They started taking them out in 1970 and the last one came out in 1972. You are right about the bee hives. I beleave you are talking about the Vulcans.
I was in the army at Fort Bliss Elpaso TX. in 1970. I drove and fired them and it was used in Vietnam NOT to shot down aircraft but did a dam good job of blowing up the brush and anything that got in its way. Each gun fired 120 rounds X 2 guns, 240 rounds per minute. Each bullet was equal to 5 hand grands. It was taken out of Vietnam because it was against the geneva convetion to use air defence weponds for ground defence. They said that it was inhumane. The wepond was just too dam good
@delhoose When did they take them out? I remember dusters and quads on most fire bases and some LZ's. Sure they were air defense weapons, but when Charlie tried to overrun your position they came into play. As did the 105's firing "Bee Hives". Comparatively speaking, I think the duster or quad was far more humane than Bee Hives, but hey, "All's fair in love and war", The object is not to die for your country, rather, it is to compel the enemy to die for his.
Joseph Belardo signed his book for my mother and she gave it to me last night. He was a "Duster" driver in Vietnam, and the book entails all of his stories and memoirs. It's a great book, and gives you a first person account of what went on. You can find it on amazon, the book it Dusterman Vietnam
She could do well against personnel, choppers, and prop driven aircraft. Jets were on us before we could compute their airspeed. Yes it had a manual computer in the tub, the gunner and two cannoneers to load the 40's via stripper clips. We escorted convoys and provided anti-aircraft support for bases. On the right side of the tub was a hand crank, the computer, and a mount for a m-60 or 30 cal. Made by Cadilac weighed 25 tons. Hooah.
If the velocity of the high performance plane is V, and the velocity of the projectile from this gun opposig it is U, it has a penitrating effect of V+U...how ever the effective fire lasts only few seconds...within two seconds either you or him..
You also forgot about roatating wing aircrafts that doesn't have a supersonic speeed...These can be used to protect convoys they stand so that a threat from low flying aircraft can be supressed..
@AccordGTR man its for short range anti aircraft role..why do you think that a plane travelling atleast half the speed of sound comming streight at you and you just throw a rock on it there will be a significant effect on the plane..the Newtons relativity says that relative to the plane the rock comes at really high speed..so obviously the bofors have a significant effect on low flying jet aircrafts of 1970s and 80s if not on today's high performance aircrafts
@infantrydivision11 Uh I wasn't questioning the effectiveness of the round hitting the plane...I was questioning the gunner's ability to hit a fast-moving jet. Note in WW2 the US Navy used thousands of AAA rounds to hit an attacking plane but still many attackers got through and sunk the ship. The M42 Duster only has manual sights, I believe. Unlike a Russian ZSU-40 has radar-directed sights so it can hit fast-movers.
@AccordGTR well this was built in 50s..and has not been useful against modern aircrafts according to wikipedia..but it has been some use. so it might not have been useful in 70s and 80s after all..but still ground fire can supress an air craft ..this will be good for firing at slow rotating wing air crafts I guess.
@AccordGTR pls read East of Chosin by Applegate. pretty interesting. 41st RCT defended eastern flank of Xth Corps. Most books talk about 1st Mar Div which was the west flank
@vanwahlgren interesting. Still, hard to believe it "singlehandedly held off chinese assault" as 40mm AA rounds are air-burst projectiles, not designed like HE artillery rounds. I'm curious as to how it was deployed. But I guess any tank will demoralize infantry just by the sight of it alone.
They started taking them out in 1970 and the last one came out in 1972. You are right about the bee hives. I beleave you are talking about the Vulcans.
delhoose 6 months ago
I was in the army at Fort Bliss Elpaso TX. in 1970. I drove and fired them and it was used in Vietnam NOT to shot down aircraft but did a dam good job of blowing up the brush and anything that got in its way. Each gun fired 120 rounds X 2 guns, 240 rounds per minute. Each bullet was equal to 5 hand grands. It was taken out of Vietnam because it was against the geneva convetion to use air defence weponds for ground defence. They said that it was inhumane. The wepond was just too dam good
Albert
delhoose 6 months ago
@delhoose When did they take them out? I remember dusters and quads on most fire bases and some LZ's. Sure they were air defense weapons, but when Charlie tried to overrun your position they came into play. As did the 105's firing "Bee Hives". Comparatively speaking, I think the duster or quad was far more humane than Bee Hives, but hey, "All's fair in love and war", The object is not to die for your country, rather, it is to compel the enemy to die for his.
