M42

This page is about the American SPAA M42. For other versions, see M42 (Family). For other uses, see M42 (Disambiguation).

M42

M19A1

▃Skink

M42

M19A1

▃Skink

USA

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
5.0	4.0	4.0

Class:

SPAA

Research:13 000

Purchase:76 000

Show in game

Description

The Twin 40 mm Self-Propelled Gun M42 Duster is a rank III American Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft (SPAA) gun with a battle rating of 5.0 (AB) and 4.0 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.47 "Big Guns". While armed with the same turret and cannons from its predecessor the M19, it has enhanced mobility by using the chassis of the light tank M41A1 Walker Bulldog.

The U.S. military awarded General Motors Corporation's tank division with a contract to design and build the M42 Duster, as an armoured light air-defence gun platform. Though initially developed to provide defence from air attacks, by the time the Duster was ready to be fielded in mass, the military switched gears determining that the Duster was not a useful tool against the jet aircraft which were beginning to fill the sky.

While SPAA vehicles were initially designed to counter aircraft, other uses developed in which they saw action against armoured vehicles. Compared to other contemporary SPAA vehicles (ZSU-37, Wirbelwind, Multiple Gun Motor Carriage M13, etc...) though, the M42 is typically regarded as the least effective when used against vehicles with armour protection. The penetration value of the armour-piercing rounds is considered too low to penetrate armour plating, even when not angled. The Duster, however, can be devastating against vehicles with very little to no armour, especially at 120 rounds per minute for each gun.

Being considered a light tank, the M42 does not have the armour capability to stand up directly to many of the other vehicles which it will face on the battlefield, especially against tanks which may fire high-explosive shells. The Duster will fare better against machine gun fire and potentially against some of the lighter autocannon fire which it may encounter, though not for long. Due to the M42's lightweight nature, it is best to stage where there is cover to help shield the Duster. It is also essential to only expose the vehicle when necessary to get a shot. If discovered, it is best to have a contingency location to which to fall back and regroup.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull12 / 12 / 12

Turret12 / 8 / 8

Crew6 people

Visibility109 %

Armour may as well be non-existent on the M42. Built off the chassis of the M41 Walker Bulldog, the SPAA can be penetrated by anything in the game, except for those few tanks armed with only machine guns, of course. In this tank, speed is your armour. A stationary Duster is a scrapped Duster unless you're firing on an aircraft, in which you should stop behind some cover.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	12.7 mm (33°) Front glacis 25.7 mm (39°) Bottom glacis	12.7 mm	12.7 mm Top 19 mm Bottom	12.7 mm
Turret	12.7 mm	8 mm	8 mm	N/A

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB79 / 21 km/h

RB and SB73 / 19 km/h

Number of gears4 forward

2 back

Weight22.5 t

Engine power

AB954 hp

RB and SB500 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB42.4 hp/t

RB and SB22.2 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	79	21	22.5	710	954	31.56	42.4
Realistic	73	19		442	500	19.64	22.22

This tank can go about 72 km/h forwards and -20 km/h backwards. Either way, it's fast. Being built with neutral steering and lighter than the M41A1. It should have no difficulty getting out of a situation in a pinch.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB1 525 → 1 962

RB1 184 → 1 523

SB1 744 → 2 244

Total cost of modifications24 700

44 900

Talisman cost1 100

Crew training22 000

Experts76 000

Aces400

Research Aces320 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

80 / 100 / 150 %

142 / 142 / 142 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 200 100 Suspension Research: 1 100 Cost: 2 000 90 Brake System Research: 1 100 Cost: 2 000 90 Filters Research: 2 100 Cost: 3 800 170 Transmission Research: 2 700 Cost: 4 900 220 Engine Research: 2 700 Cost: 4 900 220	Improved Parts Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 200 100 Improved FPE Research: 1 100 Cost: 2 000 90 Crew Replenishment Research: 2 100 Cost: 3 800 170	40mm_usa_M2_HE_ammo_pack Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 200 100 Horizontal Drive Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 200 100 40mm_usa_M2_AP_ammo_pack Research: 1 100 Cost: 2 000 90 Adjustment of Fire Research: 1 100 Cost: 2 000 90 Elevation Mechanism Research: 2 100 Cost: 3 800 170 Artillery Support Research: 2 700 Cost: 4 900 220

