M551A1 Sheridan
M551, 3d Squadron, 4th Cavalry, Vietnam, 1969
Type
Place of origin
Specifications
Weight	15.2 tonnes
Length	6.3 m
Width	2.8 m
Height	2.3 m
Crew	4 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver)
Armour	mm
Primary armament	M81E1 152 mm Gun/Launcher 20 rounds 9 MGM-51 Shillelagh missiles
Secondary armament	7.62mm M73/M219 machine gun 3,000 rounds (early) 7.62 mm M240C machine gun 3,000 rounds (late) .50cal M2HB machine gun 1,000 rounds
Engine	General Motors 6V53T, 6 cylinder, supercharged diesel 300 hp (224 kW)
Power/weight	19.7 hp/tonne
Suspension	Torsion bar
Operational range	560 km
Speed	69 km/h

The M551 Sheridan was an Armored Reconnaissance Airborne Assault vehicle, developed by the United States, and named after Civil War General Philip Sheridan. It was designed to have both an air drop and swimming capability. Production began in 1966, entering the US Army inventory in 1967. Under the urging of GEN Creighton Abrams, the US Commander of Military Forces in Vietnam at the time, the M-551 was rushed into combat service in Vietnam in Janurary 1969. [3] M551 Sheridan tank, public domain image from army. ... Military vehicles are commonly armoured to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets or shells, protecting the soldiers inside from enemy fire. ... The Ford MGM-51 Shillelagh was a guided anti-armor missile designed to be launched from a conventional gun (cannon). ... M240B pictured Caliber: 7. ... This article is about the . ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... Philip Sheridan Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career U.S. Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. ...

Because one of the primary roles of armored cavalry is reconnaissance, the M-551's began replacing the armored cavalry's M-48 Patton tanks in South Vietnam. By 1970, the only M-48 Pattons remaining with an armored cavalry unit in Vietnam was with the 11th (Blackhorse) ACR (Armored Cavalry Regiment); being a full regiment, the 11th ACR was authorized a Tank Troop (company). Armored Cavalry Squadrons in Vietnam, such as the 1/1 (lst Squadron, 1st Cavalry), 3/4, 3/5, 4/12, etc. all were equipped with M-551's by 1970. [2]

During the 1960s, at the time of the M-551's entry into service, the United States Army no longer used the heavy, medium, and light tank classifications. The US Army had adopted the new doctrine of Main Battle Tank (MBT). The US Army still retained the M-41 Walker Bulldog light tank in its component, the Army National Guard, but other than the units under going the transitional process, the regular army only consisted of MBT's. Partly because of this policy, the new M-551, could not be classified as a light tank. As time elapsed, the term "light tank" became acceptable to both the military and civilians. The M-551 Sheridan, has the distinction of being the only US tank that was designed and built during the 1960s, and deployed directly into the Vietnam War.

It was armed with the unique MGM-51 Shillelagh gun-launched missile system. Now retired from service, it saw combat in Vietnam, Operation Just Cause in Panama, and during Operation Desert Shield in Southwest Asia. The Ford MGM-51 Shillelagh was a guided anti-armor missile designed to be launched from a conventional gun (cannon). ... Combatants United States Panama Commanders General Carl W. Stiner Manuel Noriega Strength 27,684+ 3,000+ Casualties 23 Dead, 324 Wounded 450 Military, 200-4,000 Civilian U.S. Army 7th Infantry Division (light) soldiers prepare to take La Comandancia in the El Chorrillo neighborhood of Panama City, December 1989. ... See also: 2003 invasion of Iraq and Gulf War (disambiguation) C Company, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment, 1st UK Armoured Division The Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations led by the United States. ...

Development

In the immediate post-WWII era the US Army introduced the M41 Walker Bulldog into service to fill their light tank role, armed with the war-era British designed 76 mm gun. However, the lifetime of this system was fairly short, the 25 ton tank was considered too heavy to be a true light tank (the same weight as WWII mediums), and had a rather short cruising range. Plans started to build an even lighter replacement mounting the same gun, resulting in the T-71 and T-92 test designs. Two prototypes of the 19 ton T-92 were later ordered. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The United States Army is one of the armed forces of the United States and has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... The M41 Walker Bulldog was an American light tank developed to replace the M24 Chaffee. ...

