M56 Scorpion

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M56 Scorpion preserved at the American Armored Foundation Tank Museum in Danville, Virginia.

The M56 Scorpion was an American military armoured vehicle.

It was a relatively light-weight self-propelled anti-tank gun, which featured a 90mm M54 gun with a simple gun shield, and unprotected crew compartment. It was meant to be transported by helicopter or by air drop.

The M56 was manufactured from 1953 to 1959 by the Cadillac Motor Car Division of General Motors for use by US airborne forces, though the vehicle was eventually used by the Spanish Marines and Morocco as well. With a crew of four (commander, gunner, loader and driver), the M56 weighed 6.4 tons empty and 7.7 tons combat-loaded. It had infrared driving lights but no Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) protection system and was not amphibious.

The M56 was a fully-tracked vehicle with rubber-tired road wheels and front drive sprocket wheels. It was powered by a Continental A01-403-5 gasoline engine developing 200 brake horsepower at 3,000 rpm, allowing a maximum road speed of 28 mph and a maximum range of 140 miles. Twenty-nine rounds of main gun ammunition were carried, and only the gun shield was armored.

Diorama of destroyed M56 at the AAF Tank Museum. Note the prominent rubber tires on the road wheels.

The M56 saw service with U.S. forces in the Vietnam War, where its function (air portable, self-propelled, anti-tank vehicle) was replaced by the troublesome but effective M551 Sheridan.

The Stryker gun system has a similar role as lightweight gun support, but is too heavy to be dropped by parachute or carried by helicopter.

A well preserved example can be found in a city park in Auburn, Washington. A restored M56 is at the American Armored Foundation Tank Museum in Danville, Virginia, along with a diorama of a destroyed M56.