M41 Walker Bulldog
The M41 Walker Bulldog, officially 76-mm gun tank M41, was an American light tank developed for armed reconnaissance purposes. It was produced by Cadillac between 1951 and 1954 and marketed successfully to the United States Army as a replacement for its aging fleet of World War II-vintage M24 Chaffee tanks. Although engineered as a reconnaissance vehicle, the M41's weight and armament also made it effective in the close infantry support role and for rapid airborne deployments. Upon entering US service, all M41s received the designation Little Bulldog and subsequently, Walker Bulldog after the late General Walton Walker, who was killed in a Jeep accident in 1950. The M41 was the first postwar American light tank to see worldwide service, and was exported in considerable numbers by the United States, particularly to Asia.
Development of the M41 proceeded slowly until the outbreak of the Korean War, when the US Army's renewed demands for more tanks resulted in its being rushed into production. The haste with which it was initially produced led to technical problems, which, coupled with the relatively cramped dimensions of its hull interior, and poor armament gave it a mediocre reputation among American tank crews. It was also considered too large in comparison to the Chaffee for reconnaissance. Funding for the M41 program was slashed accordingly, and more emphasis placed on the development of new main battle tanks such as the M47 Patton. Cadillac ceased production of the M41A1 in late 1954. It was replaced by the M551 Sheridan during the 1960s when the gun could no longer penetrate fielded medium tanks.
Development
Beginning in 1946, the United States Army commissioned a project to oversee the replacement of the M24 Chaffee light tank in the reconnaissance role. For preliminary purposes this hypothetical tank was to be known as T37. However, in the wake of World War II most armored vehicle development programs suffered from a lack of impetus and inadequate funding. The T37 concept did not reach viability until 1949, when three disparate prototypes were finally built. The second prototype of the trio, T37 Phase Two, was selected for further testing and received a unique designation, T41. In its final, pre-production form this model was known as T41E1 to the US Army.The T41E1 was envisaged as a highly mobile light tank, capable of undertaking aggressive reconnaissance and being sufficiently armed to engage the latest Soviet medium tanks if necessary. It was to utilize automotive parts and components already common to other US military vehicles and incorporate a modular hull capable of being converted for a variety of other specialized roles. For example, the US Army requirement called not only for a light tank, but an air defense platform and an armored personnel carrier based on the same chassis. A specific powerplant had even been pre-selected for all three proposed vehicles: a Continental or Lycoming six-cylinder, air-cooled gasoline engine. This made the T41E1 one of the first American tanks to be designed around a preexisting engine type, rather than being built first and then adopting a suitable engine. Weighing nearly 52,000 pounds, the T41E1 was so heavy it would have easily been classed as a medium tank in its own right only about five years earlier, and was no longer deemed suitable for frequent airborne deployments.
File:Photograph of President Truman standing next to the new T-41 "Walker Bulldog" tank, named after the late General... - NARA - 200277.jpg|thumb|left|President Harry Truman with a T41 prototype undergoing trials at Aberdeen Proving Ground.
The Army placed orders for the T41 circa August 1950. The tank was christened the "Walker Bulldog"—after the late General Walton Walker who was killed in a Jeep accident a year earlier—at a demonstration for President Harry S. Truman at Aberdeen Proving Ground in February 1951.
Serial production was delayed by technical difficulties stemming from the decision to incorporate an integral rangefinder directly into the steel turret. A renewed sense of urgency introduced by the outbreak of the Korean War and increasing demands by the US Army for more tanks resulted in production hurriedly commencing in mid-1951. The hasty production cycle led to numerous modifications during the course of and after manufacture. Cadillac repurposed a warehouse in Cleveland in August 1950 and began outfitting the location for production of the Walker Bulldog and other combat vehicles, namely the Cadillac M42 Duster. The plant, employing 3700, delivered the first production M41 Walker Bulldog in March 1951. The first eight Bulldogs were delivered to the US Army in July.
By March 1952 over 900 M41s had already been manufactured. These entered service too late to take part in the Korean War, though some may have been shipped out to US forces in that region just as the fighting ended. Roughly 1,802 were built, but these suffered from a variety of technical issues due to their somewhat rushed production, and a second mark, the M41A1, was introduced to correct these problems. Over 4,000 engineering design changes were requested by the US Army between July 1951 and July 1952. Approval to issue the M41 type to regular units was denied until December 1952, when the new mark was introduced. Another 1,631 baseline M41s were also relegated to storage at the Ordnance Corps Depot in Lima, Ohio until their deficiencies could be corrected.