However as the prototypes were entering testing, information about the new Soviet PT-76 tank became available. The PT-76 was amphibious, and soon there were demands that any US light tank be able to swim as well. The T-92 was too far into the design to be refitted, so the design of an entirely new system started as the XM551, no longer known as a "light tank", but instead "armored reconnaissance/airborne assault vehicle". The PT-76 is a Soviet amphibious tank which was introduced in early 1950s and soon became the standard reconnaissance tank of the Soviet Army and the other Warsaw Pact armies. ...

The need for even lighter weight presented the design with a particularly difficult problem; guns capable of defeating modern tanks at reasonable ranges were so large as to make the vehicles able to carry them far too large and heavy to be used in the light tank role. The use of HEAT rounds instead of conventional penetrating ammunition could address this, but HEAT rounds work better at larger calibres. Gun weight is typically a result of the calibre and muzzle velocity, so in the case of the XM551 they sacrificed the latter, producing the M81 152 mm gun with very low muzzle velocity. In physics, heat, symbolized by Q, is defined as transfer of thermal energy [1] Generally, heat is a form of energy transfer associated with the different motions of atoms, molecules and other particles that comprise matter when it is hot and when it is cold. ... A guns muzzle velocity is the speed at which the projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun. ...

The M81 would allow the XM551 to deal with most tanks, but only at short ranges due to the low accuracy of the "lofted" low-velocity rounds. At longer ranges the tank would be vulnerable, but it appeared there might be a solution to this problem. The solution was to equip the tank with gun-fired anti-tank missiles. A number of vehicles mounting only ATGM's, or alternately recoilless rifles like the US's own Ontos tank were already in service, but typically these vehicles had limited firepower in the infantry support role, and could not be reloaded from within the vehicle. The XM551 appeared to offer the best of both worlds, for infantry support the large calibre gun allowed it to fire full-sized artillery rounds and canister shot, while also giving it reasonable short-range anti-tank performance from the same gun. An Anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) is a missile the primary purpose of which is to hit and destroy tanks. ... M67 recoilless rifle. ... Ontos M50A1 The 50-cal spotting rifles can be seen on the upper guns The Ontos, technically the 106mm Self-propelled Rifle M50, was a light anti-tank vehicle developed in the US in the 1950s. ...

Although the Shillelagh missile was considered a risky project, if it worked the XM551 would be able to deal with even the largest tanks at extreme ranges. In the Vietnam War, firing the gun would often adversely affect the delicate electronics, which were at the early stages of transitioning to solid state, so the missile and guidance system was omitted from vehicles deployed to Vietnam. Indeed, this missile would end up almost never being fired in anger, despite the production of 88,000 of the expensive missiles. Nevertheless, with the MBT-70 main battle tank cancellation, and the short service span of the M-60A2 Starship variant, the M551 would be the most successful application of the gun system, though the Russians also developed a missile fired out of the gun barrel. The Ford MGM-51 Shillelagh was a guided anti-armor missile designed to be launched from a conventional gun (cannon). ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... MBT-70: Prototype of the German 120 mm-armed version, identifiable due to the fume extractor. ... The M46, M47, M48 and M60 Patton were the U.S armys principal main battle tanks of the Cold War, with models in service from the late 1940s to the 1990s. ...

The vehicle designed to mount the gun was based on an aluminum-armored multipurpose tracked vehicle, powered by a large 300 hp (224 kW) diesel engine. The XM551 thus had an excellent power-to-weight ratio and mobility, able to run at speeds up to 45mph, which at that time was unheard of for a tracked vehicle. However, the vehicle proved to be very noisy and unreliable under combat conditions. Aluminum is a soft and lightweight metal with a dull silvery appearance, due to a thin layer of oxidation that forms quickly when it is exposed to air. ... Power-to-weight ratio is a measure commonly used when comparing various vehicles (or engines), including automobiles, motorcycles and aircraft. ...

