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Model Forum / General / Models / September 2006M41s still in use in Thailand
Did my eyes deceive me the other day on the news or is the Thai army still getting good service out of these? I knew they (and others) had been upgrading the design with new engines and weapons tech back in the 80s and 90s, but I half expected that they had moved on to something else at this late date. Is that the oldest tank design still in major service? WmB > Did my eyes deceive me the other day on the news or is the Thai army still > getting good service out of these? I knew they (and others) had been [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > WmB I guess so: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-41_tank M-4 Sherman based tanks in IIRC Chile. > Did my eyes deceive me the other day on the news or is the Thai army still > getting good service out of these? I knew they (and others) had been [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > WmB > M-4 Sherman based tanks in IIRC Chile. > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >> >> WmB Wow - M4 Shermans. I wonder if they're Israeli up-gunned types? [lightning strikes and WmB fires up a Wiki on "Chile" and "Sherman" yielding:] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postwar_Sherman_Tanks They were in fact IDF postwar mods, and last saw service in 1989. That's still a helluva long time. Poking around on that site I see Mexico has or had some sort of vehicle (tank recovery) that utilizes a Sherman chassis as late as 1998. Looking at the 105 on that IDF Sherman just makes ya wish our boys in WWII could have had IDF Shermans. In the meantime it looks like the M41 is the B-52 of light armor. WmB >Did my eyes deceive me the other day on the news or is the Thai army still >getting good service out of these? I knew they (and others) had been [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >WmB Prevailing wisdom is that tanks aren't all that useful in jungle settings. In fact, till the U.S. Army brought in whole divisions of tanks to Vietnam, the South Vietnamese used to refer to tanks as "voting machines"--as the only time the ARVN ever used them was to throw coups in Saigon. Stephen "FPilot" Bierce/IPMS #35922 {Sig Quotes Removed on Request} > >Did my eyes deceive me the other day on the news or is the Thai army > >still [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > Stephen "FPilot" Bierce/IPMS #35922 > {Sig Quotes Removed on Request} Yep - definitely a different battlefield environment. Sometimes to good effect - the M5 Stuart from what I understand was a more viable weapons platform in the Pacific due to the terrain conditions and the nature of their armored opponents. WmB There used to be T34-85 in the Balkans in the 90's. I don't know about now. Jim > Did my eyes deceive me the other day on the news or is the Thai army still > getting good service out of these? I knew they (and others) had been [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > WmB The basic T-54 design is slightly older than the M41, and the Soviets offered continual upgrades over the succeeding decades, with IR systems, laser rangefinders and reactive armor packages available. Since tank hulls and turrets can pretty much last forever, as long as parts for the mechanical systems remain available, it's pretty likely that 1950 vintage T-54 tanks are still tooling around in various Third World countries. Last I heard, Norway still has rebuilt M-24 tanks in service, and Brazil totally rebuilt their Stuart tanks to keep them functional. Gerald Owens > Did my eyes deceive me the other day on the news or is the Thai army still > getting good service out of these? I knew they (and others) had been [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > WmB When your primary need for a tank is against your own civilian population instead of defense against external forces, it makes sense to keep upgrading ancient tanks rather than buy modern tanks. But, if you notice, the Thai King's Guard uses more modern tanks than the rest of the Thai Army. Most likely to protect him from the Army turning on him: http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/6750/front0wm.jpg >...the Thai King's Guard uses more modern tanks than the rest >of the Thai Army. I'm pretty sure that's merely an honorific title. >Most likely to protect him from the Army turning on him... I doubt that would ever happen. The Thai king is deeply revered, even loved.  SignatureAl Superczynski, MFE, IPMS/USA #3795, continuous since 1968 My "From" address is munged - use 'modeleral (at) swbell (dot) net' to respond via email. Check out my want lists and eBay listings at "Al's Place": http://home.swbell.net/arfunguy/index.html "Build what YOU like, the way YOU want to, and the critics will flame you every time." |
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