Armament: 76mm rifled gun, coaxial machine gun Speed: 28 mph (6.2 mph in water) Introduced in 1952, the PT-76 is an extremely useful reconnaissance vehicle. Its ability to swim without preparation is a great advantage to a mechanized force. Although its 76mm gun is not very useful against today's main battle tanks, the PT-76 still soldiers on in many of the world's hot spots as a fire-support vehicle. It was tanks of this type that were used by the North Vietnamese Army to assist in overrunning the US Special Forces camp at Lang Vei prior to the assault on Khe Sanh. 7,000 were built before production ceased in 1967. North Korea continues to produce a modernized version of this tank. Aberdeen Proving Grounds A Visit Part 2 Introduction T-54 Main Battle Tank (Soviet Union) BTR-60 Armored Personnel Carrier (Soviet Union) T-62 Main Battle Tank (Soviet Union) BRDM-2 Scout Car (Soviet Union) M-60 Main Battle Tank (U.S.A.) Chieftain Main Battle Tank (United Kingdom) PT-76 Light Tank (Soviet Union) Back to Table of Contents The Messenger February 2003 Back to The Messenger List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2003 by HMGS/PSW. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles covering military history and related topics are available at http://www.magweb.com