M42 Duster

With two 40mm Bofors antiaircraft guns, the M42 Duster was a good machine for base camp/fire support base defense and for fire support in convoys.

When the Army decided it needed a fire support vehicle in Vietnam, someone recommended the Duster. Problem was, there were none in Active Duty units. So, the Army borrowed Dusters from the Army National Guard.

In early 1967, a Duster platoon was at a small fire base in Tay Ninh Province, where Air Cav Troop’s gunships and slicks operated during daylight. One Duster set up right next to Aero Rifle Platoon’s part of the perimeter. The vehicle was older than anything else around.

One night the nearby Duster opened up, firing into the treeline about 300 meters away. The tracers seemed to change colors going into the night – red to white to green. It was one of those things civilians would pay money to see.

Wikipedia says “… the Duster's high ground clearance and excellent suspension-system design gave it an ability to withstand land mine explosions with minimal crew casualties.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M42_Duster

Whoever wrote that part about withstanding mine explosions with minimal crew casualties should have seen the blackened steel mass hauled into Lai Khe in the spring of 1967. The remains were recognizable as a Duster, but a Duster that had been ripped open at the bottom center, a two-foot hole that bent the deck into the crew area. I don’t think anyone could have survived the blast. Maybe the driver.