A "stretched" version known as the Utility Vehicle, Tracked, Infantry, T56 was also built, and while it held a complete eight-man team, their equipment had to be carried on the outside. It proved impractical due to the limited room inside, carrying only five infantry and forcing the driver to lie prone. The Utility Vehicle, Tracked, Infantry, T55 was a light Armored personnel carrier (APC), but only two versions of the prototype were built. The Marine Corps accepted its first vehicle on 31 October 1956. Although the Army canceled their order, the Marine Corps were desperate for any anti-tank vehicles they could get, and ordered 297. The prototype and testing stage was completed by 1955, at which point the Army canceled its order.Īs an anti-tank vehicle the Ontos had several problems, including a small ammunition load, a very high profile for such a small vehicle, and the need for the crew to exit the vehicle in order to reload the guns, exposing them to enemy fire. When all six weapons were fired at once, the back blast from the firing knocked bricks out of a nearby building and knocked the rear windows out of several cars. The vehicle was taken to the Aberdeen Proving Ground where single rifles had been tested earlier. 30 caliber (7.62 mm) M1919A4 machine gun for anti-infantry use. The spotting rifles were used to line up the 105 mm recoilless rifles with the target. 50 BAT (12.7x77mm) M8C spotting rifles attached, each of which fired a tracer round with the same trajectory as the 106 mm round, and that gave off a flash and puff of white smoke on impact. The vehicle could carry only eighteen rounds for the main guns inside the vehicle due to limited space. A second prototype used a new suspension system, new tracks, and a newer turret with about 40 degrees traverse. This early model could traverse the turret only about 15 degrees. The vehicle mounted a cast steel turret with two arms holding three rifles each. Allis-Chalmers was awarded a contract on August 12, 1955, for 297 vehicles.Īllis-Chalmers' first vehicle, completed in 1952, was based on the running gear of the M56 Scorpion light anti-tank vehicle. The Ontos also had to use the six-cylinder engine then widely used in the Army's GMC trucks. ![]() This limited the vehicle to a weight between 10 and 20 metric tons. The Ontos (Greek for "thing" ) project was created to be an air transportable tank destroyer capable of being lifted by the cargo aircraft of the 1950s. The American stock of Ontos was largely expended towards the end of the conflict and the Ontos was removed from service in 1969. The Marines consistently reported excellent results when they used the Ontos for direct fire support against infantry in numerous battles and operations during the Vietnam War. It was produced in limited numbers for the U.S. Although the actual caliber of the main guns was 105 mm, it was designated 106 mm to prevent confusion with the ammunition for the 105 mm M27 recoilless rifle, which the M40 replaced. It mounted six 106 mm manually loaded M40 recoilless rifles as its main armament, which could be fired in rapid succession against single targets to increase the probability of a kill. Ontos, officially the Rifle, Multiple 106 mm, Self-propelled, M50, is an American light armored tracked anti-tank vehicle developed in the 1950s.
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