They cost $43,300 per vehicle in 1956 dollars. Roughly $410,666 in 2020 dollars. Robotisizing a similar armored vehicle and using metalstorm as the gun system wound be a winner. th-cam.com/video/zx_9_RgMPCE/w-d-xo.html
Not a problem . I pronounced it the same way before traveling to Vietnam 10 years ago. Hue , as well as Hoi ahn are must see places should you ever go.
@@readhistory2023 I think an ATGM would be more useful for it's intended role than some dinky little 40mm's. In many ways, the ATGM is the modern successor to the recoilless rifle.
First Sargent George Allen USMC drove his into Hue City during Tet 68 took out a church steeple the NVA were using to snipe from. He has passed on to guard the streets of Heaven
At 5:30 was a battle of Huế in 1968 happened on the both side of Hương river (Perfume river) when I was there. On the right side was controlled by US Marines, the background of Marines is Pedagogy school with a lot of refugees living around MACV, they were rescued and proteced by ARVN and US Army stayed inside that school. On the other side of river is Đông Ba market and the Citadel was controlled by VC. Some tanks M50 Ontos stayed on the bank of river rained down on the VC side during 28 days Huế was sieged by VC to stop them crossing the river. Thank you very much for great video reminding me about those days and/ with the so effective light tank M50 Ontos much helped our solders in the battle field in the past. Your pronunciation of Hue is so great like US leather neck in those days. I'm one of refugees rescued by Marines, an eyewitness of the scene in your video. Thank you again.
It is ALWAYS great to learn more about a story that allows you to see the things that sometimes history either overlooks forgets or simply doesn't think is important. THAN YOU for filling in some more of the blanks of history. History is so important that the more we know the more we can tell/inform others that were not there.
A good friend of mine was a U.S. Marine fighting in the street by street, house to house, battle of Hue,. Which, by the way, is pronounced "Whey" not "Hue" as it is written in English. He loved the Ontos! Notice the Marines early in this in this video are talking to the Ontos's gunner, and pointing out VC sniper positions on the other side of the Perfume River. It was very effective in urban combat situations.
This past summer, when my Dad passed away, we discovered that one of the internet passwords he used was “Ontos”. Being a former Marine myself and having heard all his stories, I knew exactly what it referred to. He was an 0849, Shore Fire Control Partyman, during the early to mid ‘60’s and served in Chu Lai ‘65-66. His job was to call in naval gunfire, but he must have been taken by the sight of these unusual vehicles.
In the Battle of Hue, Colonel Stanley S. Hughes felt the Ontos was the most effective of all Marine supporting arms. At ranges of 300 to 500 yards (270 to 460 m), its recoilless rifles could knock holes in or completely knock down walls. The appearance of an Ontos was sometimes enough to make the enemy break and run, and anecdotal accounts describe the enemy fleeing occupied buildings when an Ontos's spotting round entered a window.
The spotting rounds were really accurate and distinctive. It was a 50 but slower so it hit hard but not fast. Like I said, very distinctive. You would know if it was a sniper or not. Once the spotter hit that's your warning shot. The next one is the big gun
My dad crewed an Ontos while in Vietnam in 1965-1966. He has always spoken highly of it, and when we went to see one at the National museum of the Marine Corps in 2015, another Marine thanked him for saving his ass. They were a small, but vicious machine.
I LOVED the M50 ONTOS, and Recoilless Rifles in General, along with the M42 Duster (Twin 40mm Bofors), that I escorted to Vietnam. It was also a great Infantry weapon, as a scarey alternative to smoke and marines charging. Both exposed the reloader / gunner to local fire, but with an infantry squad to support them, they brought a big shell to infantry.
When I visited Hue, the guide a veteran, who had been on the receiving end. Told me 2 things 1 they underestimated it effectiveness. 2 once they understood what it can do, they avoided it. He told me when fighting in that citadel, 2 ontos come up firing at the fortification he and comrades were in. Because he was the ammo carrier and just behind the building he survived. Those walls were thick masonry.
During the battle of Hue the back blast from the Ontos recoilless rifles was used to create dust cloud cover that allowed Marines to cross streets out of view of the enemy.
I was a Canadian Army reservist in the early 80s, and was trained on the M40A1, the single barrel Jeep mounted version.....one going off is deafening, 6 is unimaginable......EDIT we had HEAT-T and HEP-T (high explosive plastic-tracer) we could reliably hit targets out to 1300m. No KE rounds, but a round with 10lbs of COMP-B moving at 1600 fps make 113s dance....with regard to tracer burnout at 1km +/-, the T48 spotting round had a white smoke burst function, very easy to see
My father was a crew member of an Ontos during Vietnam war. Probably saved his life and kept him away from the main fighting as the tanks weren't used as much as the 3 previous wars,except mainly for urban warfare. He mostly was stationed in defensive means. Probably, resulting in me being able to type this today. I actually have his training manuals and notes from Ontos school, as he has since passed. Tank crews, regardless of war and kit, are a rare breed and unique community.
Chatted with a couple Vietnam vets few years ago. One was a Gunner for this, other was a maintainer for them. These things were bread and butter and A-10 Warthog levels of fame and high demand on the ground with the infantry. They were crap for taking fire, but they could dish it out against opposing unarmored and entrenched infantry. They described it as the ideal weapon: simple, direct, effective, reliable.
The military actually tests technology like that occasionally. They aren't very useful. There are also power armor suits out there but also aren't very useful yet. There was also a individual hovercraft where the infantry stood over basically helicopter blades. Yes infantry... you can imagine how this was a bad idea
My grandfather (Marine, got out just before 'Nam) told me they'd aim at a hill with the following dialogue: "That hill offends me, remove it." Then said hill would cease to exist.
@@billgates6689 I'll admit I took some liberty by quoting the Chieftain, but my grandfather said something to basically the same effect when he told me about the Ontos, "They'd aim at the hill and blow the top of the damn thing off!" Just so you know I'm not bullshitting about my grandfather, he served in the Marine Corps during the early 60's got out just before the Vietnam War kicked off as a Corporal. He did maintenance on the avionics for the A-4 Skyhawk and was stationed at Cherry Point.
@@stickman3214 No, he didn't. He learned it by talking to other Marines and yes, he was an avionics technician on a single type of aircraft. His MOS was 6312/Aircraft Communications/Navigation/Electrical/Weapon/DECM Systems Technician A-4/TA-4/OA-4
I had the rare pleasure of restoring one of these bad boys to its former glory while volunteering at a museum but it had the later Chrysler v8 engine mod installed and it was a fast and very agile. Had alot of fun on that project.
@@magisterrleth3129 I remember the 120 mm BAT and WOMBAT in British service in the late 70's. It soldiered on until replaced by Milan. Bloody horrendous weapon for numerous reasons. Destroyed more eardrums than anything else.
@@gusgone4527 Yeah, I'll be honest, the phasing-out of recoilless rifles was probably a good thing. Shoulder-fired missile launchers are definitely a superior solution to the need for highly-portable anti-armor weapons. I'll never forget your eardrums' sacrifice.
People who care about military history for one and I'm not putting Matt down...I still find names that I have been mis-pronouncing and am glad when I hear clarifications. Ease up...
Thành Hoàng Ngọc you grandpa is very correct. It would look like pho, a little of this and a little of that and all mixed in the bowl. When your grandpa went up against it he was one of the bravest men. Ones that then and know I have full respect for.
Thành Hoàng Ngọc just warning you bro a lot of people will not like your comment but respect to your grandpa and anyone who fought that war on both sides
You mean like the Ontos Heavy Tank the-farscape-campaign.obsidianportal.com/items/ontos that was featured in the 3026 vehicle guide back in the original sets.
Nicely Done. I wrote an article about the Ontos a couple years ago and the old Ontos guys came out of the woodwork. It's a weapon that needs to be remembered
@@geraldtrudeau3223 Are you talking about SPG-9? It was a good workout to carry one on my shoulder through the snow in Ural mountains in 1988. It was a Soviet Army training base that produced the meat for Afghanistan campaign. Luckily for me, the war was over before we were ready. We only fired inert rounds, so I never really saw how effective they might be. So I'll take your word for it.