The M41A1 was later superseded by the M41A2 and M41A3, which had the advantage of greater ammunition stowage, and considerably simplified gun and turret systems. Despite these detail improvements, the M41 series did not prove especially popular in US service. Crew members seated in the turret often complained of limited interior space. Reconnaissance units criticized the height and size of the design, which reduced its ability to reconnoiter discreetly, and although it was intended for employment with airborne units, its weight made it impractical for airdrops. This led to the development of the M551 Sheridan, which was designed for airdrops, and in which low combat weight was considered a key factor. M41 production ceased around late 1954, allowing the US Army to refocus on developing medium tanks such as the M47 Patton. As early as mid-1952 the US government had become so disillusioned by the M41's perceived shortcomings that it recommended the M41 acquisition process be terminated and a new light tank development project initiated; however, General J. Lawton Collins, then Army Chief of Staff, successfully argued for the existing purchase orders to be filled.
With the introduction of increasingly well-armored Soviet main battle tanks, the M41 was no longer perceived as powerful enough for frontline service, and it was replaced by the much lighter and more heavily armed Sheridan during the late 1960s. Most second-hand US M41s were refurbished and subsequently sold or donated to US allies abroad, namely Brazil, Japan, and South Vietnam.
Derivatives
When the M41 entered production, it was not considered economical to simply manufacture a single tank chassis and hull. The US Army wanted the M41 series to include various supporting vehicles built using the same chassis, engine, tracks and as many as other associated automotive components as possible to simplify logistics. Cadillac obligingly produced the M42 Duster anti-aircraft vehicle, as well as the M44 and M52 self-propelled howitzers, and the M75 armored personnel carrier, all based on an M41 chassis and drive train. The acquisition process for these vehicles was risky because unlike the M41, no prototype or test models were manufactured and trialed. In January 1951, under intense pressure to meet the US Army's requirements, representatives of the Army Ordnance Corps agreed to approve the anti-aircraft platform, self-propelled guns, and armored personnel carrier for production "with the full knowledge that in doing so there were certain inherent risks involved by forgoing complete tests and evaluation". The technical problems encountered with the series, coupled with those of the M41 in general, led to the US Army only adopting the M75 in large numbers.Service history
Bay of Pigs Invasion
During the prelude to the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Central Intelligence Agency proposed creating a single tank platoon composed of anti-communist exiles to support Brigade 2506's incursion and subsequent seizure of strategic sites in Cuba likely to be patrolled or defended by armor, mostly Soviet-supplied T-34-85 medium tanks. To that end, the CIA procured five M41 tanks from US Army reserve stocks and earmarked them for this purpose. American instructors trained the prospective Cuban tank crews at Fort Knox in March 1961, teaching them driving and gunnery basics. The tanks were transported to the Cuban coast by a single Mechanized Landing Craft on April 17, then came ashore with infantry support in a combined arms amphibious assault on Playa Girón. Due to a lack of adequate air support, the brigadista M41s had to land under heavy fire from circling Cuban aircraft, although all of the tanks succeeded in advancing past the beach intact. They immediately attacked a local airstrip, inflicting heavy casualties among the defending Cuban militiamen, who did not possess adequate anti-tank weapons. The militia organized an ill-advised counterattack with a single battalion, which was annihilated by the tanks and brigadista mortar crews in an engagement remembered in Cuba as the "Slaughter of the Lost Battalion".Although the exiles had arrived at multiple landing sites, since Playa Girón was the furthest inland Cuban president Fidel Castro ordered the military to concentrate on destroying the exile force there. Four infantry battalions and two companies of Cuban T-34-85 tanks were ordered to retake the airfield and beachhead, but their radio transmissions were intercepted by the exiles, allowing them to plan their defense accordingly. The Cuban forces shelled Playa Girón with artillery around midnight, then advanced towards the village by road, with the T-34-85s in the lead. Three M41s which had taken up positions directly opposite the road junction nearest the beach then opened fire on the column at extremely close range. At least two T-34-85s were initially destroyed, a third disabled by track damage, and a fourth captured by the rebels intact when its crew surrendered. The M41s succeeded in knocking out several more attacking T-34-85s which became stranded on the narrow road and bottlenecked due to difficulties their crews encountered in skirting the existing wreckage. However, this success was short-lived: the unexpectedly heavy resistance encountered by Cuban armor ensured that by noon the following afternoon all the M41 crews had exhausted their ammunition.
At one point American Defense Secretary Robert McNamara proposed using the US Navy vessels within the vicinity to move another eight M41s and their associated ammunition to support the exiles; however, without sufficient supplies or air support Brigade 2506 was unable to hold its positions against repeated Cuban armored attacks and was overwhelmed. The surviving M41s were abandoned on the beach near Playa Girón when the invasion ended.