I was an ace gunner on a M551 Light Tank Sheridan, The tank weighed only 17 tons and could be dropped from a transport plane into the jungles of Vietnam. Without the governor on it, the tank could get up to 55 miles an hour an a flat road. Not that we ever tried it mind you. LOL. It was a fun tank, all be-it a death trap.
The Sheridan’s main armament consisted of the M81 152mm gun-missile launcher. The M81 could fire multi-purpose M409 152mm High Explosive Anti-tank (HEAT) rounds. The Army also developed canister and beehive rounds for the M81, which were effective against enemy personnel. I remember making Swiss cheese out of crates and trees while stationed in Germany in the early "70s".
The Sheridan could carry up to twenty 152mm cannon rounds. Secondary armament included a 7.62mm machine gun coaxial which sucked. It constantly locked up. It also had a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on the turret which the TC commander loved. The Sheridan was also equipped with four smoke grenade launchers mounted on the turret.
In addition to cannon rounds, the Sheridan could carry up to eight MGM-51 Shillelagh guided missiles, which were fired through the main gun. Once clear of the tank, stabilizing fins popped out and the rocket engine ignited. To guide the missile, the gunner simply kept his sights on an enemy target, while an infrared link sent steering corrections to the missile. The Shillelagh’s fifteen pound shaped charge warhead could defeat any tank at that time, giving the lightweight Sheridan a significant punch.
It remained in production until 1971, by which time 88,000 had been produced, probably in anticipation of use by main battle tanks (below). Nearly a half dozen missiles were fired at bunkers by Sheridans during Operation Desert Storm (Iraq/Kuwait) in January and February 1991 This was the only time the missile system was fired in combat. Long after I left the military.
The M60A1 was my tank. We didn't call them Pattons. That was the M48.
The year after I left active duty they started deploying the M1's. Still, we felt pretty good about our chances against the Russian T-62.