I’ve been aware of the Ontos since I was a kid in the early 70’s. We actually had “books” in our library at “school” and they showed “such horrible things of war”
Colby books were in our elementary school library, and I could buy all sorts of great paperback books on warplanes, tanks, etc... when they had book fairs. Sadly, unthinkable these days.
One of these was on display as a gate guardian at the main gate to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at 29 Palms when I was stationed there as a Ground Radio Repair Course student in 1988-1990. I hope I still have the pic I had a fellow Marine take of me sitting on it right between the barrel clusters..! 😎
Sadly, a friend of mine who crewed one of these in the early 60's died last August and he can't comment. He told me his job was sighting the .50 spotter round.
Marines like to eat the crayons. Gives them something to do, while they use their hands to rip someone's head of and shit down their neck. They are superb at wrecking things and killing people. Just ask any enemy they've faced.
Hey! That Blueberry Blue, tastes just like Blueberries. And if they didn't want them eaten, than why do they write "Non-toxic" on the box???@@kirkjones9639
The Ontos was history by the time I entered the Marine Corps in 1980. I was instead on the LVT7s - Landing Vehicle Tracked ver. 7 (now called AAVs - Amphibious Assault Vehicles) and we made amphibious beach landings. The Ontos was still highly spoken of in the Marine Corps at that time as many of the senior NCOs had served in Vietnam and were well familiar with their firepower.
As a Mortarman (81mm L16A1) in an Infantry Support Company we worked closely with The Anti-Armour Platoon, who at that time was equipped with the M40 Recoilless Rifle as primary weapon and the M2 MRAAW Carl Gustav 84mm as secondary. So was fortunate to train on these systems too. As staunch friends and rivals in our Company. Thanks for sharing these vids, they are appreciated and have an awesome week
I was a Marine platoon commander in Vietnam 1968-69 and we had both tripod mounted 106 RR Rifles and the Ontos. We didn't see much of the Ontos because we operated mainly in the rice paddy fields, valleys and mountains. The tripod mounted 106 and the Ontos were part of the battalion's cantonment defense, The battalion HQ was in the middle of nowhere protected by a three sided berm which had trenches along the top, bunkers on each corner, machine gun position and a tripod mounted 106 on each side of the perimeter. The Ontos was used in reserve in the event the enemy breached our perimeter. Of course outside of the perimeter were mines, crazy wire, and foo gas as well. As a platoon commander, my platoon was out in the field more than 90% of the time. There were only two or three times during the year that we were brought back to battalion for three days to rest and get some replacements. It was also a time to have a warm beer and some hot chow. As a side note, my body was so use to eating C-Rations, that the hot chow was just too rich and made me sick, so I ate C-Ration while at the battalion. So, what's the point? Well, when my platoon was brought back to the battalion for rest, we were required to augment the battalion perimeter. Two squads spent the night on the perimeter and one squad was in reserve as part of the reaction force. So we didn't get much rest and the only reason my Marines wanted the three days at battalion was for the beer. Anyway, one night the Viet Cong tried to overrun our battalion. When the firing began I could tell all Hell had broken lose and so a was making my way to my platoon's sector of responsibility when I unknowingly passed behind a 106 that fired a round. The back blast was terrific and it picked up sand and rocks that hit me like a shotgun blast. It knocked me several feet down the berm but I thought I was OK and made my way to my platoon to direct their fires. The Viet Cong were good fighters and they managed to penetrate the battalion for about a minute before being driven back. In the morning, my right side was red raw like I'd been sand blasted with large bruises where the rocks hit me. Just underscoring Matismus' warning that it would be dangerous to be behind the 106 when if fired. I loved the 106. It had a flechette round that was filled with hundreds of small metal darts, each about the size of you little finger. It was the ultimate shotgun against lots of attacking enemy. The next morning we were tasked to patrol outside the lines to recover the dead. Several of the dead were nailed to trees by the flechettes. Personally, I think there is still a place in the Marine Corps for a 106. Compared to the missiles they are using for bunker busters it's a very inexpensive round and it can be used against bunkers, light armor, and personnel. The big drawback is once it's fired, all of the dust and smoke it kicks up gives the position away. But in places like Afghanistan where Marines are in small outposts, 106 will clear a path through the attacking force. Maybe I'm just Old Corps, but I loved the 106.
Well, we are into the light tank discussion - never ending. It would like to refer you to the Saracen - series from Alvis. If they got up against a real tank they were toast. But what is often forgotten is that the RAF regiments used them to good effect to guard air stations. Airfields, Air Stations, Bridges etc. are prime targets for airborne troops. Such troops do not have heavy armour in their knapsack because they rely on element of surprice and speed. The other application of light troops and their speed is as reinforcements fighting from prepared positions - which of course demands some heavy staff work predicting where the nasty enemy is able to come. But given that: The protection from prepared positions is quite cheap and basically is a lot of earth mounds. The real deterrence is that such light forces can be placed before the nasty enemy has his tanks fuelled and tracks tensioned etc. Some years ago the russians were once again being nasty to the estonians and a flight of danish F-16 was scheduled to contribute to the air policing in about 3 weeks time. What our PM at the time did was to put a proposal to parliament that the stationing of the F-16's was to be moved forward 3 weeks - i.e. send them in right NOW. The bill passed with overwhelming majority, and as soon as the gavil came down the planes picked up their wheels and headed out. The result was a tremendeous relief in Estonia - and the russians backed down - on that occation. One should remember the German offensive in the Ardennes around X-mas 1944. The line was held by a very thin line indeed. The Germans ran out of ooumph - partly because they had no supplies - partly because even if they had had, they would not have been able to conceal the attack. Now: I still don't believe in airborne tanks dropped by parachute (generally leads to an immediate maintainance requirement); but if you have the transport capacity you could fly light forces in and let them move under their own steam. The point being: The transports will have other tasks; but there would be a "window of opportunity" of about 48 hours where they can land (on an airfield) about a BTN of light forces - with enough firepower to demand some reconsideration of plans from the enemy. In the mean time the other troops would gain time to gather their shit and fly in.
@@dfwai7589 while light equipment may not be enough to hold out against a larger more suitable equiped enemy force, the speed at which light vehicles can be deployed is enough of a deterrent to stall for time until reinforcements arrive.
@@nothingtoseehere1221 I figured that was what they were going for, but you gotta admit the OP is a bit of a jumbled mess of different engagements and military lingo.
Thank you, brings back memories of the 1/32 Renwal kit. Revell repopped the kit after they bought the molds. There was an earlier 105mm recoilless rifle but with a more massive breech. When it was redesigned with the more smaller breech, the ammunition was also modified, so the later rounds were re-designated 106mm to prevent mix-up. The last M50s were stationed at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for a few years after being withdrawn from from all other units. As you mentioned, there has been talk that after the Marines left SVN, some M50s left behind were used by the US Army infantry Brigade that took over the area, but confirmation is elusive.
Ever heard if Metalstorm? See the link. If they ever put those on armor seriously wouldn't want to be on the receiving end. th-cam.com/video/CiKOUykXdbU/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/AEu9LLQpOF8/w-d-xo.html
@@readhistory2023 Oddly enough that's pretty much exactly what I was thinking of. Metalstorm on a Wiesel? Yes please. That could be fairly terrifying. Tiny little thing appears from nowhere, dumps a ton of rounds *REALLY* quickly then vanishes as fast as it turned up. I always here a *MEEP MEEP* in my head when I see a Wiesel at full chat :)
You covered all the features and limitations quite well. As a pre-teen in the early 1960s I had a plastic model of the Ontos but I forget which company manufactured it. The model was quite well done and included some of the interior and openable hatches and back doors.
@@Knoxvillemoto The MOS for ONTOS was 0353, which is a Marine Infantry MOS. If you were just using the M40A1 106 mm recoilless rifle as single mount on a tripod, the MOS was 0351 (AntiTank Assault). It's a rifle because the trajectory is so flat. My experience with the ONTOS was when it got into a sniper duel just north of Hoi An, in June 1966. The tree covered mound was flattened.
@@dickpilz1432 I'm pretty sure its a recoiless rifle because it has a rifled barrel. Regardless the idea that every marine is a rifleman, just isn't true.