Unfortunately, the armor was thin enough that it could be penetrated even by heavy machine gun rounds and when hit by an RPG the vehicle would "brew up", caused by the main gun propellant being stored in cardboard tubes, thus trapping the crew in an inferno they were unlikely to escape. Like the M-113, it was also highly vulnerable to mines, which were better sustained by heavier tanks like the M-48, though like all tanks was also subject to considerable damage.

Swimming capability was provided in a unique and somewhat odd fashion. The front armor was overlain by a wooden "surfboard", actually three folded layers, hinged together. This could be opened up into a sloping vertical surface in front of the driver providing a bow of a boat hull, about even with the top of the turret. Fabric formed the rest of the water barrier, folding up from compartments lining the upper corner where the side met the top of the hull, and held up at the back with poles. The front of the "hull" was provided with a plastic window, but in practice it was found that water splashing onto it made it basically useless, and the driver instead had to take steering directions from the vehicle commander. The M2 Bradley would adopt a similar solution, but dropped it with upgraded armour. The M2 Bradley IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) and M3 Bradley CFV (Cavalry Fighting Vehicle) are American infantry fighting vehicles manufactured by BAE Systems Land and Armaments, (formerly United Defense, originally FMC). ...

Production history

Production started in 1966, and reached service in 1968 as the Sheridan. 1,562 M551s were built between 1966 and 1970. The M81 gun had problems with cracks developing near the breech after repeated firing, a problem that was later tracked to the "key" on the missiles that ran in a slot cut into the barrel. Most field units were modified to help address the problem, but later the modified M81E1 was introduced with a shallower slot, along with a matching modification to the missile, that cured the problem. The gun also has been criticized for having too much recoil for the vehicle weight, the second and even third road wheels coming clear off the ground when the main gun fired. Some were experimentally fitted with conventional 76 mm guns, but these were not made operational.

Service

The remainder of this article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please discuss this issue on the talk page, or replace this tag with a more specific message. This article has been tagged since March 2007.

Beginning in 1969 and ending with most of the U.S. ground troop withdrawals in 1972, the Sheridan saw extensive action in the Vietnam War being assigned to armored cavalry squadrons in country, by replacing their M-48 Patton tanks, which in turn were transferred to the South Vietnamese military. Like the Ontos, the battle reports from the troops were sometimes glowing, while the reports higher up the chain of command were often negative. This was largely due to the high casualty rate of both Sheridans and their crews as mines and RPGs that would only damage an M-48 Patton tank, would destroy the Sheridan and kill or wound most if not all of its crew. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... Ontos M50A1 The 50-cal spotting rifles can be seen on the upper guns The Ontos, officially the 106mm Self-propelled Rifle M50, was a light anti-tank vehicle developed in the US in the 1950s. ...

Like the M-113, which also was built of aluminum, and suffered from the same weapons and their effects, the Sheridan had one glaring negative side effect that no other armored vehicle possessed; it fired caseless 152MM main gun rounds. These rounds were "fixed" meaning that unlike the artillery, the warhead was factory attached to the propellant, and if the warhead separated from the propellant,during loading, which was not uncommon, the crewmen were instructed not to load the round. Sometimes these unspent propellant charges remained on the turret floor due to the emergencies at the time, and in either case, all of the remaining serviceable 152MM shells still remained caseless, albeit attached to their warheads, and sleeved into a re-usable asbestos bag which was form fitted to hold the propellant portion of the shell. The silver colored bag had a strap attached to the bottom which the loader would grab and pull off prior to gently inserting the shell into the breech. Once a mine or RPG type weapon created the spark, smoke and fire became imminent, and it became a matter of SOP (Standing Operating Procedure) to abandon the tank immediately. It became a common scene to observe melted Sheridan hulls with their sunken steel turrets sitting at odd angles with their gun tubes pointing towards the sky in various parts of the country, either awaiting final disposition, or simply forgotten.[1]

