M42A1 "Duster"

The M42A1 "Duster" was a self-propelled anti-aircraft motor gun carriage manufactured by the Tank Division of General Motors, weighing 49,500 pounds and armed with twin-mount 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns. Powered by a Continental AOS-895-3 six-cylinder 500 hp engine, it had a maximum speed of 45 mph, a crew of 6, and 3,700 were built. Used in both Korea and Vietnam as an antiaircraft artillery platform, the M42 proved devastating against ground targets. Dusters could perform indirect fire missions using targeting data from artillery fire-direction centers. They fired faster than standard artillery pieces with pinpoint accuracy at short ranges and could put up a wall of fire on automatic or engage with a single round. At night, Dusters were paired with a searchlight set on infrared mode that could sweep an area without revealing its position. Dusters were used by the Louisiana National Guard 105th Anti-Aircraft Battalion after World War II until 1 Jul 1959 and then the 4th Automatic Weapons Battalion (Support), 141st Air Defense Artillery until May 1963.

Arabi, Louisiana · United States