Meet the M551 Sheridan tank! Walkaround at NACC Ft. Benning 

Thanks for the walk around of the Sheridan. I spent 3 1/2 years in a M551 with the 2nd Armored Cavalry 1973-77 patrolling the border of West Germany and Czechoslovakia. The 152mm gun was powerful, but was slow to load and had a lot of misfires, the canon round was caseless and if you weren't careful you could break it open and spill propellent all over the turret floor. I could hit anything I could see with the missile but you had to sit with the red dot on the target which to me seemed like a really long time. It was fun to drive and maint. was easy, we could change an engine in a little over 30 minutes. I was never confidant the Sheridan would perform well against the Russians.

I led a platoon in alpha troop, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 1975-76. One of my M551's had the armor shown around the TC's hatch. It was also the first in the regiment to have a laser rangefinder installed, which worked very well. Accurate ranging was the key to accuracy with the 152mm gun. Usually, we didn't have training 152mm ammo, so we fired the black HEAT rounds. These played hell with targets downrange. Unfortunately, if you fired the 152mm gun, the recoil was so stiff that the front roadwheels would lift off of the ground, and the Shillelagh ATGM system would be out until it could be repaired and recalibrated. We had so little money and training ammo that usually only one practice Shillelagh round was allocated per troop, per year. We fired it from whichever track had an operational system. One of my M551s had bullet holes in it from Viet Nam, as does the vehicle in the video, at 2:58. We got a wild hare to swim the M551s at a local lake, only to find that the neoprene swimming "curtains" on each vehicle were no good. They cracked and broke when we tried to rig them.

Sheridan is hard to forget, I had great feelings for him , world of tanks forever !

The first Sheridan I saw in Vietnam had run over a command detonated mine. It looked like the Jolly Green Giant had taken a can opener, split the Sheridan's belly open and turned the vehicle wrong side out. It didn't inspire much confidence.

When firing the main gun on a Sheridan from a stop the tank basically reared back on it's suspension. The Track and the first couple of road wheels came off the ground. You were advised never to fire the main gun over the side of the tank because it has a tendency to flip the tank over on it's other side. It was fun to drive but you got beat up a bit operating it. Back then everything used Cherry Juice (OHT) Hydraulic Fluid. This stuff was very flammable. The 4.2 inch Mortar guys used to dump it down their barrels for photographing night shoots. One of the main Hydraulic Lines ran under the Sheridan's Turret Basket. After years of wear and dry rot these lines would leak. All it took was a spark or a careless smoker to set the tank on fire. I’ve watched an entire tank crew bail out of a moving Sheridan as it was going down the tank trail on fire. The Sheridans were used by both OPFOR (Opposing Forces) and the OC (Observer/Controllers) at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California. The crews weren’t trained as Tankers and some of them struggled to cope with aged equipment and unfamiliar tasks. I started out my Career as a 17 year old Tanker back in the late 70’s so I would stop and show the kids driving the Sheridans how to change track or what ever they were doing wrong. This aged equipment caused some causalities also. WE used them for the OC on the Livefire Range. They were supposed to make the job safer than jeeps and Humvees but just about everything in the inventory could either penetrate to the crew compartment or go right through the vehicle. We lost some people to friendly fire incidents. When we let National Guard Units onto the Range in preparation for Desert Storm it became rather dicey. One of the friendly fire incidents turned out better than it could have when I was there. The Forward Scouts were falling back on the defense battle position after spotting the enemy targets. One of their Bradleys conked out so the OC placed the crew inside his Sheridan and radioed us to put a no kill box around the vehicle. The Player Unit Scout Platoon Leader did not stop to see if his people were ok and what was going to happen to the down vehicle. He just kept going and when he reached the Battle Position he radioed that he was clear of the firing line and they could commence firing. We had not given the unit the orders allowing them to fire any weapon yet but the two M-1 Abrams tanks near where the Scout Platoon returned to the Battle Position opened Fire. One practice SABOT round dug a groove across the turret in front of the Tank Commander's hatch and the other shot off the radio antenna. It took us a while to get the situation locked down and the OC had some choice words for the National Guard but no one was hurt. After all was said and done I looked at my commander, who had just about lost his mind straightening everything out. I figured he needed some cheering up. I told him that if we were in the British Army those crews would be punished twice.” He knew I had a weird sense of humor but he just had to ask me why twice? I replied “Once for firing without orders.” I waited a few seconds and then gave him the gimlet eye and said “ A second time for damned bad marksmanship!”

These were considered for Australian service in the 60s - I've read the Manual For Land Warfare (MLW - the Aussie version of a Field Manual) that includes TOE and planning tables for the M551. Glad we stuck with the Centurion. That said as a kid this was my favourite tank on account of the fact I had a diecast Matchbox model of one.

was a 19E of the OPFOR at the NTC in 84-86. drove the VISMOD M-551 all over Ft. Irwin. it hauled ass and was easy to work on. Steel on Steel.

I was on these at Ft.Irwin,Ca ( aka "The Planet") from 1984 to 1988. They were VisMod to represent T-72 and other Soviet tracked vehicles. My unit, 1/73 Armor was a part of the OPFOR training unit. These were stripped down of most of the firing systems and other non-essential items. They were light,fast and fun to drive.