However, the Sheridan did not get stuck in the mud as often as the 52 ton M-48 Patton tank did, nor did it throw its track off as often as the Patton did either, this alone was enough to win the tank crewmen's favor. The light weight and high mobility proved their worth, and the gun proved an able anti-personnel weapon when used with the "canister" flechette round, which used thousands of finned nails as subprojectiles. Although an average M-48 Patton tank crew could fire as many as seventeen 90MM shells during a "mad minute" (sixty seconds with all guns firing-on command),the Sheridan was known to put out only two 152MM shells during the same time frame. This was because the M-48 Patton's 90MM cannon fired fixed shells encased in metal, the same as with a standard rifle cartridge. Whereas, as stated above, the 152MM was caseless, requiring air vents to clear the gun tube and breech prior to loading another round. Additionally, the Patton's breech block instantly opened as the shell ejected and instantly closed as the new shell was shoved in. Another words, the stronger the loader, the faster the tank gun could be fired. With a strong loader (to lift and shove heavy shells) he still would have to wait for the ready lights to come on inside the Sheridan's turret before he could reload, as the breech slowly opened rearward then turned downward. After "gently" reloading his 152MM fixed round, he would have to watch the breech block slowly rotate upward, then into the breech, then wait for the lights.[2]

But firepower is still firepower, and the Sheridan was much appreciated by the infantry who were desperate for direct-fire support, and generally served in combination with M-113 ACAV's (M-113's) as armored cavalry units consisted of both M-113's and M-55l's as part of their TO&E, whereas armor units consisted solely of tanks (minus headquarters company) and mechanized infantry units consisted solely of M-113's. In this role the real problem with the Sheridan was its limited ammunition load of only 20 rounds and 8 missiles (though M551's in Vietnam service were not equipped with missiles or their guidance equipment, increasing the loadout of conventional rounds). Sheridan losses were heavy during normal operations, largely due to land mines and anti-armor weapons, but were especially heavy during President Nixon's invasion of Cambodia beginning on 01 May 1970 in which among other cavalry squadrons, the full might of the 11th ACR was thrown into the fight. The second heaviest losses were during the U.S. Army's final offensive of the war, operation LAM SON 719/DEWEY CANYON II (often only referred to as the LAM SON 719 operation, in which the code 719 meant the year 1971, and the primary mission of keeping route 9 open), when the cavalry's remaining Sheridan Squadrons met near disaster on the Lao's border during the early months of 1971, in particular the lst Squadron of the lst Cavalry Regt. (l/l Armored Cav). [1]

A common field-modification was to mount a large steel shield, known as an "ACAV set" (Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle), around the commander's 50 cal (12.7 mm) gun, allowing it to be fired with some level of protection. The driver has an unusual rotating hatch which has vision blocks when rotated forward. Included with the set was an extra layer of steel belly armor which was bolted onto the vehicle's bottom, although only covering from the front to half way to the end, possibly due to weight reasons.

The Army started to phase out the Sheridan in 1978, although at the time there was no real replacement. Nevertheless the 82nd Airborne were able to keep them on until 1996. The Sheridan was the only air-deployable tank in the inventory, and as an elite force they had considerably more "pull" than general infantry and armor units who were forced to get rid of them. Their units were later upgraded to the M551A1 model, including a thermal sighting system for the commander and gunner. The 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army was constituted in the National Army as the 82nd Division on August 5, 1917, and was organized on August 25, 1917, at Camp Gordon, Georgia. ...

Eight Sheridans were used Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989. They were delivered by Low-Velocity Airdrop (LVAD) technique from C-130 transports. They were again lauded by their operators as providing firepower in needed situations to destroy hard targets. 51 Sheridans were deployed by the 82nd Airborne Division during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm as some of the first tanks sent. Though the pictures published appeared to show rows of tanks ready to defend from an Iraqi tanks, they would not be very effective against main battle tanks. Their role was limited by age and light armor to reconnaissance, but several Shillelagh missiles were fired at Iraqi bunkers, the few ever fired in combat of 88,000 missiles produced. Combatants United States Panama Commanders General Carl W. Stiner Manuel Noriega Strength 27,684+ 3,000+ Casualties 23 Dead, 324 Wounded 450 Military, 200-4,000 Civilian U.S. Army 7th Infantry Division (light) soldiers prepare to take La Comandancia in the El Chorrillo neighborhood of Panama City, December 1989. ... A Ventricular assist device, or VAD, is mechanical device that is used to partially or completely replace the function of a failing heart. ... The Lockheed C-130 Hercules, a four-engine turboprop aircraft, is the main tactical air transport aircraft of the United States and UK military forces. ... The 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army was constituted in the National Army as the 82nd Division on August 5, 1917, and was organized on August 25, 1917, at Camp Gordon, Georgia. ... Combatants Kuwait United States United Kingdom Saudi Arabia Egypt Qatar France UN Coalition Republic of Iraq Commanders Norman Schwarzkopf Peter de la Billière Khalid bin Sultan Saleh Al-Muhaya Mohamed Hussein Tantawi Saddam Hussein Strength 660,000 360,000 Casualties 378 dead, 1,000 wounded 25,000 dead, 75...

