Slide 11 of 24

Task Force Smith: Incompetent Foot Infantry Commanders Neglect to Bring Tanks to the Fight

A key mistake made in forming the TF Smith was leaving behind M24 Chaffee light tanks with 75mm guns capable of knocking out T34 medium tanks and giving infantry hitching a ride on back, cross-country mobility that the 24th Infantry possesed. U.S. Air Force C-124 Globemaster IIs were available to fly in the M24s had the Army commanders thought of it.

The creator of the greatest AFV of all time, ever, the M113, General James M. Gavin wrote in his Harper's magazine article, "Cavalry and I don't mean horses" shortly after the Korean War:

"Where was the cavalry? ...and I don't mean horses. I mean helicopters and light aircraft, to lift Soldiers armed with automatic weapons and hand-carried light anti-tank weapons, and also lightweight reconnaissance vehicles, mounting anti-tank weapons the equal or better than the Russian T-34s...If ever in the history of our armed forces there was a need for the cavalry arm--airlifted in light planes, helicopters and assault-type aircraft--this was it... Only by exploiting to the utmost the great potential of flight can we combine complete dispersion in the defense with the facility of rapidly massing for the counter-attack which today's and tomorrow's Army must possess"

The U.S. Army didn't have a cavalry because it no longer had a CAVALRY BRANCH to insure it existed! Task Force Smith faced the North Korean without any tanks of its own and impotent 2.36" bazookas whose shells bounced off the enemy's T-34/85 medium tanks' sloped armor. Details:

Heavy Tanks and Helicopter Fighter-Bombers: an Army in Search of Doctrine

The M41 Light tank with high-velocity, long barreled 76mm gun was rushed into service to destroy T-34/85 tanks, but at 25 tons was too heavy for air transport by the prop-driven aircraft of that time period.

M41 "Walker BullDog" Light Tank

Taiwan: M41D Light Tanks ready to repel Red Chinese amphibious/airborne landings

Another benefit of light tanks is their greater 2D mobility in soft soil areas; Taiwan has upgraded 24-ton M41D Walker Bulldog tanks ready to repel possible amphibious/airborne invasions by the nearby Red Chinese communists.

www.fas.org/news/taiwan/1999/e-08-17-99-30.htm

REMODELED TANKS DISPLAY FIREPOWER IN CENTRAL TAIWAN

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Nantou, Central Taiwan, Aug. 17 (CNA) Fifty remodeled M41D tanks displayed their firepower and improved capabilities at a base in Nantou County's Chichi on Monday and Tuesday before an audience of some 1,000 local residents, lawmakers and reporters.

A public anti-tank live-fire exhibition was also held at the base with the purpose of promoting the public's understanding of the strength of the Republic of China Armed Forces.

The ROC Army first introduced the American-made M41 tanks in 1958. They have since become obsolete and have been replaced by the domestically produced M48H tank and used American-made M60A3 tank as the mainstay of the army's tank battalions.

Because Taiwan is unable to procure the most advanced tanks from the United States and other industrialized countries, the army decided in 1996 to improve the capabilities of 50 M41s with a cost of NT$1.3 billion.

The remodeling project proved successful, and the tanks have now been converted to run on diesel and equipped with night vision battle devices. Their maximum range has also been extended from 160 kilometers to 470 kilometers.

According to army officials, the 50 remodeled tanks will be used on the offshore islands, while the M48H and M60A3 tanks will continue to form the backbone of the army's mechanized units for the foreseeable future. (By Victor Lai)