Armaments

Main armament

2 x 40 mm Dual Automatic Gun M2

Ammunition480 rounds

Belt capacity8 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

0.6 → 0.5 s

Fire rate120 shots/min

Vertical guidance-3° / 85°

The M42 Duster is armed with two 40 mm Dual Automatic Gun M2 anti-aircraft guns. They have a decent rate of fire and you will seldom have to stop and wait for a reload - more likely, you'll have to wait for the gun barrel to cool down. Against aircraft, these guns are deadly. A shot or two will be more than enough to shoot down an enemy. They are also quite deadly against lightly armoured vehicles, such as enemy SPAAs or light tanks such as the Spähpanzer Ru 251 or M41 Walker Bulldog, and you can penetrate the side of Panthers, too. However, they require direct hits. Against the Soviet heavy or British medium tanks you are likely to encounter, however these guns will do nothing for you. You will rarely get an opportunity to use the Bofors on another tank, as they simply lack the penetration to do so - 72 mm doesn't get you very far at Rank IV. If you can get the guns to hit, you should have no trouble knocking aircraft out of the sky.

40 mm Dual Automatic Gun M2 (x2)						Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	480 (8)	120	-3°/+85°	±180°	N/A	35.22	48.75	59.20	65.47	69.65	0.65	0.58	0.53	0.50
Realistic						23.80	28.00	34.00	37.60	40.00

Ammunition

• Default: AP-T · FI-T* - These work fine, a hit on an aircraft means instant disassembly for it and still is able to hurt ground vehicles, especially if it is side into the side of a enemy tank.
• Mk.II: FI-T* - These mean bad news for aircraft, what should be used for AA work.
• M81A1: AP-T - These are the worst belts against airplanes. However, they are able to hurt ground vehicles especially if shot into the side of an enemy tank. If you plan on penetrating tanks, load this and flank, since side shots are almost a necessity.

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Mk.II	FI-T*	9	8	7	6	5	4
M81A1	AP-T	72	69	58	46	37	29

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Mk.II	FI-T*	874	0.83	0.1	0.1	63	79°	80°	81°
M81A1	AP-T	875	0.88	-	-	-	47°	60°	65°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the M42

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
60	50 (+10)	38 (+22)	14 (+46)	2 (+58)	Yes

Usage in battles

This tank has no armour, but a lot of speed and guns that do nothing against anything with actual armour. Refrain from attacking enemies that can take a hit from you, though you can roam around the battlefield with your insane speed and act as a scout. You can still shoot enemies to mark them on the mini-map for all players to see, although it will also expose you. However, you could stay with your teammates and shoot down planes that will be harassing them. They know the danger of the Bofors guns, but for some pilots, that is a gamble they are willing to take. A good way to lure planes toward you is the act like you don't see them, shoot off at some distant (ground) target, at which the plane will notice you are "distracted" and as they begin to dive to attack you, quickly re-aim the cannons and fire.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• 40 mm cannons are devastating to planes
• AP rounds able to penetrate roughly 60 mm can be used against most medium tank side armour it could face, like the T-34-85, Chi-Ri II, Panther A/D
• Unsynchronized firing helps improve overall fire rate
• Outside from default belts, the other belt options are made of a single type of shell that can be relied on
• Relatively fast vehicle with good mobility due to the M41A1 light tank basis
• Fast turret traverse rate helps track aircraft
• Improved mobility, protection and ammunition count compared to M19

Cons:

• Despite 40 mm cannons and the unsynchronized firing, the overall fire rate is still lower than its contemporaries
• 40 mm AP rounds are not the best AP rounds to use overall due to relatively low penetration; cannot penetrate all-round protected heavy tanks like the IS-2 or Tiger H1/E
• Relatively bad depression angles, a little worse than on the M19, which means the M42 has to expose itself to shoot over hills
• Open turret allows aerial attacks and machine guns to decimate the exposed crew
• Very thin armour hull, can be penetrated by .50 cal found on the M4
• Careless driving can damage the vehicle
• Ammo can be used up rather quickly due to the dual-gun firing, prolonged combat can find the ammo stowage run empty
• Easily ammo-racked due to racks scattered all around the turret, aerial autocannons could set it off if hit
• Bad mobility when stock

History

Development

During late World War II and the Korean War, the US Army were using the Twin Gun Motor Carriage M19 as their main armoured forces anti-aircraft gun. However, during the Korean War, the US Army decides to phase out their M24 Chaffees and its variants, M19 included, in order to implement newer designs made in the time period. One of these newer designs was the development of the M41 Walker Bulldog light tank. The 40 mm armament on the M19 was deemed effective enough to continue usage past the M19, so the turret of the M19 with the twin 40 mm cannons was taken off the chassis and modified to fit the chassis of the M41 light tank, which had a larger turret ring than the M24 Chaffee. This instalment of the anti-aircraft armament onto the M41 light tank was designated as the M42. The production of the vehicle began in early 1952 at the General Motors Cleveland Tank Plant and entered service in 1953, replacing the many other self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicles the army was fielding. Production continued from 1952 to December 1959, ending with a total number of 3,700 units. During the production, the M42 was upgraded in 1956 with a new engine and other upgrades common with the M41 light tank, this upgraded variant was the M42A1.

Combat usage

The M42 was kept in US inventory past the Korean War, however, it was sometime between then and the 1960s that the US Army came to the conclusion that ordinary anti-aircraft guns are unable to engage the new aircraft age of jets. Thus, the M42 was to be retired in 1963 and replaced by the HAWK surface-to-air missile. Though, even after their retirement, the units stationed at the Panama Canal Zone kept their M42s until the 1970s.

Then in the 1960s, with the intensity of the Vietnam War brewing up, more American soldiers get stationed in the country. Experiences with the missile showed that the HAWK missile system suppose to engage the new jet planes performed badly in low-altitude defence. In order to ensure a tight grip on the airspace, the Army began to reissue the M42s to the Army in the air defence artillery battalions which contain four M42 batteries and one headquarters battery. These M42s start arriving in the fall of 1966 in three battalions, 1/44th, 5/2nd, and the 4/60th Battalions. Though, despite their role, no dire air threat was presented from the North Vietnamese to the South, so the M42s were relegated to ground support duties in a tradition shared by its past predecessors. The M42s in this role was deployed as on-point security, convoy escorts, or a perimeter defence; it was in these roles that the M42 earned its nickname "Duster" for its lethality and effectiveness in ground support roles against the infantry.

After Vietnam, the M42 Dusters-equipped battalions were deactivated in late December 1971. These Dusters still in Vietnam were given to the ARVN forces. Training dusters at Fort Bliss were given back to the National Guard it was originally issued to, and multiple National Guard units were stationed with the M42 until it was officially retired in 1988, with the last unit retiring it be 2nd Battalion, 263 Air Defense Artillery.

Archive of the in-game description
The M42 self-propelled 40 mm anti-air mount built by General Motors (GM). It was based on the M41 light tank and was intended to replace the M19 self-propelled anti-air mount. The unofficial name "Duster" was also used for this installation. A total of 3,700 M42's were produced between 1951 and 1959.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the M42 from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

• M19
• Ostwind II
• Phòng không T-34 / Phòng không T-34 (USSR)

External links

• [Development] La-5FN and M42 Duster

USA anti-aircraft vehicles
M3 Half-track derivatives	M13 MGMC · M15 CGMC · M16 MGMC
M24 derivative	M19A1
M41 derivative	M42
Radar SPAAG	M163 · M247
Missile SPAA	ADATS · Imp.Chaparral · LAV-AD · XM975