@@Knoxvillemoto Low elevation cannon, as opposed to a gun or howitzer. If the rifle was elevated too much, the back blast impingement on the ground would start splashing back to the crew. Fun fact: the replaceable breech bushing would restrict the rearward gases enough to produce a slight recoil. As the bushing wore, the recoil would diminish until the rifle would stat "recoiling" forward. That's how you knew it was time to replace the bushing.
@@dickpilz1432 very interesting mechanical design. Uspecially for a time when fluid dynamics simulation and modeling techniques were still relatively immature.
Ah, but that cool tracked vehicle isn't even street-legal. It's not the number of barrels, it's the convenience of use. It'd be a pain in the arse getting stopped and ticketed every other mile in the middle of a warzone. Jeep-1 Ontos-0
I remember these,back in Vietnam. They were usually seen with 4 rifles attached. They were great for base protection,not so much fun in the bush,as they drew all the enemies attention......
I was a platoon voice radio operator for a USMC Ontos platoon (3rd Platoon, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines). We landed in country May 18th of '65. We were one of the first units to see combat and participated in Operation Starlight early in the war. Other search and destroy operations followed. My responsibility was to maintain communications and radio equipment in every vehicle. I was cross trained as a crewman. The year of service was 1965 and the location was Chu Lai SVN. Our main mission was to support infantry with direct fire. The light Ontos could traverse terrain tanks could not. We were loved by the Grunts and feared by the VC. Firepower of this vehicle was awesome and very effective! Thank you for this video. Few examples this comprehensive exist.
Having being assigned to the MOS of 0351 (anti-tank assault), I got the privilege of becoming quite proficient in the use of the 106 recoilless rifle. But before I even finished training, I had heard about the Ontos and it's shortcomings. To me, the jeep mounted or mechanical mule mounted 106 was much more practical. With all three, the crew were vulnerable to small arms fire and all had their advantages as well. The mechanical mule and jeep mounted were much easier to conceal but unless they were working in groups of 2 or more, you were left with a single round and what seemed to be forever to reload (when under fire from the enemy) before being able to fire again. At least with all three, you could shoot and scoot, which was a lot better than a stationary tripod mounted 106. Myself, I was kinda glad that I was mainly involved with my secondary MOS, which was in mines and booby traps. Set them up and get the hell away from there. Just another tid bit of information. My trainer on the 106 served 2 tours in Vietnam and had 3 confirmed kills with the .50 cal. spotting rifle mounted on the 106. One was at around 900 yds. which isn't bad considering the sighting mechanism on the 106. (U.S. Marines 70-76)
I was in the Navy, and I knew a lot of Marines who had already been to Vietnam, done that. They liked this thing for perimeter defense. They told me that the perimeter was quad-fifty, Ontos, tank. (Rinse and repeat.) Plus the line of Marines, that would be a lot of lead in the air.
My father was an Ontos Commander (gunner). He was with the 1st Anti-tank Division. He and his Ontos led the first relief convoy into Hue during the Tet Offensive. It was there he got paired up with an M48 and engaged the VC in buildings. While the fully armored M48 could stay in place, my Dad had to get behind a wall for cover to allow his loader to reload the rifles, then pull up next to the tank to shoot again. There’s an old CBS wartime documentary of this happening that Dad and I watched on TV where he shouted “ Hey that’s my Ontos!”. I’ve been searching for that clip ever since.
Around 1980, the North Carolina Forest Service converted an ONTOS to a water tanker. The body was removed, a 500 gallon water tank added, and a heavy roll bar with wire mesh was added. It did not work well on actual forest fires, but was used as a water source on controlled burns. I was a patrol pilot for the NC Forest Service flying an L-19 Birddog at the time. During controlled burns, I would sometimes drive the ONTOS. It was a lot of fun to drive. Light weight and very responsive. One time, another driver got it stuck trying to cross a steep creek bed near the fire. We had to use the water in the tank to keep the fire away from the ONTOS until a bulldover could pull it out.
Just saw one of these at the Museum of the American GI in College Station Texas. It is fully functioning and is often accompanied by the driver that used this actual vehicle in Vietnam. The guy that was doing maintenance on it that day had some great stories about the effects of the rockets and their backwash!
Saw my first one as a lad of 10 at a Camp Pendelton "combat town" demonstration. At the time were given to understand that the M50, in probably earlier guise, was originally equipped with the 75mm RR. Thanks for the film. Narragansett Bay.
In the early days of the Vietnam War, the M50 Ontos did not have anti-personnel rounds. It was only after several reports of rounds punching through huts and buildings and failing to detonate that it was given the right munitions for it's role. The Ontos was never a practical anti-tank platform because the M40 106mm rifle when fired produced such a large amount of smoke and dust that it gave away the Ontos' position and turned it into an anti-gun round magnet.
A friend of mine who was a marine in viet nam told me about these years ago. Said one came up when they were trying to take a series of bunkers and were pinned down. He loved the ontose.
I joined the U.S.M.C. in may 1959, after boot camp I was sent to an antitank battalion which had one 106 mounted on a mule, shipped out to Okinawa and we had a 106 mounted on Jeeps, 1962 I rotated back state-side and was put into another anti-tank unit and we had the M50 Ontos, as per Marines way of doing things I would be trained as a Driver, Gunner and also Tank commander. They were dirty and hard work to maintain but were sure fun to drive and play with.
Interesting stuff and video on one of my personal favorite vehicles/weapons. Oddly this vehicle could be considered to be the 'real world' test of the ultra-light/fast armored concept originally envisioned by people like Walter Christie and showed while the concept had some merit there were also a LOT of problems with having fast but lightly armored vehicles with heavy armor killing weapons on the battle field. I don't know if you cover it or knew about it on your other recoiless weapon videos but I often wonder why the RR autoloader's that were developed were never tried on a vehicle like the M50
I was in G Co 2/2 from '63-'65. We had a class on the Ontos. The things were amazingly small. The instructor told us they would fire only one rifle at a time; if they fired all six simultaneously, something would break. We were out on a field exercise on Vieques one day and were "ambushed" by one.
Imagine these things with either a battery of TOWs, javelins, or even some stingers? Oh! Maybe add that tri barreled, .50 cal Gatling gun at the center for good measure.
@@TheWorldEnd2 The Ontos, specifically, was retired in the early 1970s completely. The 90mm Recoiless was used until the 90s. Now, we use the 84mm Carl Gustav, but that a man portable gun.
@@TheWorldEnd2 The only RC I know of being used in Iraq was the 73mm SPG9, in very limited numbers. The RPG7 was the preferred AT weapon by Arab troops
My Uncle spoke very highly of the Ontos when he was in Vietnam in the Marines from 1968-1969. He drove an M62 wrecker and there were two Ontos in the column that would go from Da Nang to Dong Ha. He said it was something to watch the Ontos swing around and open up. The only drawback was having to get out of it to reload the recoiless rifles. They were great against enemy bunkers and emplacements especially when they couldn't get a heavier tank in.
I worked with a guy named Lenny that crewed one of these. He said they liked to use the 50 cal spotters to snipe with. Many times you didn't even need the recoilless round.
My father arrived as a Marine in country in Vietnam in 68, about 2 months after the Tet Offensive. He was assigned to 4th Combined Action Group in Quang Tri city. They had a Marine armor unit up the road from them that had several M50 Ontos. The Ontos was always in great demand for fire support and earned the nickname "The Thing with the Sting." He said nothing could clear a section of jungle like one of those carrying cannister rounds. The 106mm recoilless rifle, in general, was sought after and used to great effect by Marine Corps units for fire support. Frequently mounted on jeeps, or even the M247 military mule, Marines used them to great effect for reducing hard-points, and in the anti-personnel role. I saw my first one as a young Marine assigned to MCAGCC 29 Palms back in 1990. They had one on permanent display on the main road near the PMO. I thought the thing was neat as hell and that's what prompted me to mention it to my father. I just couldn't get over how small they actually were compared to other armored vehicles.
There were two types of rounds. HEAT for tank armor and plastic for a buildings or personnel. I know because I was a gunner on one of these jeep mounted in light airborne cavalry. In its day this was a very good weapon.
This vehicle is in Armored Warfare, And is a little beast if you play it right, you just don't want to get hit. Another great informative video mate. Keep them coming.
