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If I have the SN for my M75, is there a way to tell what unit it was assigned to or where it might have served?

Dave C

Let me give it a try. Post what numbers and pictures you have and I'll see what I can come up with. It may take a while since I'm attending ANCOC right now but I'll see what I can get. I'll have to send it to someone that doesn't normally research APC's but maybe they can help.

Here is the info- sorry it took so long!

Ours originally started life as a T18E1, but later became the M75.

The SN is F1014.

The next line down is stamped "53"

and then the registration number "40229665" is stamped into it.

Hope that helps!

Dave

Dave, the SN is probably 53. SNs generally dont include letters, and if it started as a T18E1 it would make sense it has a low SN number.

Neil

- HellonwheelsV100

Ours originally started life as a T18E1, but later became the M75.
The SN is F1014.
The next line down is stamped "53"
and then the registration number "40229665" is stamped into it.

'40229665' sounds like the old USA numbers.

Ontos Prototypes were USA #'s Very similiar from 1951-57 development period.

T166 # 1 : USA # 40232487 ( Which is upgraded to T165E1 # 3 in 1953)



Don

'....with pockets full of 'useless' Ontos Documentation & Trivia...'

I agree that the last number is the registration number. I found a pic of another M75 that is only 1 number off from that.
I am sure that the F1014 is the SN, not the 53. The manual states that 2 different versions were made, and that number falls into the original design range. From our best estimates, I think this was the 7th one ever made. It has some of the features only seen on the prototypes, and not in the later ones. I am wondering if the F is for FMC, since they were made by both FMC and International Harvester.

Just wondering if there is a way to see what ole' F1014 did back in the day, and where it may have been used.



man I wish I wasn't so swamped with things to do. I might even have time to learn how to post pics!!!

I suppose F1014 could be the FMC SN, as opposed to the Ordnance Corps SN. But if its the latter, the M75 would be the only American military vehicle (until the Abrams) I am aware of that has an SN that starts with a letter. Otherwise, all SNs - for Stuarts, Shermans, tank destroyers, Pershings, Pattons, M113s, M114s, original build M60s, etc - are just numbers. Exceptions are rebuilt M60s that had a letter (A or M) after the number, and Abrams that sometimes had a D or L before the number for where it was built...

Neil

- Dontos

- HellonwheelsV100

Ours originally started life as a T18E1, but later became the M75.
The SN is F1014.
The next line down is stamped "53"
and then the registration number "40229665" is stamped into it.

'40229665' sounds like the old USA numbers.

Ontos Prototypes were USA #'s Very similiar from 1951-57 development period.

T166 # 1 : USA # 40232487 ( Which is upgraded to T165E1 # 3 in 1953)



Don

'....with pockets full of 'useless' Ontos Documentation & Trivia...'

Don,

This one just SCREAMS "model contest entry"...confound the judges!

I was thinking replace the RR with a TOW for an 'Ontos II'

If the Ontos had been sold overseas, it almost certainly would have happened by now... Like the Columbian? M8 Greyhounds armed with TOW missiles.

Speaking of which, the M56 Scorpion was exported - why didnt the Ontos find any customers?

Don, have you discovered any info on foreign evaluations?

Neil

- Neil_Baumgardner

If the Ontos had been sold overseas, it almost certainly would have happened by now... Like the Columbian? M8 Greyhounds armed with TOW missiles.

Speaking of which, the M56 Scorpion was exported - why didnt the Ontos find any customers?

Don, have you discovered any info on foreign evaluations?

Neil

No foreign sales occurred. As for the ARVN, by 1973 when most leave behinds occurred, there weren't any in service.

AC only made 297 M50's during the production run ( 1955-1957 ). Only 176 M50A1's were made, by upgrading existing M50's (1963-1965).

By the mid-70's it was considered far too obsolete for any practical operational use.

Don

Any foreign evaluations in the 1950s or 1960s?

Neil

- Neil_Baumgardner

Any foreign evaluations in the 1950s or 1960s?

Neil

Neil
This seems to be the only reference, but obviously noone actually seriously considered it.


"In July 1952, General Matthew B. Ridgway, Eisenhower’s successor as SACEUR, wrote General Collins asking if testing of ONTOS and BAT might be expedited to make them available more quickly, not to US forces but to NATO allies under the MDAP program. He believed the new anti-tank weapons would be necessary “to withstand the mass of Soviet armor which will inevitably be launched against us at the very outset of hostilities . . ..� If possible, Ridgway wanted procurement orders to be placed before the end of FY 1953. [14]

General Collins replied that he could not approve the request. For one thing, he did not think it wise to accept any weapon for the NATO partners without its being fully tested by the AFF or to put the system in the hands of foreign forces before its issue to US troops. Additionally, short-circuiting the acquisition cycle to initiate early production created problems"


Exerpt From:
Acquisition History Project Working Paper #2
ONTOS: Civilian Control, Economy, and the Defense of Europe
Elliott V. Converse, III

ONTOS: Civilian Control, Economy, and the Defense of Europe

Interesting... I assume (from the lack of other info) that the request didnt come up again after the Ontos finished testing...

Neil

Dave,
I contacted my buddy that looks up SN's, but he doesn't have much on Post-WWII items, and nothing on APC's. Sorry.