The M42 Duster’s relentless barrage packed a punch as devastating as the bone-chilling fear it sparked in the Viet Cong caught in the crosshairs of its dual 40mm Bofors cannons.
It was a juggernaut the enemy just couldn’t wrap their heads around. First Lieutenant Gene S. Lucas put it into words: (QUOTE) “The VC call them ‘Fire Dragons’ because they don’t know what to make of them. If the VC have ever come against one before, they’ll usually stay away.”
This towering, nightmare-inducing tank was originally just a mobile anti-aircraft artillery piece, yet in the depths of Vietnam, it became a force of nature. In January 1968, the United States 26th Marine Regiment withstood the assault of three North Vietnamese Army divisions during a staggering 77 days.
With two Dusters anchoring either end of the airstrip and a company of dug-in Marines sandwiched between, this setup became absolutely pivotal in the defense of the base. Their ceaseless volleys and tracer rounds spitting in blistering barrages blurred into a burst of flames and looked like a dragon unleashing hellfire at the waves of attackers.
Now, these fire-breathing machines were all that stood between US marines holding the line and a vast enemy horde on the brink of swallowing the base whole…