Good day!
Thank you for the great DLC that you guys made for the entire community!
It was an absolute blast to play, especially with the campaign and Mike force,
The models, uniforms, and animations were awesome, it even brought unique equipment never seen in other mods!
Thank you for the many experiences you made for all of us to enjoy!
For my wishlist to be added in SOGPF after reading the entire forum:
It may be weird and out of place considering the mainstream requests of other vehicles suggested or wished by others, and taking into account that the vehicle I wish had limited use in the Vietnam war as a direct fire support with limited numbers, but it is the M56 Scorpion!
An Unarmored/Open SPG, protected with only a blast shield at 5mm, it was armed with a 90mm cannon and had a weight of 7.9 tonnes, it was designed to be light enough to be transported by air, it was mainly used by the 173rd Airborne Brigade but was soon replaced by the M551 Sheridan.
In a way, inside the DLC it could serve as a direct fire support like the M101 (AT Variant) but as more mobile version of it, the benefit of it is that it would not require another vehicle to be able to reposition to a different location (ie: the M54 trucks) and could serve as an ambush vehicle considering its short stature and speed, the only drawbacks is that it is highly unarmored and open, leaving the crew exposed to outside factors that a tank (ex: a Bulldog) does not need to worry much (aside from heavy caliber DShKM's and etc), and the high recoil that rocks the tank back very hard and dust it produces after firing.
But knowing that it was used in limited numbers and only to the 173rd Airborne Brigade (from some information), I doubt my wish would be worth the hassle and effort to model, research and balance the vehicle for the DLC. Though it would be nice and a good change of pace from the large armored vehicles and APC's providing support for the assaults. (Plus who wouldn't want to see a Scorpion crew rock the tank off the hill by accident due to the large recoil?)
Maybe for the Marine's side of things is the Rifle, Multiple 105mm, Self-propelled, M50 "Ontos"
Rocking x6 105 recoilless rifles which had spotting rifles mounted on the recoilless rifles, and being able to utilize High Explosive Squash Head (HESH) rounds, and protected by a lightly armored hull, similar to the M56 Scorpion, it was mostly used for direct fire support by the marines,
considering the weight which was 9.5 tons, it was a very mobile platform considering the armaments that it was carrying, it was also light enough to cross a pontoon bridge and when the CH-53 Sea Stallion was made, it was able to be sling loaded under it. All-in-all it was consistently reported by the marines to have excellent results
It saw combat in the Battle of Hue, providing the most effective supporting fire reported by Colonel Stanley S. Hughes, and possibly more.
the NVA and VC forces feared the Ontos, to the point if a spotting round from an Ontos entered a window, hostile forces would flee from the location itself, considering the lethality of the HESH rounds, and that it was deadly against massive formations of infantry due the the HESH rounds creating 'beehive' rounds that are devastating to said infantry, basically "Super-sized shotgun rounds.".
Gameplay wise, the Ontos can be used similarly to the M56 Scorpion stated earlier; Providing direct fire support or Ambush
Considering its design, its bound to have flaws such as being light enough to protect it from only small arms fire, but was susceptible to everything else, including Mines or RPG's and considering its cramped compartment, the Ontos would not survive a burst from a DShKM or any other higher caliber weapon. It is also stated that it had a limited operating range due to the size of its internal fuel tank.
The overall summary for this is basically:
I wish 2 things:
The M56 Scorpion, and/or the M50 Ontos.
Rare / Uncommon / Unheard Vehicles Two Light Self Propelled Vehicles with little to no armor, used in Direct fire support instead of an Anti-tank role.
And having low profile and great maneuverability on the field.
(Extra Note: These two vehicles saw use outside of Vietnam, maybe Scenario makers could make something out of it.)
I apologize for this lengthy post, this is my first time on a forum.
Again, Thank you and Have a great day!
Sources used for research
Wikipedia for the Scorpion and Ontos
MilitaryFactory for the specs and history of the two vehicles.
warhistoryonline "M50 Ontos – The “Thing” that was Hated by the Army and Loved by the Marines"
defensemedianetwork "M50 Ontos: The Forgotten Tank-killer"