It was done by the loader. He was located inside the vehicle sitting on a small pad, when the guns needed reloading the loader would unlatch the rear hatch, there were four 106 rounds located in the inside right rear, those are the first he would reload with, next there were two latches that released the lower ammo weld which held 8 rounds. If the Ontos commander was in a safe location he would open the breeches on the 106's, the loader would pull the fired round out and load the new one and half close the breech, he would reload all 6 rounds then close the ammo weld and get back in the vehicle the Ontos commander would pump the breeches closed and wait for next mission. The drive would stay in the drivers compartment in case they had to move out quickly, the Ontos commander during loading would change the magazines on the two inboard spotter rifles and put in a new 30 cal ammo can for the browning machinegun. All weapons were boresighted in at 1000 yards, 2 inboard spotter rifles, 6 106's and 30cal. Driver carried a grease gun, commander and loader .45 cal. The two outside spotting rifles with their 106 were used as ground mounted weapons if needed. We're rarely used that way. When Ontos was retired 15 went to the Japanese civil defense. I know this because I saw him there in Japan where they were giving us a class on them. It was kind of comical because I had been instructor in Ontos and they gave us a bunch of bum scoop on them. I heard some went to the forestry department which was a good place for them because they could traverse almost any terrain especially without the weight of the guns.
Shoutout to Allis Chalmers, a tractor company....that also made these freakish things. They also helped make machinery to build *the bomb.* Aaaand superchargers to help military piston aircraft fly higher and higher. How humble.
@@nigelft You don't waste armor vehicles on direct fire, the missile is the way to go. Geoff Who notes two of the M40s could be dismounted and used from a wheeled tripod.
I saw one at the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois USA. You really have to see it in person to appreciate how tiny it is.Never researched it though, so thanks for this video.
I was Station at Camp Lejeune 68-71. I'm a Tanker, 1811. If I remember correctly there was a Company of Ontos next to us. I went over and looked them over but I never did open one of them up and look inside. The Marines also had a, Mule. I think that what we called them. A flat bed ATV type vehicle. Some of those also had a 105 on them.
@12:28-13:22 is the Ontos at Camp Atterbury, Indiana (now Camp Atterbury Joint Military Training Center-CAJMTC) it sits with many vehicles in the Memrial park at the main gate, actually a nice park! Patton Museum at Fort Knox had two (2) of these, one was static display and the other had just been completly restored when The Armor School was moved down to Fort Benning and took 95% of the Armor from Patton Museum with them. Patton Museum WAS 'The Patton Museum of Armor and Cavalry' now its The Patton Musem of Leadership. When the Armor School left Knox, they took most of the static displays of Armor that had been setting around post. Knox looks and feels like a ghost town now.
6:36 Oh yeah, and then some. I heard this thing was able to make its way through rice paddies without getting bogged down. It's literally a freaking hover tank XD
The M40 recoilless rifles mounted on jeeps were far more versatile. Being dis-mountable and easier to conceal. Of course once fired it was game over. In British service equivalent was the BAT recoilless rifles, BAT, MOBAT and WOMBAT. The back-blast was so ferocious and location revealing. That the troops called them the VC guns. Because the Victoria Cross medal for the most part, is awarded posthumously. Get it?
One of these things saved my friend's life in vietnam. The ontos rolled up and just leveled a building full of enemy soldiers that had my friend pinned down. he told me marines loved that tank, and it would demolish anything it hit.
Sorry about my pronunciation of Hue! I’m always learning and trying to improve 👍
M48 Patton MBT and M113 APC videos when?
They cost $43,300 per vehicle in 1956 dollars. Roughly $410,666 in 2020 dollars. Robotisizing a similar armored vehicle and using metalstorm as the gun system wound be a winner.
th-cam.com/video/zx_9_RgMPCE/w-d-xo.html
Not a problem . I pronounced it the same way before traveling to Vietnam 10 years ago.
Hue , as well as Hoi ahn are must see places should you ever go.
@@readhistory2023 I think an ATGM would be more useful for it's intended role than some dinky little 40mm's. In many ways, the ATGM is the modern successor to the recoilless rifle.
Pronounce it like a Geordie saying haway, and you won't be far off 👍
52 years ago i was at Hue and these things were quite a welcome asset. Havent seen one or thought of them in years.
Welcome home. 🤗
👍🇺🇸
First Sargent George Allen USMC drove his into Hue City during Tet 68 took out a church steeple the NVA were using to snipe from. He has passed on to guard the streets of Heaven
@@joedunleavy7066 guess we that were there are getting to the time age is thinning the ranks. It has been 54 years now.
@@jackmoorehead2036 welcome home hope everything was good for you
At 5:30 was a battle of Huế in 1968 happened on the both side of Hương river (Perfume river) when I was there. On the right side was controlled by US Marines, the background of Marines is Pedagogy school with a lot of refugees living around MACV, they were rescued and proteced by ARVN and US Army stayed inside that school.
On the other side of river is Đông Ba market and the Citadel was controlled by VC.
Some tanks M50 Ontos stayed on the bank of river rained down on the VC side during 28 days Huế was sieged by VC to stop them crossing the river.
Thank you very much for great video reminding me about those days and/ with the so effective light tank M50 Ontos much helped our solders in the battle field in the past.
Your pronunciation of Hue is so great like US leather neck in those days. I'm one of refugees rescued by Marines, an eyewitness of the scene in your video.
Thank you again.
That is really informative, fellow countryman
Here, take my like
Nice profile picture!
It is ALWAYS great to learn more about a story that allows you to see the things that sometimes history either overlooks forgets or simply doesn't think is important.
THAN YOU for filling in some more of the blanks of history. History is so important that the more we know the more we can tell/inform others that were not there.
Army: Nah
Marines: SIX GUNS! MURICA!
It’s a damn shame that they did not add more guns to it
Why 6 cause 7 is showing off
Well to be fair the army had it's hands and budget tied trying to stick a detachable mag in a m1 garand.
Marines: “So anyway, I started blastin.”
@Thành Hoàng Ngọc I'll take 'Things That Didn't Happen' for $1000, Alex...
A good friend of mine was a U.S. Marine fighting in the street by street, house to house, battle of Hue,.
Which, by the way, is pronounced "Whey" not "Hue" as it is written in English.
He loved the Ontos!
Notice the Marines early in this in this video are talking to the Ontos's gunner,
and pointing out VC sniper positions on the other side of the Perfume River.
It was very effective in urban combat situations.
This past summer, when my Dad passed away, we discovered that one of the internet passwords he used was “Ontos”. Being a former Marine myself and having heard all his stories, I knew exactly what it referred to. He was an 0849, Shore Fire Control Partyman, during the early to mid ‘60’s and served in Chu Lai ‘65-66. His job was to call in naval gunfire, but he must have been taken by the sight of these unusual vehicles.
In the Battle of Hue, Colonel Stanley S. Hughes felt the Ontos was the most effective of all Marine supporting arms. At ranges of 300 to 500 yards (270 to 460 m), its recoilless rifles could knock holes in or completely knock down walls. The appearance of an Ontos was sometimes enough to make the enemy break and run, and anecdotal accounts describe the enemy fleeing occupied buildings when an Ontos's spotting round entered a window.
The spotting rounds were really accurate and distinctive. It was a 50 but slower so it hit hard but not fast. Like I said, very distinctive. You would know if it was a sniper or not. Once the spotter hit that's your warning shot. The next one is the big gun
My dad crewed an Ontos while in Vietnam in 1965-1966. He has always spoken highly of it, and when we went to see one at the National museum of the Marine Corps in 2015, another Marine thanked him for saving his ass. They were a small, but vicious machine.
"Did he fire 6 shots or only 5?"
Do you feel lucky?
Well, do ya PUNK?
I gots ta know!
@@gregoryheim9781 He didn't say "punk". We've added it since then. Just like "Beam me up Scotty".
@@coreys2686 Sure looks and sounds like he said 'punk' to me.
@@coreys2686 He didn't say punk in both scenes. Only the first time.
I LOVED the M50 ONTOS, and Recoilless Rifles in General, along with the M42 Duster (Twin 40mm Bofors), that I escorted to Vietnam. It was also a great Infantry weapon, as a scarey alternative to smoke and marines charging. Both exposed the reloader / gunner to local fire, but with an infantry squad to support them, they brought a big shell to infantry.
