M551 Sheridan - Vietnam

Plastic model kit for building an M551 Sheridan with M81 cannon

• Scale 1:35
• 12.7 mm machine gun with M113 protective shield
• Version from the Vietnam War
• Including 3 figures
• Segment tracks
• 2 decal versions
• Including detailed information text in the instructions (also in German) from a U.S. commander who drove the M551 in action
• Unbuilt, unpainted
• Paint and glue not included

The M551 Sheridan (named after Union General Philip Henry Sheridan from the American Civil War) is a light reconnaissance tank that was developed by General Motors from 1960 under the designation XM551. The first series vehicle was completed in June 1966. Production lasted until 1970. It was designed as an air-transportable reconnaissance tank. It was equipped with the technically advanced but vulnerable M81 152mm combination weapon, which could fire both conventional ammunition and the MGM-51 Shillelagh anti-tank missile.

The Sheridan entered service with the United States Army in 1967. At the urging of General Creighton Abrams, then commander of US forces in Vietnam, the M551 was deployed in Vietnam from January 1969. The first units to use the Sheridan in Vietnam were the 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry and the 1st Squadron, 11th ACR. By the end of 1970, more than 200 Sheridans had been deployed in Vietnam and they remained in frontline service until the last US armored cavalry unit, the 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry, was transferred back to the United States in April 1972.

The Sheridan had several key advantages: it didn't get stuck in mud as often as the 52-ton M48 Patton, and it didn't throw its track as often.
This made the small tank very popular with its crews. The light weight and high mobility proved valuable, and the gun proved to be an effective anti-personnel weapon when used with the M657 HE ammunition or the M625 canister ammunition.
The Army began phasing out the Sheridan in 1978, although there was no real replacement at the time. However, the 82d Airborne Division was able to keep it until 1996.