M41 Walker Bulldog Light Tank of the Vietnam People's Army

31 Desember 2019

M41 Walker Bulldog 1950s production in excellent technical condition at one of the storage bases of armored vehicles of the Vietnam People’s Army (all photos : KienThuc)

At present, Vietnam People's Army in addition to T-54/55 and T-62 tanks, we still maintain a very small number of US-made M41 tanks.

During the Vietnam War, the M41 tank served as the main tank of the RVN, hundreds of M41 tanks were launched into the Vietnam battlefield. It was once considered one of the best light tanks in the world.

The M41 Walker Bulldog was a US-made light tank in 1953. It was originally nicknamed Bulldog but was named after the American general who died in Korea Walton Walker.

The vehicle weighs 23.5 tons; body length 5,819 m; 3.2 m wide; 2.71 m high; crew of 4 people. M41's armament consists of a 76 mm M32 main gun with a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun and a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun mounted on the roof of the turret.

Continental AOS 895-3 6-cylinder petrol engine with a capacity of 373 kW for a maximum speed of 72 km / h, this is quite high speed for the type of increase when they were born. However, the range is quite short, only about 150km.

During the Vietnam War, the M41 was the main tank of the RVN, used in many Lam Son 719, Tan Canh campaigns, before the US supplied M48 Patton medium tank.

By 1973, there were more than 200 M41 Walker Bulldog in service of the ARVN Armor. After 1975, M41 was confiscated as a spoil by the Vietnam People's Army and deployed in the Southwestern Border War of 1979 along with M48 and M113 armored vehicles.


However, after a period of effective service on duty, they were gradually put into long-term storage, suffering the same fate with other American weapons due to the lack of spare parts. Only a few still serve in a training role.

Although not directly involved with the frontline units in the army, the M41 tanks are used effectively for training.

Although in a closed state, but due to the good maintenance, these vehicles can fully operate again. However, upgrading to a higher standard is unlikely because this car is relatively backward in modern warfare.

Perhaps the most suitable role at the moment is to do combat training as it is. However, there is an opinion that Vietnam should sell these tanks to accumulate money to buy more advanced armored vehicles. These tanks are being bought by collectors for nearly $ 300,000, while used BTR-80 armored vehicles cost only $ 200,000.

(KienThuc)