| Ed is correct. When the war started, the 25th Division sent its 79th Recon Battalion to Korea which was equipped with M24 Chaffees, packing a low-power 75mm gun incapible of hurting a T-34-85. The first troops also had the old 2.36" bazooka which did not work on them, nor did the 105mm HE rounds from M101 howitzers. The Shermans were sent in only as a stopgap as it was originally felt that they exceeded Korean bridging limits (which was why they were not there in the first place). They were an even match for the T-34, and the later M26 Pershing and M46 Patton were overmatch. (The difference was that the Pershing had a 500 HP Ford engine like the Sherman and was underpowered; the M46 had a 750HP version of the Continental 1760 12-cylinder air-cooled engine, which eventually (in its ultimate and diesel form) powered the M60. They also got HEAT rounds for the 105, the 3.5" bazooka, and 90mm AA guns with the same ammunition as the M26/M46. ROK Army was equipped with the M36 90mm GMC, same gun but lighter chassis with Sherman components. 5" HVAR was an HE-FRAG warhead, and the so-called "ram rocket" warheads (6.5" HEAT) were developed to deal with tanks. Napalm, as noted, was also a big killer. There were few tank vs tank engagements, and after August 1950 they all went one way: US X tanks destroyed, KPA 0. Cookie Sewell AMPS |