Existing comment:
Types of Armor Employed in Vietnam:
The principal combat vehicles used by American mounted forces in Vietnam included the M48A3 Patton tank, the M551 Armored Reconnaissance Airborne Assault Vehicle (Sheridan), and the M113 in varied configurations. The M48A3 equipped the tank companies and cavalry squadrons. The M113 equipped the mechanized infantry and cavalry. In 1969, the M551 began to replace the M113 and M48A3 in select units.
The Viet Cong possessed no armor. The North Vietnamese possessed many vehicles supplied by the Soviet Union. However, this armor played little role in the war until American forces began withdrawing. North Vietnamese armor then spearheaded conventional attacks into the South and directly contributed to the final collapse of South Vietnam. Prior to these operations, North Vietnamese armor was encountered by the US on only two occasions. In both cases, the tanks employed were light, amphibious PT-76s that proved no match for American firepower. |