When I visited Hue, the guide a veteran, who had been on the receiving end. Told me 2 things 1 they underestimated it effectiveness. 2 once they understood what it can do, they avoided it.
He told me when fighting in that citadel, 2 ontos come up firing at the fortification he and comrades were in. Because he was the ammo carrier and just behind the building he survived. Those walls were thick masonry.
Now we can match those stories.. Innteresting... Now we can have story from both sides here
A N G E R Y T R I A N G L E
B O O M B O O M T R I A N G L E
D A N G E R D O R I T O
Y O U H A V E A N G E R E D T H E C H E E S E W E D G E
Murica: Guns!
I L L U M I N A T I K A B O O M I
During the battle of Hue the back blast from the Ontos recoilless rifles was used to create dust cloud cover that allowed Marines to cross streets out of view of the enemy.
I was a Canadian Army reservist in the early 80s, and was trained on the M40A1, the single barrel Jeep mounted version.....one going off is deafening, 6 is unimaginable......EDIT we had HEAT-T and HEP-T (high explosive plastic-tracer) we could reliably hit targets out to 1300m. No KE rounds, but a round with 10lbs of COMP-B moving at 1600 fps make 113s dance....with regard to tracer burnout at 1km +/-, the T48 spotting round had a white smoke burst function, very easy to see
As a Canadian, you should appreciate a good six pack.
@@richardm3023 good one!
@@richardm3023
Beauty!
I was a 2nd lieutenant of a platoon with 5 jeeps mounted with 4 106mm recoiless in the mid '80 in Taiwan. Lots of wonderful memories.
My father was a crew member of an Ontos during Vietnam war. Probably saved his life and kept him away from the main fighting as the tanks weren't used as much as the 3 previous wars,except mainly for urban warfare. He mostly was stationed in defensive means. Probably, resulting in me being able to type this today. I actually have his training manuals and notes from Ontos school, as he has since passed. Tank crews, regardless of war and kit, are a rare breed and unique community.
Chatted with a couple Vietnam vets few years ago. One was a Gunner for this, other was a maintainer for them. These things were bread and butter and A-10 Warthog levels of fame and high demand on the ground with the infantry. They were crap for taking fire, but they could dish it out against opposing unarmored and entrenched infantry.
They described it as the ideal weapon: simple, direct, effective, reliable.
8:43 so we're all going to pretend like we didn't just see a recoilless rifle duct tape to the roof of a hovercraft?
@James Harding I don't know, but I want one.
The flying jeep prototype I think
I know ! WTF man ! That looks like Luke Skywalkers car.
I mean, there's also the bazooka vespa
The military actually tests technology like that occasionally.
They aren't very useful. There are also power armor suits out there but also aren't very useful yet.
There was also a individual hovercraft where the infantry stood over basically helicopter blades. Yes infantry... you can imagine how this was a bad idea
"how many guns do we put on this thing?"
"Yes"
"I don't know. How many ya got?"
How many you got?
YES
That's the US Navy's philosophy on warships, makes sense the Marines do the same on ground vehicles
When you want to bust tanks ,but dont have a Piper Cub about to mount recoilless rifles on.
My grandfather (Marine, got out just before 'Nam) told me they'd aim at a hill with the following dialogue: "That hill offends me, remove it." Then said hill would cease to exist.
Bull, you totally just quoted Chieftain.
@@billgates6689 I'll admit I took some liberty by quoting the Chieftain, but my grandfather said something to basically the same effect when he told me about the Ontos, "They'd aim at the hill and blow the top of the damn thing off!" Just so you know I'm not bullshitting about my grandfather, he served in the Marine Corps during the early 60's got out just before the Vietnam War kicked off as a Corporal. He did maintenance on the avionics for the A-4 Skyhawk and was stationed at Cherry Point.
Ryan McCallum So he operated the M50... but was also an avionics technician on a single type of aircraft?
@@stickman3214 No, he didn't. He learned it by talking to other Marines and yes, he was an avionics technician on a single type of aircraft. His MOS was 6312/Aircraft Communications/Navigation/Electrical/Weapon/DECM Systems Technician A-4/TA-4/OA-4
... MOS 6312 is Aircraft Communications/Navigation/Weapon Systems Technician for the AV-8...
Bro you have no idea how long I've been looking for a decent vid about this badass thing. Thanks!
I had the rare pleasure of restoring one of these bad boys to its former glory while volunteering at a museum but it had the later Chrysler v8 engine mod installed and it was a fast and very agile. Had alot of fun on that project.
"you only know it if you played games" I am so old I have seen these at militaryy demonstration
Dang, what year was that?
@@magisterrleth3129 I remember the 120 mm BAT and WOMBAT in British service in the late 70's. It soldiered on until replaced by Milan. Bloody horrendous weapon for numerous reasons. Destroyed more eardrums than anything else.
@@gusgone4527 Yeah, I'll be honest, the phasing-out of recoilless rifles was probably a good thing. Shoulder-fired missile launchers are definitely a superior solution to the need for highly-portable anti-armor weapons. I'll never forget your eardrums' sacrifice.
Keep soldiering man!
These new soldiers don't know anything about soldiering
They were armored in name only, but bad ass.
FYI, if you're referring to the city of Hue in Vietnam, it's actually pronounced more like Way.
Who gives a fuck ?
People who care about military history for one and I'm not putting Matt down...I still find names that I have been mis-pronouncing and am glad when I hear clarifications. Ease up...
Ey bro if you wanna sound like a moron trying to pronounce a city name, go ahead. Dudes just trying to help. The fuck outa here with you negativity
@@davidmaccormack7067 please don't forget to take your meds, it makes you cranky and sound like an arse.
@@davidmaccormack7067 you, and the four other people in this reply section apparently
Mat the Ontos is my favorite unit. In Nam they load up anti-personnel and support us.
Its already bad being on the recieving end of a single 106mm HESH or flechette round....imagine 6..
Thành Hoàng Ngọc you grandpa is very correct. It would look like pho, a little of this and a little of that and all mixed in the bowl. When your grandpa went up against it he was one of the bravest men. Ones that then and know I have full respect for.
"He's out, right?"
*Nods
*Gets up to fire back,gets fired upon, gets down
"Where did you learn how to count?"
Nobody:
America: Aight hear me out, how about PORTABLE ARTILLERY BATTERY
Nobody:
America: SOLD!
Russia: Da
Syphon Toastie r/whoosh
Syphon Toastie I know it’s not artillery you don’t use recoilless rifles for artillery it was a joke
Thành Hoàng Ngọc just warning you bro a lot of people will not like your comment but respect to your grandpa and anyone who fought that war on both sides
This thing looks like something from warhammer 40k, or battletech.
I'd say more from 80s GI Joe.
@@TheNinjaDC it's the Armadillo.
🙂
You mean like the Ontos Heavy Tank the-farscape-campaign.obsidianportal.com/items/ontos that was featured in the 3026 vehicle guide back in the original sets.
Lol yeah it does. Plenty of dakka on this one.
Always given me CnC or BattleTech vibes tbh. From the weapons and how they're positioned it's made me think of the BT Annihilator 'mech.
Nicely Done. I wrote an article about the Ontos a couple years ago and the old Ontos guys came out of the woodwork. It's a weapon that needs to be remembered
My old man fought in one of these. He loved the thing
Dude, I've been on the receiving end of the 75mm recoilless. They're nothing to sneeze at.
Tell is more Gerald.
@@DirtyPoochRacing How much more do you want to know? If you want a war story, I can do that.
@@geraldtrudeau3223
Are you talking about SPG-9? It was a good workout to carry one on my shoulder through the snow in Ural mountains in 1988. It was a Soviet Army training base that produced the meat for Afghanistan campaign. Luckily for me, the war was over before we were ready. We only fired inert rounds, so I never really saw how effective they might be. So I'll take your word for it.
These are 105 m.m.
I’ve been aware of the Ontos since I was a kid in the early 70’s. We actually had “books” in our library at “school” and they showed “such horrible things of war”
"Horrible" only if you're on the receiving end.
@@rebelkommando6166 Not much better if you're in the open behind it when it fires...
Colby books were in our elementary school library, and I could buy all sorts of great paperback books on warplanes, tanks, etc... when they had book fairs. Sadly, unthinkable these days.
Loved the Colby books in elementary school.