In the early 1980s the M551A1 was fitted with a visual modification kit to resemble Warsaw Pact vehicles at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin California. These modified vehicles no longer fulfill that role having been retired at the end of 2003 and subsequently scrapped or made available as "hard targets" or, in a few cases, as museum pieces. Many were dumped to create artificial reefs. The 1980s refers to the years of 1980 to 1989. ... Unofficial Seal of the Warsaw Pact Distinguish from the Warsaw Convention, which is an agreement about airlines financial liability and the Treaty of Warsaw (1970) between West Germany and the Peoples Republic of Poland. ...

Several attempts to upgun or replace the Sheridan have been made over the years since it was introduced, but none have yet been successful. Several experimental versions of the Sheridan mounting a new turret carrying the NATO-standard 105 mm gun were made, but the resulting recoil was so great as to make the vehicle almost unusable. Several possible replacements for the M551 were tested as a part of the XM8 Armored Gun System effort of the 1980s, but none of these entered service. The new Stryker Mobile Gun System, which has been controversial in its own right, is in line to fill a similar role in the current US Army force structure, though it does not swim, and is even less suitable for air drop than the Sheridan. NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation[2] (NATO; French: ; also called the North Atlantic Alliance, the Atlantic Alliance, or the Western Alliance) is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949. ... The United Defense M8 Armored Gun System was a development of the private venture Close Combat Vehicle - Light (CCV-L) and was to have been the successor of the M551 Sheridan in the 82nd Airborne Division, as well as expected to replace TOW-equipped HMMWVs in the 2nd Armored Cavalry... The Mobile Gun System is an eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicle mounting a 105 mm tank gun, derived from the Mowag Piranha. ...

The most ironic part of the M551 story is that it was created in order to give the US forces an amphibious tank, causing the existing T-92 design to be abandoned. However, for all the trouble, it appears that the swimming system of the M551 was never used as possibly the designers had originally intended. The Sheridan was equipped with cloth sides that were rolled up or tucked into rubber tubes that were located on both sides of the tank's upper hull edges, and a combination wood/aluminum front shield with a acrylic glass window for the driver to look through while driving. This front shield was permanently attached to the vehicle and stored in the down position, the same way a 1/4 ton's (jeep) windshield laid flat across the hood when not in use. As armored vehicles crossed rivers continuously during their time in Vietnam, especially during reconnaissance missions, which was the primary mission of cavalry at the time, among other duties, the crew would climb out of their Sheridan and attempt to raise up the side covers located in the rubber tubes and raise up the driver's shield. However, for the war "weary" old Sheridans that had already survived three years of combat duty, the acrylic glass was either yellowed and/or too cracked for the driver to see out of, and the tucked in side skirts would either be torn or frozen into place. But since the mission came first, the tank commander would simply order the bilge pumps on, the driver put his gear shift into the water travel mode, and the tank commander would order the driver to "move out." Sheridans could swim about a fifty yard wide river under conditions described above, and, as with the M-113 ACAV's, the crews exhibited relief when they felt their revolving tracks underneath them finally grab ground, an indication that they had successfully reached the other side. Upon crawling up onto the opposite bank and out of the river, the water would leak out of all areas of both the M-113 and the Sheridan. Crewmen would dismount from their ACAV's to open the battle hatch (located within the rear ramp door) and let out the remaining water. As the cavalry continued to move forward the remaining water would be forced out by the forward motion of the armored vehicles, and the remaining dampness would be dried up by the extreme climate. Tanks such at the Patton series (M-46, M-47, M-48, and the M-60's series) could not perform these operations; they would have to crawl along the river bottoms using snorkels. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or poly (methyl 2-methylpropenoate) is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate. ... Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or poly (methyl 2-methylpropenoate) is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate. ... This page is a candidate to be copied to Wiktionary. ... Patton can refer to: Names George S. Patton, a US general. ...

