' (the dreaded 'flechette' round)."

Think of a coffee can full of 10 penny nails with fins on one end.
The can sides break apart into four parts as it clears the end of the gun tube.

Very effective in very heavy brush when fired from a Sheridan's 152 mm main gun.

Sgt, Scouts Out!

As Roy said, "canister" in Vietnam was also a flechette round applied to the 152mm round. Sometimes referred to in G.I. vernacular as simply "nails".

Thanks again.

It seems to be devastating against infantry.
Is it the same type being used on Irak by M1's ?

Regards,

Jose

No

The Flechette round is not in use.

The Cannister round for the 120mm has been placed in active service inventories for a few years now.



Don

There are a few tank types of rounds in use. The normal APFSDS (aka Sabot) is used against tanks. Currently being used is the next generation of HEAT round called MPAT or multi-purpose anti-tank.