Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/72 Ground Power Series HG3605 M24 (Bison) Light Tank “Douaumont”, Escadron de Marche du 1er Regiment de Chasseurs a Cheval (RCC) Peleton Carette, Dien Bien Phu, 1954

THESE ARE PRE-PRODUCTION PICTURES, NOT THE FINAL PRODUCT

Pre-Painted by professionals Accurate paint colors Markings Tampo (pad) applied Fully Assembled Die-Cast Model True to Scale (1:72) Weathering and insignias Turret turns Metal turret and main gun Realistic tracks

Late in WWII the M24 replaced the M5 Stuart and with its 75mm main gun became one one of the first tanks to cross the Rhine as the Allies pushed deeper into Germany. The tank was quite unique by being able to house five persons in a light tank. The designers made sure the crew were able to provide adequate self-defense by providing two 7.62mm machine guns, one anti-aircraft 12.7mm heavy machine gun and 51mm smoke grenade-launchers. There were over 4,000 M24’s built and because of its speed, agility and reliability over 30 countries added them to their arsenal well into the 1970’s. This tank would prove to be more than adequate during the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

The French military established a base at Dien Bien Phu Vietnam to act as an offensive base. From here they could launch attacks on the Viet Minh in neighboring areas or use it as a defensive base that could destroy the attacking enemy using the large amount of firepower they had assembled. As part of the French offensive weaponry they flew 10 M24 tanks to the base. The French didn’t possess an aircraft capable of lifting a fully assembled M24 so each tank was disassembled into 180 parts. Each tank required 8 aircraft to transfer it to the front line. On January 15, 1954 all 10 tanks were reassembled and on January 20th they were divided into 3 platoons each with 3 tanks and one HQ tank for Squadron Commander Capitaine Yves Hervouet. The squadron was named Escadron de Marche du 1er Regiment de Chasseurs a Cheval. Each tank was named after cities, locations or battles and was painted in large white letters on the sides of the turret. These names were used as radio call signs and the crews referred to the M24 as “Bison” and the Viet Minh called them “Oxen”. The French had strong points around Dien Bien Phu and each one was named after a woman. From these points they would strike out at enemy placements in the hillside and rout them but on March 13, 1954 the tables began to turn. The Viet Minh launched a massive artillery barrage from the surrounding hills that made the French base an easy target. After several hours of shelling, wave after wave of foot soldiers began swarming the strong points. The first point fell that night with the second falling a day and a half later. The M24’s were used extensively to halt the advance but this was only briefly effective. As more and more ground was lost the tanks became more exposed to enemy artillery fire. The tank Douaumont and one other suffered severe hits killing several crew members. The damage left the tanks immobile but they could continue to be used as pillboxes. Through each see-saw battle each tank fired an average of 60 to 100 shells and when the Viet Minh finally succeeded in over running Dien Bien Phu on May 7, 1954 each tank had fired an average of 1500 shells. The Bison had performed admirably with only 3 breaking down due to problems with the recoil mechanism caused by such heavy and almost continuous use. Before the enemy completed their capture of the base the M24 crews destroyed what was left so they couldn’t be used again.

During its time in service with the French Military they had received 1254 M24’s, the largest number for any foreign country.

Specifications for Cadillac/Massey Harris M24 Light Tank Country of origin - USA Production - over 4,000 units Crew - 5 Dimensions Length - 17.98ft (5.48m) Width - 9.68ft (2.95m) Height - 8.04ft (2.45m)

Weight - 19.9 US short tons (18,070kg)

Performance Engine - 2 X Cadillac 44T24 V-8 100hp gasoline Speed - 35mph (56km/h) Range - 99 miles (160km)

Armament 1 X 75mm main gun - 48 rounds carried 1 X 12.7mm machine gun on pintle - 420 rounds carried 2 X 7.62mm machine guns - 1 in bow / 1 coaxial - 4,125 rounds carried 1 X 51mm smoke mortar