Variants

• XM551/M551 - The M551 was the basic production model, beginning production in 1967. The XM551 had been a limited run pre-production model produced in 1965.
  • "Two Box" M551 - With the obvious shortcomings of the Shillelagh missile, all but two of the guidance and fire control components of the missile system were removed (the power supply and rate sensor were retained. These were needed for stabilized turret operation.). The resulting additional space was filled with two separate boxes, one for 7.62x51mm (Coax MG) NATO ammunition, and one for 12.7x99mm BMG(.50 Cal)ammunition, and the missile stowage was redesigned to accept conventional rounds.
• M551A1 - Upgraded M551 with AN/VVG-1 laser rangefinder.
  • M551A1 TTS - Tank Thermal Sight, fitted with the AN/VSG-2B thermal sight unit, similar to the unit used on the M60A3 MBT. This later became standard to all M551A1s.
• M551 NTC - National Training Center. Using M551 hulls, the NTC created a number of mock vehicles for training exercises resembling common Soviet/Warsaw pact types. They were also known as 'vismods', short for VISually MODified. They have since been retired in favor of similarly converted M113s and M1 Abrams.

... The term vismod is an abbreviation of the term visually modified, and is used by the US military to refer to any vehicle, aircraft, or other object that has been altered to simulate equipment used by an enemy for training purposes, often by specialized units referred to as the OpFor... The M113 is an armored personnel carrier family of vehicles in use with the US military and many other nations. ... The M1 Abrams main battle tank is the principal combat tank of the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps, with three main versions being deployed starting in 1980: the M1, M1A1, and M1A2. ...

Operators

• United States (in Reserve Storage after the 1990s)
• Singapore (in Reserve Storage)

Combat History

• Vietnam
• Operation Just Cause in Panama
• Operation Desert Shield
• Operation Desert Storm

Combatants United States Panama Commanders General Carl W. Stiner Manuel Noriega Strength 27,684+ 3,000+ Casualties 23 Dead, 324 Wounded 450 Military, 200-4,000 Civilian U.S. Army 7th Infantry Division (light) soldiers prepare to take La Comandancia in the El Chorrillo neighborhood of Panama City, December 1989. ... See also: 2003 invasion of Iraq and Gulf War (disambiguation) C Company, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment, 1st UK Armoured Division The Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations led by the United States. ... Combatants U.S.-led coalition Iraq Commanders George H. W. Bush, Norman Schwarzkopf, Colin Powell Saddam Hussein, Ali Hassan Al-Majid, Hussein Kamel Strength 660,000 ~545,000 Casualties 345 dead, 1,000 wounded 25,000 - 100,000 dead, 100,000 - 300,000 wounded The 1991 Gulf War (also Persian...

See also

• List of "M" series military vehicles
• List of Vehicles of the U.S. Armed Forces
• M-60A2 used a similar 152 mm gun which also fired the Shillelagh missiles.

REFERENCE: The following is a (partial) listing of M series military vehicles used by the US Army. ... Vehicles by type and current level of use. ... The M46, M47, M48 and M60 Patton were the U.S armys principal main battle tanks of the Cold War, with models in service from the late 1940s to the 1990s. ... The Ford MGM-51 Shillelagh was a guided anti-armor missile designed to be launched from a conventional gun (cannon). ...

1. Nolan, Keith W. "Into Lao's, Operation Lam Son 719 and Dewey Canyon II." 1986. Presidio Press. Account of the US Army's final offensive of the Vietnam War in 1971.

2. Stanton, Shelby, L. "Vietnam Order of Battle." (1983-2003) ISBN 10-08836-5709-0

3. Sorley, Lewis. "Thunderbolt: General Creighton Abrams and the Army of His Time." 1992. ISBN 067170-1150.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

M551 Sheridan

• Vietnam-Germany-Fort Irwin: the Eaglehorse and the M551 Sheridan - an excellent and in-depth history of the M551 Sheridan
• AFV Database
• Global Security