Looking for M551 IFV photos

Hi all,

While compiling reference photos and information for the Micro Machines M551 Sheridan reference library, I stumbled across some information in the Osprey book written by Zaloga on the Sheridan stating that some turretless Sheridans were prototyped as BMD-equivalent airborne IFVs, carrying 25mm Bushmasters and TOWs.

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A photo of such a vehicle in question:

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Does anybody here have either images of these vehicles or information on where to find further references on them? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Dennis

Try the 3/73rd members page, maybe someone has some pictures of the vehicles in trials.

Cajun :crocodile:

here is an e-mail address for the Anniston Army Depot public affairs office, they may be able to help . . . https://www.anad.army.mil/home/news-media/usarmy.anad.tacom.list.publicaffairs@mail.milil

Cajun :crocodile:

There’s something quite similar in Hunnicutt’s Sheridan book, but I guess this one never leave the drawing board…

H.P.

I saw that! There were quite a few proposed front engine Sheridan variants, that proposal appears far more well-designed than what ended up actually happened. The prototypes seem to have been the product of just ripping the turret off and bolting a 25mm to a mount.

that’s a new one for me, and I worked for the company that built them! The only odd one I know of was a conversion that used a 90mm low recoil main gun (Rhinemetal) in a much modified turret. All of those were intended for Korea. I don’t remember ever seeing anything about this on the “fish scale” at work, I might have looked 25% of it (there’s a life time of photos and data on it).

I can safely tell you that it wouldn’t happen in a Sheridan hull because they’d have to completely retool it! There are still a couple power packs setting in storage, but all the tooling is long gone (even the hull). If you have to retool it, then why not do a new state of the art design?
gary