@@45CaliberCure for info I'm still buying books on warfare today and I don't know what it more sad: to be a chickenshit pacifist or a war monger...
One of these was on display as a gate guardian at the main gate to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at 29 Palms when I was stationed there as a Ground Radio Repair Course student in 1988-1990. I hope I still have the pic I had a fellow Marine take of me sitting on it right between the barrel clusters..! 😎
Sadly, a friend of mine who crewed one of these in the early 60's died last August and he can't comment. He told me his job was sighting the .50 spotter round.
Was his name John by chance?
9:35 "Marines are simple and need simple weapons, give them crayons and they'll give you a dead target" is what I heard.
Marines like to eat the crayons. Gives them something to do, while they use their hands to rip someone's head of and shit down their neck. They are superb at wrecking things and killing people. Just ask any enemy they've faced.
Hey! That Blueberry Blue, tastes just like Blueberries. And if they didn't want them eaten, than why do they write "Non-toxic" on the box???@@kirkjones9639
@@richardm3023 Perzackly
The Ontos was history by the time I entered the Marine Corps in 1980. I was instead on the LVT7s - Landing Vehicle Tracked ver. 7 (now called AAVs - Amphibious Assault Vehicles) and we made amphibious beach landings. The Ontos was still highly spoken of in the Marine Corps at that time as many of the senior NCOs had served in Vietnam and were well familiar with their firepower.
As a Mortarman (81mm L16A1) in an Infantry Support Company we worked closely with The Anti-Armour Platoon, who at that time was equipped with the M40 Recoilless Rifle as primary weapon and the M2 MRAAW Carl Gustav 84mm as secondary. So was fortunate to train on these systems too. As staunch friends and rivals in our Company. Thanks for sharing these vids, they are appreciated and have an awesome week
I was always interested in the Ontos. Thanks for putting your spotlight on this little monster.
I was a Marine platoon commander in Vietnam 1968-69 and we had both tripod mounted 106 RR Rifles and the Ontos.
We didn't see much of the Ontos because we operated mainly in the rice paddy fields, valleys and mountains. The tripod mounted 106 and the Ontos were part of the battalion's cantonment defense, The battalion HQ was in the middle of nowhere protected by a three sided berm which had trenches along the top, bunkers on each corner, machine gun position and a tripod mounted 106 on each side of the perimeter. The Ontos was used in reserve in the event the enemy breached our perimeter. Of course outside of the perimeter were mines, crazy wire, and foo gas as well.
As a platoon commander, my platoon was out in the field more than 90% of the time. There were only two or three times during the year that we were brought back to battalion for three days to rest and get some replacements. It was also a time to have a warm beer and some hot chow. As a side note, my body was so use to eating C-Rations, that the hot chow was just too rich and made me sick, so I ate C-Ration while at the battalion.
So, what's the point?
Well, when my platoon was brought back to the battalion for rest, we were required to augment the battalion perimeter. Two squads spent the night on the perimeter and one squad was in reserve as part of the reaction force. So we didn't get much rest and the only reason my Marines wanted the three days at battalion was for the beer.
Anyway, one night the Viet Cong tried to overrun our battalion. When the firing began I could tell all Hell had broken lose and so a was making my way to my platoon's sector of responsibility when I unknowingly passed behind a 106 that fired a round. The back blast was terrific and it picked up sand and rocks that hit me like a shotgun blast. It knocked me several feet down the berm but I thought I was OK and made my way to my platoon to direct their fires.
The Viet Cong were good fighters and they managed to penetrate the battalion for about a minute before being driven back.
In the morning, my right side was red raw like I'd been sand blasted with large bruises where the rocks hit me. Just underscoring Matismus' warning that it would be dangerous to be behind the 106 when if fired.
I loved the 106. It had a flechette round that was filled with hundreds of small metal darts, each about the size of you little finger. It was the ultimate shotgun against lots of attacking enemy.
The next morning we were tasked to patrol outside the lines to recover the dead. Several of the dead were nailed to trees by the flechettes.
Personally, I think there is still a place in the Marine Corps for a 106. Compared to the missiles they are using for bunker busters it's a very inexpensive round and it can be used against bunkers, light armor, and personnel. The big drawback is once it's fired, all of the dust and smoke it kicks up gives the position away. But in places like Afghanistan where Marines are in small outposts, 106 will clear a path through the attacking force.
Maybe I'm just Old Corps, but I loved the 106.
Well, we are into the light tank discussion - never ending.
It would like to refer you to the Saracen - series from Alvis. If they got up against a real tank they were toast.
But what is often forgotten is that the RAF regiments used them to good effect to guard air stations. Airfields, Air Stations, Bridges etc. are prime targets for airborne troops. Such troops do not have heavy armour in their knapsack because they rely on element of surprice and speed.
The other application of light troops and their speed is as reinforcements fighting from prepared positions - which of course demands some heavy staff work predicting where the nasty enemy is able to come. But given that: The protection from prepared positions is quite cheap and basically is a lot of earth mounds.
The real deterrence is that such light forces can be placed before the nasty enemy has his tanks fuelled and tracks tensioned etc. Some years ago the russians were once again being nasty to the estonians and a flight of danish F-16 was scheduled to contribute to the air policing in about 3 weeks time.
What our PM at the time did was to put a proposal to parliament that the stationing of the F-16's was to be moved forward 3 weeks - i.e. send them in right NOW. The bill passed with overwhelming majority, and as soon as the gavil came down the planes picked up their wheels and headed out.
The result was a tremendeous relief in Estonia - and the russians backed down - on that occation.
One should remember the German offensive in the Ardennes around X-mas 1944. The line was held by a very thin line indeed. The Germans ran out of ooumph - partly because they had no supplies - partly because even if they had had, they would not have been able to conceal the attack.
Now: I still don't believe in airborne tanks dropped by parachute (generally leads to an immediate maintainance requirement); but if you have the transport capacity you could fly light forces in and let them move under their own steam. The point being: The transports will have other tasks; but there would be a "window of opportunity" of about 48 hours where they can land (on an airfield) about a BTN of light forces - with enough firepower to demand some reconsideration of plans from the enemy. In the mean time the other troops would gain time to gather their shit and fly in.
Good point
What are you actually on about?
@@dfwai7589 while light equipment may not be enough to hold out against a larger more suitable equiped enemy force, the speed at which light vehicles can be deployed is enough of a deterrent to stall for time until reinforcements arrive.
@@nothingtoseehere1221 I figured that was what they were going for, but you gotta admit the OP is a bit of a jumbled mess of different engagements and military lingo.
Saracen was apc ..you mean Saladin ..with a 76mmgun
Thank you, brings back memories of the 1/32 Renwal kit. Revell repopped the kit after they bought the molds. There was an earlier 105mm recoilless rifle but with a more massive breech. When it was redesigned with the more smaller breech, the ammunition was also modified, so the later rounds were re-designated 106mm to prevent mix-up. The last M50s were stationed at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for a few years after being withdrawn from from all other units. As you mentioned, there has been talk that after the Marines left SVN, some M50s left behind were used by the US Army infantry Brigade that took over the area, but confirmation is elusive.
Reminds of the German Weisel. I love those damn things, and I really wish that the US still fielded something of this sort.
Ever heard if Metalstorm? See the link. If they ever put those on armor seriously wouldn't want to be on the receiving end.
th-cam.com/video/CiKOUykXdbU/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/AEu9LLQpOF8/w-d-xo.html
@@readhistory2023 Oddly enough that's pretty much exactly what I was thinking of. Metalstorm on a Wiesel? Yes please. That could be fairly terrifying. Tiny little thing appears from nowhere, dumps a ton of rounds *REALLY* quickly then vanishes as fast as it turned up. I always here a *MEEP MEEP* in my head when I see a Wiesel at full chat :)
MrGrimsmith *wiesel
@@SaintMarneusCalgar feel better?
THAT IS EXACTLY THE VEHICLE I was trying to remember- The German Weisel
You covered all the features and limitations quite well. As a pre-teen in the early 1960s I had a plastic model of the Ontos but I forget which company manufactured it. The model was quite well done and included some of the interior and openable hatches and back doors.
Mine was by Revell. I built it while serving as a 106 RR gunner on a Gun Jeep in the Army!
