M59 APC?

[raketenjagdpanzer]

While I realize the vast majority were blown up as targets, recycled for razor blades and what-have-you, I wonder if of the 6300+ M59s if there'd be a significant number of them left that in a pinch they'd be pressed back into service (or even if there were any at all).

I've got this crazy idea for an "M59A1 Tank Destroyer" with that Dragon nee Jav/Tankbreaker M175 mount got posted up in the LAV-75 thread...

[pmulcahy11b]

I have the M59 on my site -- you could work from there. And let us know how it came out!

[Raellus]

I think that you would mostly see reactivated M59s stateside but sure, why not.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by raketenjagdpanzer

While I realize the vast majority were blown up as targets, recycled for razor blades and what-have-you, I wonder if of the 6300+ M59s if there'd be a significant number of them left that in a pinch they'd be pressed back into service (or even if there were any at all).

Also remember that the US wasn't the only country that used the M59 -- The Turks, and I think the Greeks and South Koreans used good numbers of them. It could put some into the European Theater.

[copeab]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

Also remember that the US wasn't the only country that used the M59 -- The Turks, and I think the Greeks and South Koreans used good numbers of them. It could put some into the European Theater.

According to Wiki, South Vietnam was the third largest user (after the US and Turkey), followed by Brazil. South Korea didn't get any.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by copeab

According to Wiki, South Vietnam was the third largest user (after the US and Turkey), followed by Brazil. South Korea didn't get any.

I was working from the dim recesses of my memory; my bad.

[copeab]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

I was working from the dim recesses of my memory; my bad.

It's also possible Wiki is wrong

[Targan]

Originally Posted by copeab

It's also possible Wiki is wrong

Blasphemer!

[Matt Wiser]

If the M-103s are in storage, then certainly parts and main gun ammo are as well. FYI the USMC had theirs stored at the USMC Logistics Base in Barstow, CA, before they were used as targets or donated for museum display.

[HorseSoldier]

The ones I saw at Anniston probably came from Barstow then, on their way to becoming reefs down in the Florida keys. Circa 2004 or so they also had about a brigade of Sheridans in a yard waiting for demilling into reefs or whatever also. A lot of those had bumper numbers making them Panama vets, plus some stuff that looked like it'd seen the rougher side of NTC and JRTC.

[dragoon500ly]

Like it has been shown many times on this forum; Uncle Sam stores a lot of equipment and just lets it set. Doesn't mean that it is in servicible condition. There is one thing to watch for on tanks; if the tank is in servicable condition and has been mothballed, critical equipment is pulled from the interior, packaged in a dehumidifer containers and then stored in a wooden, plastic lined crate bolted onto the back deck, and usually has a tarp in place, covering the turret hatches and most of the container.

If the vehicle is stored in a vehicle park, without the container on the back deck...its very likely that the interior has been stripped of anything useable and its waiting on disposal, either as a reef, or for a smelter.

A comment was posted stating that ammunition for a M-103 would be available...well, the correct answer is both yes and no. Ammunition degrades over time, as the propellent approaches the end of its service life (roughly 15 years with modern propellent), it is sent back to an ammo factory for refurbishment or disposal. Back in the 60s and 70s, you certainly could find 120mm tank ammo. But by the 80s and 90s, most of it had been disposed of or dearmed and used for museum displays; the Patton Museum has a decent selection of demilled ammo that they pull out on occasion, and, of course, Aberdeen Proving Grounds has probably the best selection.

Another thing that people overlook is the museum/static display vehicles, please rest assured that for the most part, what you have is a stripped vehicle, often missing critical equipment such as the engine pack. Next time you see one, stand off to the side and see if the tail end is noticeably higher than the bow of the tank, if it is, then the pack is missing. My local National Guard Armory has an M-60A3 on display, won a dinner at TGI Fridays when I proved that one was missing its pack, breechblock and fire control equipment!

[Abbott Shaull]

Originally Posted by dragoon500ly

Like it has been shown many times on this forum; Uncle Sam stores a lot of equipment and just lets it set. Doesn't mean that it is in servicible condition. There is one thing to watch for on tanks; if the tank is in servicable condition and has been mothballed, critical equipment is pulled from the interior, packaged in a dehumidifer containers and then stored in a wooden, plastic lined crate bolted onto the back deck, and usually has a tarp in place, covering the turret hatches and most of the container.

If the vehicle is stored in a vehicle park, without the container on the back deck...its very likely that the interior has been stripped of anything useable and its waiting on disposal, either as a reef, or for a smelter.

A comment was posted stating that ammunition for a M-103 would be available...well, the correct answer is both yes and no. Ammunition degrades over time, as the propellent approaches the end of its service life (roughly 15 years with modern propellent), it is sent back to an ammo factory for refurbishment or disposal. Back in the 60s and 70s, you certainly could find 120mm tank ammo. But by the 80s and 90s, most of it had been disposed of or dearmed and used for museum displays; the Patton Museum has a decent selection of demilled ammo that they pull out on occasion, and, of course, Aberdeen Proving Grounds has probably the best selection.

Another thing that people overlook is the museum/static display vehicles, please rest assured that for the most part, what you have is a stripped vehicle, often missing critical equipment such as the engine pack. Next time you see one, stand off to the side and see if the tail end is noticeably higher than the bow of the tank, if it is, then the pack is missing. My local National Guard Armory has an M-60A3 on display, won a dinner at TGI Fridays when I proved that one was missing its pack, breechblock and fire control equipment!

Yeah but some idiot will find rounds that is unstable and try to use it...lol

[HorseSoldier]

Places with enough time and resources might be able to rig up one offs, or even small production runs, of reactivated armor using stuff and skills available to them -- being able to bluff with, say, a platoon of tanks defending your town (museum piece M26s and M47s with diesel truck engines shoe horned into them in place of standard engines, no main gun ammo but no optics either, and maybe rigged up to turn the main gun into a launcher for rocket/pipe bomb ordnance made out of PVC, black powder, and optimism) might do a lot to keep the local chapter of Hells Angels at bay. More observant PCs might wonder why the tanks in question seem to max out at 5-10 miles per hour and other little clues that something isn't quite adding up . . .