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Ontos, officially the Rifle, Multiple 106 mm, Self-propelled, M50, was an American light armored tracked anti-tank vehicle developed in the 1950s. It mounted six 106 mm manually loaded M40 recoilless rifles as its main armament, which could be fired in rapid succession against single targets to increase the probability of a kill.
Jul 15, 2021 · With its tiny chassis, tinier turret and six, massive, externally mounted recoilless rifles, the M50 Ontos had to have been the strangest armored vehicle ever to make it into the American military inventory.
The last action of the Ontos came during the Dominican Civil war when on 29 April 1965 an M50 Ontos and M48 Patton (6th MEU) destroyed two rebel L/60L light tank, and the Ontos also destroyed an AMX-13 in another circumstance. The M50 served well until 1969, and was retired.
With its tiny chassis and small turret supporting two strong cradles each of which supports three recoilless rifles, it is one of the most unique armored vehicles ever fielded by the American military.
Aug 10, 2021 · View of the American-made Ontos M50, a light armored anti-tank vehicle, seeking defensive positions after landing on Chu Lai beach in Vietnam, June 1965. It possesses six M40 106mm recoilless rifles, which could be fired in rapid succession.
Dec 13, 2023 · The M50 Ontos originated during the Korean War from a project that sought to develop a highly efficient, lightweight, universal chassis. Experience during that war highlighted the need to give infantry a mobile means of transportation themselves, cargo, and weapons around the battlefield.
Jun 29, 2017 · M50 Ontos. Though the Ontos boasted six tank-busting 106 mm recoilless rifles, it never engaged a tank, instead serving the Marines as a mobile infantry support weapon in Vietnam. (Illustration by Henry Morshead, from New Vanguard 240: U.S. Tank Destroyers of the Vietnam War, Osprey Publishing Ltd.)
Officially known as the Rifle, Multiple 106-mm, Self-propelled, M50, the Ontos was the primary tank-destroyer used by the. U.S. Marine Corps in the Vietnam War.
Jul 10, 2018 · Officially known as the “Rifle, Multiple 106 mm, Self-propelled, M50,” the Ontos was a tracked, lightly armored anti-tank vehicle developed as a fast tank killer for airborne forces. It mounted six M40 106 mm recoilless rifles that could be fired in rapid succession against individual targets.
The M50 Ontos boasted a unique design, with six recoilless 105mm rifles (later 106mm M40A1C rifles) mounted to its body. Ultimately, the vehicle was embraced not by the U.S. Army but by the Marine Corps, which used it as an infantry support vehicle throughout the Vietnam War.
