M56 Scorpion
M56 Scorpion | |
---|---|
Continental AOI-403-5 gasoline engine (150 kW)200 brake horsepower | |
Transmission | Allison CD-150-4, 2 ranges forward, 1 reverse |
Suspension | Torsion tube over bar at wheels 1 and 4, torsion bar at wheels 2 and 3 |
Ground clearance | 0.32 m (1 ft 1 in) |
Fuel capacity | 210 litres (46 imp gal; 55 US gal) |
Operational range | 230 kilometres (140 mi) |
Maximum speed | 45 kilometres per hour (28 mph) |
The M56 "Scorpion" Self-Propelled Gun is an American unarmored,
90mm M54
gun with a simple blast shield, and an unprotected crew compartment.
History
The M56 was manufactured from 1953 to 1959 by the
Spanish Navy Marines, Morocco and South Korea. With a crew of four (commander, gunner, loader and driver), the M56 weighed 6.4 tonnes (14,000 lb) empty and 7.7 tonnes (17,000 lb) combat-loaded. It had infrared driving lights but no NBC protection and was not amphibious
.
The M56 was a fully
developing 200 brake horsepower (150 kW) at 3,000 rpm, allowing a maximum road speed of 28 miles per hour (45 km/h) and a maximum range of 140 miles (230 km). Twenty-nine rounds of main gun ammunition were carried, and only the small 5 mm thick blast shield was armored.In service
The M56 saw combat service with U.S. forces in the
Ontos
, which had an armored cabin and was armed with recoilless rifles, in a similar role (the running gear of the first Ontos prototype was the same as on the M56, but it was replaced for the production variant).
As for foreign operators, Morocco was the only export customer which used M56 Scorpions in actual combat. M56 Scorpions were deployed against
Polisario rebels during the Western Sahara War. A number of examples were made available to South Korea but not used.[citation needed
]
Operators
Former operators
- United States
- Tercio de Armada from 1966 to 1970[2]
- West Germany: 1 for evaluation in 1960[3]
- Morocco: 87 received in 1966-1967[2]
- Republic of Korea: 60 ex-American M56 were left as surplus but never used[2]
Survivors
United States
- American Legion Post 8 in Guntersville, Alabama.
- Two of them can be found in the American Military Museum in South El Monte, California.
- American Legion post in Duluth, Georgia.
- Ropkey Armor Museum in Crawfordsville, Indiana
- Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
- Iowa Gold Star Museum at Camp Dodge in Johnston, Iowa.
- Forbes Field, in Topeka, Kansas.
- Forest Hill Station in Millersburg, Kentucky.
- Boyd County War Memorial in Armco Park in Summit, Kentucky.
- One can be found in Constitution Park in Cumberland, Maryland.
- Collings Foundation in Stow, Massachusetts.
- Elmwood Park, New Jersey.
- 82nd Airborne War Memorial Museum in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
- Fort Sill, Oklahoma
- 45th Infantry Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
- One can be found in the city of Elkton, South Dakota on the corner of Elk St. and 3rd St.
- American Legion Hall, Post 88, in Donelson, Tennessee.
- Texas Military Forces Museum, Camp Mabry in Austin, Texas.
- Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2524 Culpeper, Virginia.
- A restored M56 is on display at the American Armored Foundation Tank Museum in Danville, Virginia, along with a diorama of a destroyed M56.
- A well preserved M56 can be found in a city park in Auburn, Washington.
- Tillicum Park in Forks, Washington.
- One example can be found outside the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby.
South Korea
- One former Republic of Korea Army example on display at the War Memorial of Korea.
New Zealand
- One example in M&M Military Vehicle Museum (Private Museum) under restoration.
See also
- G-numbers(SNL G289)
- M-numbers
- FV4401 Contentious
References
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2017) |
- Notes
- ISBN 9781846032394– via Google Books.
- ^ a b c Estes 2016, p. 44.
- ^ Estes 2016, p. 46.
- Bibliography
- Foss, Christopher F. (1974) [1972]. Jane's Pocket Book of Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles. Collier Books. p. 153. LC Control No. 73-15286.
- Trewhitt, Philip (1999). Armored Fighting Vehicles. New York, NY: Amber Books. p. 126. ISBN 0-7607-1260-3.
- Estes, Kenneth W (2016). M50 Ontos and M56 Scorpion 1956–70: US Tank Destroyers of the Vietnam War. New Vanguard 240. ISBN 9781472814739.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to M56 Scorpion.