[Matt Wiser]

Everything's fine at the house: was evac'd for ten days, but I've been busy with work.

And to get things started, a fact file on a vehicle introduced in the U.S. Army Vehicle Guide: the Cadillac-Gage Stingray:



The Cadillac-Gage Stingray in World War III


The Cadillac-Gage Stingray light tank was originally designed to meet a specification for a light, airportable tank that would be primarily used by units of the U.S. Army's Rapid Deployment Force as a replacement for the M551 Sheridan. Designed to be transportable by C-130 aircraft, but not air droppable, the program began in 1983 and the first prototypes were ready in 1984. Though the vehicle eventually lost out to what became the postwar M8 Buford Armored Gun System, the needs of wartime meant that the vehicle was put into production as a Sheridan replacement, and serving with U.S. Army Armored Cavalry Units during the Third World War, and was also used by several Canadian Army reconnaissance units when it was realized that heavier firepower was needed when dealing with Soviet and North Korean reconnaissance units.


Variants:

Stingray I: The baseline vehicle, adopted as a war emergency measure in 1985. The vehicle is equipped with a 105-mm L7A3 gun, with coaxial 7.62-mm and commander's M2 Browning .50 Caliber machine guns. Fire control consists of a gunner's sight with two-axis stabilization, a thermal imaging sight and laser rangefinder. Armor can withstand machine-gun rounds up to 14.5-mm.

Stingray Junior: A number of V-600 armored cars were fitted with the Stingray's turret when production of turrets outpaced that of the chassis. These vehicles were used mainly for rear-area security duties and convoy escort in areas where Spetsnatz attacks could be expected. The turret could also be installed on the M-41 Walker Bulldog, M-47, and M-551 chassis, but none were so fitted during the war. Cadillac-Gage offered it to foreign M-41 and M-47 users after the war, and a number of sales did follow.

Stingray II: An improved version developed to go against the M8 Buford when that competition was reopened after the war. Improved armor (capable of withstanding 30-mm cannon fire) with fitting for reactive armor, a new digital fire control system, and full NBC protection for the crew. Lost out (again) to the United Defense entry, which became the M8 Buford. Export sales to Thailand, Malaysia, Kuwait, and Jordan, though, did follow, along with customers for refurbished vehicles (see below).


Users:

U.S. Army: The Stingray was used by all of the Armored Cavalry Regiments activated during the war, as well as by the Army's Light Infantry Divisions to give them some armored firepower, especially in difficult terrain and in urban combat situations. Notable users included the 12th ACR (Light), which formed in 1986 as part of XVIII Airborne Corps, the reformed 150th ACR, which had one squadron operational prewar with the West Virginia NG, and the (in)famous 13th “Hell's Angels” ACR, which used the Stingray alongside the LAV-25. The Stingray served for the rest of the war and for a number of years afterwards, being replaced beginning in 1999 by the M8 Buford AGS, but still served in the National Guard until 2010. The Stingrays were placed in storage, but Cadillac-Gage has refurbished a number to Stingray II standard for FMS sales to Morocco, Tunisia Brazil, and Taiwan (interim pending new production Stingray IIs)

Canadian Army: Canada adopted the Stingray in 1986, and several Canadian Army reconnaissance units used the vehicle alongside the Lynx as the lack of heavy firepower was apparent when confronting Soviet reconnaissance units equipped with not just the PT-76 or the BMP-1R, but MBTs in the divisional reconnaissance battalions. The 105-mm gun and the top speed of 43 MPH made the Stingray a valuable addition, and the vehicle served with the Canadian Army for a number of years after the war, being replaced by the M8 Buford beginning in 2005.