Weight: 9.5-tons (8,640-kg)

Length: 12' 6” (3.83-m)

Width: 7' 6” (2.59-m)

Height: 7' 0” (2.13-m)

Crew: 3

Armor:

.5” (13-mm) all around

Weapons:

-Primary

6x 106-mm Recoilless Rifle M40A1C

-Secondary

4x .50-cal Spotting Rifle M8C

1x .30-cal M1919A4 machine gun

-Ammunition

18x 106-mm

80x .50-cal

1,000x .30-cal

Engine: Chrysler HG-361-318 8-cylinder, 180-hp

Power/weight: 18.9-hp/ton

Fuel Capacity: 47-USG (177-l)

Range: 100-miles (160-km)

Speed: 30-mph (48-km/h)

The vehicle being offered, M50A1 Ontos, is in need of a complete restoration. The master power and primary wiring have been removed. The dashboard and exhaust are incomplete. The engine will bar over. The throttle linkage is incomplete with many missing parts. All secondary wiring is either missing or has been cut. All weaponry is missing. The fuel tank is very clean. The suspension components appear to be in good condition and turn freely. All doors and hatches operate normally.

Design work on the Ontos (Greek for “thing”) began in late 1951. The vehicle was initially designed to be a low-cost, lightweight and highly mobile on a universal chassis. This would allow it to be built as an armored personnel carrier (apc) or anti-tank vehicle. The first two pilot vehicles were completed as apc's in 1952. A third vehicle was equipped with a single 106-mm recoilless rifle and was completed in July 1952. Various other pilots were built as apc's or with 6 recoilless rifles.

A six recoilless rifle-equipped pilot, the T165E2, was standardized in 1955 as the multiple 106-mm self-propelled rifle M50. 297 were built by Allis Chalmers for the United States Marine Corps with production ending in November 1957. A General Motors 302, 6-cylinder engine, powered the M50. It was armed with six 106-mm M40A1C recoilless rifles. Each one could be dismounted for ground use as needed. The three-man crew was protected by .5” (13-mm) thick armor. Between 1963 and 1965, 176 M50's were converted into M50A1's by exchanging the GM 6-cylinder for a Chrysler 361 V-8.

The USMC in the Vietnam War used the Ontos heavily. Lacking suitable armor targets for its 106-mm recoilless rifles, it was used as a direct fire weapon in support of USMC infantry. Its 106-mm rounds packed a good punch and were effective at engaging bunkers and other built-up positions. The flechette or “beehive” anti-personnel round was devastating when engaging VC or NVA infantry attacks.

The Ontos units were deactivated in 1969. Many of the vehicles were scrapped with a large number ending up as hard targets at the China Lake Naval Weapons Facility in California.

Transport Cost to Storage: $1,188