M41 Walker Bulldog: Walk Around

The standard US light tank during the early years of the Cold War, the M41 Bulldog, was developed as a more powerful successor to the M24 Chaffee. Named for General Walton Walker, who died in a Jeep accident in Korea, the Walker Bulldog was maneuverable and well armed. It was, however, rushed to the battlefield to counter North Korea's Soviet-built T-34s before all its kinks had been worked out. Accordingly, several Bulldog variants were developed over the years in an effort to overcome initial deficiencies. In 1953, a hydraulic turret traverse replaced the initial electrical traverse and, in 1956, fuel injection was introduced. The US Army began phasing out the Bulldog at the end of the 1960s, but the rugged vehicle has served more than 20 other countries and continues to operate in several armies around the world today.