M42 Duster

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M42 Duster
M42 in Yad la-Shiryon museum, Israel.
General characteristics
Crew	4-6
Length	5.82 m
Width	3.23 m
Height	2.85 m
Weight	22.5 t
Armour and armament
Armour	9-25 mm
Main armament	M2A1 40 mm twin anti-aircraft gun
Secondary armament	1 x M1919A4 7.62 mm machine gun
Mobility
Power plant	6-cylinder air cooled gasoline 500 hp (375 kW)
Suspension	torsion bar
Road speed	72 km/h
Power/weight	22.2 hp/tonne
Range	160 km

The M42 40 mm Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun, or "Duster" as it was known, was an armored light air-defense gun built for the U.S. Army from 1952 until December 1959. Production of this vehicle was performed by the tank division of the General Motors Corporation. It used components from the M41 light tank and was constructed of all welded steel. The 500 hp, six cylinder, air-cooled, gasoline engine was located in the rear of the vehicle. A total of 3,700 M42's were built. The vehicle had a crew of 6 and weighed 22,500 kg/49,500 lb fully loaded. Maximum speed was 45 mph with a range of 100 miles. Armament consisted of fully automatic twin 40 mm M2A1 Bofors and a .30 cal. Browning M1919A4 Flexible Machine Gun.

Although the M42 Duster was initially designed in the anti-aircraft role, it found great success when used in the Vietnam War against unarmoured ground forces.