A weird concept but it seemed to fill some unforeseen niches. The marines loved them in Vietnam. It was a great bunker buster.
Every Marine is a rifleman, even the tanks, they just recoilless.
Every real rifleman would disagree.
@@Knoxvillemoto The MOS for ONTOS was 0353, which is a Marine Infantry MOS. If you were just using the M40A1 106 mm recoilless rifle as single mount on a tripod, the MOS was 0351 (AntiTank Assault). It's a rifle because the trajectory is so flat.
My experience with the ONTOS was when it got into a sniper duel just north of Hoi An, in June 1966. The tree covered mound was flattened.
@@dickpilz1432 I'm pretty sure its a recoiless rifle because it has a rifled barrel. Regardless the idea that every marine is a rifleman, just isn't true.
@@Knoxvillemoto Low elevation cannon, as opposed to a gun or howitzer. If the rifle was elevated too much, the back blast impingement on the ground would start splashing back to the crew. Fun fact: the replaceable breech bushing would restrict the rearward gases enough to produce a slight recoil. As the bushing wore, the recoil would diminish until the rifle would stat "recoiling" forward. That's how you knew it was time to replace the bushing.
@@dickpilz1432 very interesting mechanical design. Uspecially for a time when fluid dynamics simulation and modeling techniques were still relatively immature.
My grandfather operated the m40 during his time in the army, though his was attached to a Jeep and not a cool tracked vehicle though.
I liked the airjeep version !! :)
Ah, but that cool tracked vehicle isn't even street-legal. It's not the number of barrels, it's the convenience of use. It'd be a pain in the arse getting stopped and ticketed every other mile in the middle of a warzone.
Jeep-1
Ontos-0
I remember these,back in Vietnam. They were usually seen with 4 rifles attached. They were great for base protection,not so much fun in the bush,as they drew all the enemies attention......
@@magisterrleth3129 If the MP's could stay alive long enough for that, steal whatever they're driving....
I was a platoon voice radio operator for a USMC Ontos platoon (3rd Platoon, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines). We landed in country May 18th of '65. We were one of the first units to see combat and participated in Operation Starlight early in the war. Other search and destroy operations followed. My responsibility was to maintain communications and radio equipment in every vehicle. I was cross trained as a crewman. The year of service was 1965 and the location was Chu Lai SVN. Our main mission was to support infantry with direct fire. The light Ontos could traverse terrain tanks could not. We were loved by the Grunts and feared by the VC. Firepower of this vehicle was awesome and very effective! Thank you for this video. Few examples this comprehensive exist.
my dad loved the ontos. they had them at chu lai.
I was at ChuLai and Danang in an Anti-Tank batallion. I rotated out of Vietnam after 18 months before they went to Hue. Lost 2 friends there.
Having being assigned to the MOS of 0351 (anti-tank assault), I got the privilege of becoming quite proficient in the use of the 106 recoilless rifle. But before I even finished training, I had heard about the Ontos and it's shortcomings. To me, the jeep mounted or mechanical mule mounted 106 was much more practical. With all three, the crew were vulnerable to small arms fire and all had their advantages as well. The mechanical mule and jeep mounted were much easier to conceal but unless they were working in groups of 2 or more, you were left with a single round and what seemed to be forever to reload (when under fire from the enemy) before being able to fire again. At least with all three, you could shoot and scoot, which was a lot better than a stationary tripod mounted 106. Myself, I was kinda glad that I was mainly involved with my secondary MOS, which was in mines and booby traps. Set them up and get the hell away from there. Just another tid bit of information. My trainer on the 106 served 2 tours in Vietnam and had 3 confirmed kills with the .50 cal. spotting rifle mounted on the 106. One was at around 900 yds. which isn't bad considering the sighting mechanism on the 106. (U.S. Marines 70-76)
How many recoilless rifles do you want? :Yes
The USMC operation during Tet '68 was in the city of Hue, pronounced "h-way".
Paladin 06 No. it’s pronounced “WAY”
HUEHEUHEUHEHUEHUEHUEHUE
@@mikep.541 Way
IS 3s be like..
HA IM IN DANGER
Kinda...the 106mm could penetrate, it was reliable from the front and an IS-3 could kill an Ontos from much further than an Ontos could engage an IS-3
@@Internetbutthurt Well come and play WT with me. Anyone really Add me on my PSN FrankWizza1738
I was in the Navy, and I knew a lot of Marines who had already been to Vietnam, done that. They liked this thing for perimeter defense. They told me that the perimeter was quad-fifty, Ontos, tank. (Rinse and repeat.) Plus the line of Marines, that would be a lot of lead in the air.
I seem to recall the main protection of the M50 was its size, manuverability, and speed. The idea against armor, was to shoot and scoot.
I can remember seeing plastic scale models of the Ontos at the local hobby shop back in the 1950s.
Another military vehicle overview by Matsimus? Oh yes please.
My father was an Ontos Commander (gunner). He was with the 1st Anti-tank Division. He and his Ontos led the first relief convoy into Hue during the Tet Offensive. It was there he got paired up with an M48 and engaged the VC in buildings. While the fully armored M48 could stay in place, my Dad had to get behind a wall for cover to allow his loader to reload the rifles, then pull up next to the tank to shoot again. There’s an old CBS wartime documentary of this happening that Dad and I watched on TV where he shouted “ Hey that’s my Ontos!”. I’ve been searching for that clip ever since.
When you want a revolver that kills tanks.
You should look up the T58 heavy tank it had a 155mm with a 6 shot cylinder that was basically a giant 155mm revolver .
@@clacoca1807 sounds like a 454 Casull on steroids.... and treads. 🤔
Around 1980, the North Carolina Forest Service converted an ONTOS to a water tanker. The body was removed, a 500 gallon water tank added, and a heavy roll bar with wire mesh was added. It did not work well on actual forest fires, but was used as a water source on controlled burns. I was a patrol pilot for the NC Forest Service flying an L-19 Birddog at the time. During controlled burns, I would sometimes drive the ONTOS. It was a lot of fun to drive. Light weight and very responsive. One time, another driver got it stuck trying to cross a steep creek bed near the fire. We had to use the water in the tank to keep the fire away from the ONTOS until a bulldover could pull it out.
amazing stuff
Just saw one of these at the Museum of the American GI in College Station Texas. It is fully functioning and is often accompanied by the driver that used this actual vehicle in Vietnam. The guy that was doing maintenance on it that day had some great stories about the effects of the rockets and their backwash!
Love the Ontos!
It helped us in certain situations in country back in '67 - '68
This tank looks like it was based off the imagination of a 10 year old.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Saw my first one as a lad of 10 at a Camp Pendelton "combat town" demonstration. At the time were given to understand that the M50, in probably earlier guise, was originally equipped with the 75mm RR. Thanks for the film. Narragansett Bay.
8:34 hol up is dat a Recoiless Rifle mounted on top of a hovercraft??
In the early days of the Vietnam War, the M50 Ontos did not have anti-personnel rounds. It was only after several reports of rounds punching through huts and buildings and failing to detonate that it was given the right munitions for it's role. The Ontos was never a practical anti-tank platform because the M40 106mm rifle when fired produced such a large amount of smoke and dust that it gave away the Ontos' position and turned it into an anti-gun round magnet.
The Viet Cong HATED the M-50. When it came up to the line, Charles knew he was done,
A friend of mine who was a marine in viet nam told me about these years ago. Said one came up when they were trying to take a series of bunkers and were pinned down. He loved the ontose.
I joined the U.S.M.C. in may 1959, after boot camp I was sent to an antitank battalion which had one 106 mounted on a mule, shipped out to Okinawa and we had a 106 mounted on Jeeps, 1962 I rotated back state-side and was put into another anti-tank unit and we had the M50 Ontos, as per Marines way of doing things I would be trained as a Driver, Gunner and also Tank commander. They were dirty and hard work to maintain but were sure fun to drive and play with.
Interesting stuff and video on one of my personal favorite vehicles/weapons. Oddly this vehicle could be considered to be the 'real world' test of the ultra-light/fast armored concept originally envisioned by people like Walter Christie and showed while the concept had some merit there were also a LOT of problems with having fast but lightly armored vehicles with heavy armor killing weapons on the battle field. I don't know if you cover it or knew about it on your other recoiless weapon videos but I often wonder why the RR autoloader's that were developed were never tried on a vehicle like the M50
I was in G Co 2/2 from '63-'65. We had a class on the Ontos. The things were amazingly small. The instructor told us they would fire only one rifle at a time; if they fired all six simultaneously, something would break. We were out on a field exercise on Vieques one day and were "ambushed" by one.
