Ampersand's M42 Duster

This latest offering from Ampersand covers one of the US Army's few gun anti-aircraft vehicles. Developed after WWII where the need for more potent tracked AA gun system was required to replace the quad .50s on the back of a half track, the choice was made to use the chassis and automotive section of the M41 light tank as a basis for the vehicle. For weapons, the highly popular and successful 40mm Bofors was chosen. Interestingly enough, this gun was one of the few weapons used during WWII by both the Allies and the Germans, the Swedes providing licenses to both sides to build this gun.

A turret was provided on which to mount a pair of these guns as well as providing ample ammunition storage. The first M42 was delivered in 1951, though it did not participate in the Korean war. With the advent of the Hawk missile system, the Duster was retired from active Army service in 1961 and passed along to the National Guard.

Once the Vietnam war got going, it was realized that the Hawk had poor low level capabilities so the Duster was re-introduced into the active Army for the duration of the war.  The Duster was also heavily used by the Marines. Interestingly, it was never actually used for its intended purpose of shooting down planes as the North Vietnamese Air Force did not perform any offensive missions to the south.

Instead, the M42 was used for a variety of other purposes such as perimeter defense of bases and convoy escort. The flat trajectory of the weapon made it a perfect platform for operating in the dense jungles where it was able to easily punch through vegetation to reach its target. However, the Duster was rather maintenance intensive with parts being difficult to get at times and its gasoline engine was susceptible to fires, so it was not used on prolonged search and destroy missions. The vehicle was pulled from service in 1971 and returned to the national guard. Many nations used the vehicle and some still have it in service.

 In this book by David Doyle, we are given a short history of the type  and then we get into the heart of the book. This consists of a bevy of photographs of the vehicle in service. Most of this this large section includes its use in Vietnam. The images are large and quite clear with many of them in full color. The latter portion of the book includes a walk-around and detail photos of a preserved vehicle. In all, it makes for an excellent reference for both the enthusiast and modeler alike. I found it fascinating and have no trouble highly recommending this one to you.

July 2015

Review copy courtesy Ampersand Publishing. Get yours today at this link.

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