The M24 Chaffee - arguably the best light tank of World War II - was a fast, lightly armored vehicle with the ability to deliver relatively large caliber direct fire thanks to its excellent 75 mm M6 gun. More than 4,000 vehicles were produced by Cadillac and Massey-Harris from 1943-45. The first vehicles reached Europe in late 1944, where they proved very effective and highly reliable. At the outset of the Korean War, however, American forces equipped with the M24 Chaffees performed poorly against the enemy's T-34/85s, and these US units were soon augmented with M26 Pershings and M46 Pattons, along with M4A3E8 Shermans armed with the long 76mm gun. The Chaffee remained in American service until 1953, at which time it was eventually replaced by the M41 Bulldog.

After 1945 the M24 Chaffee was used by many American allies. The French army used them in Indo-China, including at the battle of Dien Bien Phu. Though obsolete by the mid-1960's, it remains in service in some client nations.

This particular 1:72 scale US M24 Chaffee Light Tank was attached to the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team, then deployed to Yong-Dong-Po, Korea, during April 1951. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 4-inches
Width: 1-1/2-inches

Release Date: March 2015

Historical Account: "Delaying Action" - The Battle of Yongdong was an engagement between United States and North Korean forces early in the Korean War. It occurred on July 2225, 1950, in the village of Yongdong in southern South Korea. The newly arrived US Army's 1st Cavalry Division was ordered there to cover the retreat of the US 24th Infantry Division after the Battle of Taejon. The 1st Cavalry Division soldiers, however, were untried in combat, and the North Korean People's Army's 3rd Division (NK 3rd Division) was able to outmaneuver them and force them back.

Though the Americans lost the town, their artillery inflicted substantial casualties on the North Koreans and delayed them for several crucial days, allowing the United Nations Command time to set up the Pusan Perimeter.