Imagine these things with either a battery of TOWs, javelins, or even some stingers?
Oh! Maybe add that tri barreled, .50 cal Gatling gun at the center for good measure.
I'm feel so lucky I found this channel! I'm bench watching all the vids tonight!
Welcome back matt hope the hols went great
I gotta say, you have the VERY BEST GRAPHICS INTRO of any channel on UT.
They used these recoiless rifle weapons in Vietnam.
Theyve been used from the Korean war to Iraqi freedom.
@@TheWorldEnd2
They were retired in the 70s.
None were used in Iraq
@@theimmortal4718 recoilles rifles? Sure were, just not by the alliance troops
@@TheWorldEnd2
The Ontos, specifically, was retired in the early 1970s completely.
The 90mm Recoiless was used until the 90s.
Now, we use the 84mm Carl Gustav, but that a man portable gun.
@@TheWorldEnd2
The only RC I know of being used in Iraq was the 73mm SPG9, in very limited numbers.
The RPG7 was the preferred AT weapon by Arab troops
My Uncle spoke very highly of the Ontos when he was in Vietnam in the Marines from 1968-1969. He drove an M62 wrecker and there were two Ontos in the column that would go from Da Nang to Dong Ha. He said it was something to watch the Ontos swing around and open up. The only drawback was having to get out of it to reload the recoiless rifles. They were great against enemy bunkers and emplacements especially when they couldn't get a heavier tank in.
I first learned about Ontos from Battletech, which had a tank by the same name.
I worked with a guy named Lenny that crewed one of these. He said they liked to use the 50 cal spotters to snipe with. Many times you didn't even need the recoilless round.
Back when the Gunny was doing Mail Call on the History Channel, I got him to do a segment on the Ontos
My father arrived as a Marine in country in Vietnam in 68, about 2 months after the Tet Offensive. He was assigned to 4th Combined Action Group in Quang Tri city. They had a Marine armor unit up the road from them that had several M50 Ontos. The Ontos was always in great demand for fire support and earned the nickname "The Thing with the Sting." He said nothing could clear a section of jungle like one of those carrying cannister rounds. The 106mm recoilless rifle, in general, was sought after and used to great effect by Marine Corps units for fire support. Frequently mounted on jeeps, or even the M247 military mule, Marines used them to great effect for reducing hard-points, and in the anti-personnel role.
I saw my first one as a young Marine assigned to MCAGCC 29 Palms back in 1990. They had one on permanent display on the main road near the PMO. I thought the thing was neat as hell and that's what prompted me to mention it to my father. I just couldn't get over how small they actually were compared to other armored vehicles.
x6 106mm recoiless rifles loaded with HE firing at the same time is a lot of firepower.
There were two types of rounds. HEAT for tank armor and plastic for a buildings or personnel. I know because I was a gunner on one of these jeep mounted in light airborne cavalry. In its day this was a very good weapon.
Been there done that. A Trp. 3/8 Cav.
This vehicle is in Armored Warfare, And is a little beast if you play it right, you just don't want to get hit.
Another great informative video mate. Keep them coming.
I would be interested to see the reloading drills being conducted by the crew.
It was done by the loader. He was located inside the vehicle sitting on a small pad, when the guns needed reloading the loader would unlatch the rear hatch, there were four 106 rounds located in the inside right rear, those are the first he would reload with, next there were two latches that released the lower ammo weld which held 8 rounds. If the Ontos commander was in a safe location he would open the breeches on the 106's, the loader would pull the fired round out and load the new one and half close the breech, he would reload all 6 rounds then close the ammo weld and get back in the vehicle the Ontos commander would pump the breeches closed and wait for next mission. The drive would stay in the drivers compartment in case they had to move out quickly, the Ontos commander during loading would change the magazines on the two inboard spotter rifles and put in a new 30 cal ammo can for the browning machinegun. All weapons were boresighted in at 1000 yards, 2 inboard spotter rifles, 6 106's and 30cal. Driver carried a grease gun, commander and loader .45 cal. The two outside spotting rifles with their 106 were used as ground mounted weapons if needed. We're rarely used that way.
When Ontos was retired 15 went to the Japanese civil defense. I know this because I saw him there in Japan where they were giving us a class on them. It was kind of comical because I had been instructor in Ontos and they gave us a bunch of bum scoop on them. I heard some went to the forestry department which was a good place for them because they could traverse almost any terrain especially without the weight of the guns.
Love those things. My dad was a USMC grunt in Vietnam. He told me they were useful as hell. We need something equivalent today to be honest.
I always did like the m106 especially on a Jeep, good for infantry support.
Humongous back blast, low range - you really had to shoot and scoot, as a burst of returning MG fire would toast you.
@@shawnc5188 Well, you're on a... technically an M151, you fire your round, pick your eardrums off the ground, get in and leave with a little vigor.
Michael Free Yeah I’ve observed them at a firing range from about 30 feet away back in the late 80s.
Shoutout to Allis Chalmers, a tractor company....that also made these freakish things. They also helped make machinery to build *the bomb.* Aaaand superchargers to help military piston aircraft fly higher and higher. How humble.
The Bazooka TANK IT IS
Can you imagine a Weisel fitted with up-rated Carl Gustav's ...
... ok, not so great against heavy armour, but still ...
@@nigelft You don't waste armor vehicles on direct fire, the missile is the way to go. Geoff Who notes two of the M40s could be dismounted and used from a wheeled tripod.
I saw one at the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois USA. You really have to see it in person to appreciate how tiny it is.Never researched it though, so thanks for this video.
11:44 That is a great Image, Photographer must have filled his Boots
I was Station at Camp Lejeune 68-71. I'm a Tanker, 1811. If I remember correctly there was a Company of Ontos next to us. I went over and looked them over but I never did open one of them up and look inside.
The Marines also had a, Mule. I think that what we called them. A flat bed ATV type vehicle. Some of those also had a 105 on them.
8:06 That is true. But, they are most likely replaced with laser range finders at this point.
@12:28-13:22 is the Ontos at Camp Atterbury, Indiana (now Camp Atterbury Joint Military Training Center-CAJMTC) it sits with many vehicles in the Memrial park at the main gate, actually a nice park!
Patton Museum at Fort Knox had two (2) of these, one was static display and the other had just been completly restored when The Armor School was moved down to Fort Benning and took 95% of the Armor from Patton Museum with them. Patton Museum WAS 'The Patton Museum of Armor and Cavalry' now its The Patton Musem of Leadership.
When the Armor School left Knox, they took most of the static displays of Armor that had been setting around post. Knox looks and feels like a ghost town now.
6:36 Oh yeah, and then some. I heard this thing was able to make its way through rice paddies without getting bogged down. It's literally a freaking hover tank XD
I never knew such a vehicle existed...Thanks for enlightening me with this informative video.
The M40 recoilless rifles mounted on jeeps were far more versatile. Being dis-mountable and easier to conceal. Of course once fired it was game over. In British service equivalent was the BAT recoilless rifles, BAT, MOBAT and WOMBAT. The back-blast was so ferocious and location revealing. That the troops called them the VC guns. Because the Victoria Cross medal for the most part, is awarded posthumously.
Get it?
Glad you still make contents. Tyvm for making these.. I really appreciate it.
Hue, ive always heard it said like "way"
Or whey.
@@iosef6926 It's the Stewie Griffin pronunciation of "whey" . . . hway.
It's Whey.
You guys just need to say ergggghh then raise the pitch to ếhhhhhhhh, than dub it into the H of Hey.
There you go, Huế (Hue)
That is how we pronounced it when I was there.
One of these things saved my friend's life in vietnam. The ontos rolled up and just leveled a building full of enemy soldiers that had my friend pinned down. he told me marines loved that tank, and it would demolish anything it hit.
This tank is recommended by Astra Militarum Steel Legion
And probably by Death Korps of Krieg ... if you can fit 6 large bayonets on that thing...
For the emperor brothers