GunBroker100 6 months ago
Joseph Belardo signed his book for my mother and she gave it to me last night. He was a "Duster" driver in Vietnam, and the book entails all of his stories and memoirs. It's a great book, and gives you a first person account of what went on. You can find it on amazon, the book it Dusterman Vietnam
silentsniperrr 9 months ago
She could do well against personnel, choppers, and prop driven aircraft. Jets were on us before we could compute their airspeed. Yes it had a manual computer in the tub, the gunner and two cannoneers to load the 40's via stripper clips. We escorted convoys and provided anti-aircraft support for bases. On the right side of the tub was a hand crank, the computer, and a mount for a m-60 or 30 cal. Made by Cadilac weighed 25 tons. Hooah.
fullmag556 9 months ago
If the velocity of the high performance plane is V, and the velocity of the projectile from this gun opposig it is U, it has a penitrating effect of V+U...how ever the effective fire lasts only few seconds...within two seconds either you or him..
infantrydivision11 11 months ago
You also forgot about roatating wing aircrafts that doesn't have a supersonic speeed...These can be used to protect convoys they stand so that a threat from low flying aircraft can be supressed..
infantrydivision11 11 months ago
Why is it called an anti-aircraft vehicle? I doubt if it could shoot down anything faster than a biplane or low flying transport plane
AccordGTR 1 year ago
@AccordGTR man its for short range anti aircraft role..why do you think that a plane travelling atleast half the speed of sound comming streight at you and you just throw a rock on it there will be a significant effect on the plane..the Newtons relativity says that relative to the plane the rock comes at really high speed..so obviously the bofors have a significant effect on low flying jet aircrafts of 1970s and 80s if not on today's high performance aircrafts
infantrydivision11 11 months ago
@infantrydivision11 Uh I wasn't questioning the effectiveness of the round hitting the plane...I was questioning the gunner's ability to hit a fast-moving jet. Note in WW2 the US Navy used thousands of AAA rounds to hit an attacking plane but still many attackers got through and sunk the ship. The M42 Duster only has manual sights, I believe. Unlike a Russian ZSU-40 has radar-directed sights so it can hit fast-movers.
AccordGTR 11 months ago
@AccordGTR well this was built in 50s..and has not been useful against modern aircrafts according to wikipedia..but it has been some use. so it might not have been useful in 70s and 80s after all..but still ground fire can supress an air craft ..this will be good for firing at slow rotating wing air crafts I guess.
infantrydivision11 11 months ago
Too bad we can't see some firing!
TheLoyalOfficer 1 year ago
It fired 40 mm rounds... not 20 mm...
19viking56 1 year ago
Demoralizer of infantry.. singlehandedly held off chinese assult on army at Chosun Resevoir
vanwahlgren 1 year ago
@vanwahlgren lol yea it would be pretty demoralizing getting hit in the face with a 20mm round
doxvr 1 year ago
@vanwahlgren singlehandedly?? I read the book ONE BUGLE, NO DRUMS about the 1st Marine Div. at Chosun Res. It didn't say nothin about this M42.
AccordGTR 1 year ago
@AccordGTR pls read East of Chosin by Applegate. pretty interesting. 41st RCT defended eastern flank of Xth Corps. Most books talk about 1st Mar Div which was the west flank
vanwahlgren 1 year ago
@vanwahlgren interesting. Still, hard to believe it "singlehandedly held off chinese assault" as 40mm AA rounds are air-burst projectiles, not designed like HE artillery rounds. I'm curious as to how it was deployed. But I guess any tank will demoralize infantry just by the sight of it alone.
AccordGTR 11 months ago
I may be wrong, but is the Duster on an M48 chassis?
katey1dog 1 year ago
@katey1dog
M48 has 6 roadwheels, this chassis is based off the M41.
OnThe23rd 1 year ago
@katey1dog it kinda looks like it
sargeantatarms 1 year ago