Thanks Sofilein; the Sheridan was the first tank I got to see the inside of and sit in when I was a kid (our National Guard had some on display at a county fair) so for many years, this was what came to mind as "a tank". I wish we could re-design something like it today, with more modern tech and such for today's airborne forces.

I was a Tank Commander on a Sheridan. F Troop, 2d Squadron, 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment - Bamberg, Germany. As a Gunner, I fired over 230 Main Gun Rounds, and 2 Shillelagh Missles.

i spent my first enlistment in the 82nd. got to work with 3/73 (I think that was the tank bn back then) once or twice on ranges. i wasn't a tanker but the 551 was the only tank I ever got to ride in during my 20 + years in. dam when those things fire it is a s^&* storm inside. thanks for the trip down memory lane Sofi great vid.

Hey it's good to see my namesake getting some love!

man brings back memories...lived on one for a year in Nam

Excellent work as always!! Keep 'em coming!!

Love this new first with a brief history! So much more interesting than the previous walk arounds. Thank you do much.

I had great memories of my Sheridan in the 11th Armored Cav in Fulda W. Germany in the 70's. My Track was always up and running. The only thing I would complain about was when firing the 152mm was my gunners optics would fall in his lap after firing......lol

Miss Sofilein - you're the most entertaining tank expert I've seen. I love your videos. Keep up the excellent work and content!!!

Another great video! Nice work Fraulien!

Finally! More info out there on this oddity! Thank you for spending some time on this. I know a guy that got to see some time in one. He said if you looked underneath you could see the foam that what was used to help it float. Powered by a 6v-71 Detroit diesel I believe.

I served as an infantryman in the 82nd, and it was our armor then. I remember riding on top of several during my time in the field at Bragg. Thank you.

Sofi - keep up the good work. Anyone can do the common hardware like Tigers, Shermans, T-34, etc. But I enjoy hearing about the one-offs, prototypes and the outliers of armor history like the Sheridan.

@Mike Cooper Turret was cramped. Gunner seat especially. TC and loader better. Driver compartment was great! Could fold the driver seat back and lie down sideways and sleep like a baby! Driver had an escape hatch below and of course his swiveling driver hatch in front. Driver visibility buttoned up was pretty good too! Hull armor zero, turret armor not much either.

cool Sheridan! thanks for sharing.

This is a super video! Would love to see more of the same. I feel like we need a Sofi rating for tanks.

I find you fascinating,the knowledge is good,you make learning fun.

love your videos u are truly passionate about tanks :) I hope u will have more time for it

I dug it! Liked and subscribed.

You can tell Sofi really loves this stuff. A few times during the video she's close to giggling with joy.

Great value for money there on the shilleleagh... aluminium always seemed like an obvious fail as armour, too. But a great vehicle to drive by the accounts I've heard. Thanks for posting, Sofilein. Always nice to hear those dulcet tones

Sofi - what is the Sheri's crew comfort and thiccness rating? Great video, keep up the excellent work.

Toured one of these at NTC when I did a rotation. The turret armor was paper thin compared to my M1. The breech for the main gun was MASSIVE compared to the M68E1 of my tank. A buddy of mine was on these with the 11th ACR and loved them. They moved like a sports car, and the stryofoam armor could actually stop an RPG he said. That accidental discovery led to Chobham armor is the rumor. Love these historical tidbits of armor. Keep up the work!

When the 551 fired conventional rounds it's front area off the ground for recoil was 4 inches. One hell of a blast of 152 mm round which was close to a 4 inch navel gun in diameter. And if you could see the target, you could hit it. 3rd Squadron, 12th Cavalry. Troop A Germany. 1975-1978.

In my tenure at Rock Island Arsenal, the 551 was a fun beast to drive. the best automotive comparison would be similar to say a Mazda Miata.

I love this Lady , she does a great job !

I hope it, is coming in this month in WotB. but this disign is a little more updated, Excellent channel.

Now that's an odd tank.Disturbing yet strangely compelling...So cool to see pics and read service history in Vietnam.Thanks Sofilien

The 152mm gun launcher is my fav weapon system we have ever fielded. The MBT70 and the M60A2E3 is and will always be my favorite tank designs ever!!! There is a reason why the M60 was called the Starship!!!!! Seems to me the amount of love you put into the videos on them you agree!!! I really wish there was more done with the design. MBT70 is still my fav would enjoy tank talking with you some time I do a lot of reading into them. Great vids!

Excellent video

thank you this is the one I wanted to see I think the first Cav had them in Vietnam

I was with the 82nd airborne during the Panama invasion. And we had a Sheridan tank attached to our unit. He never fired his main gun, just the 50 cal. but dammit when we were under fire that was good enough for me !!

Enjoy your vids. You have good, clear voice. I listen on ear buds and, unfortunately, I have to crank the volume way up to hear you. Keep up the good work and add more volume. Thanks.

love the commentary.

Excellent

I was an artillery forward observer with F-Troop 17th Cav Americal 71-72. The crews on the sheridans despised those things. They considered them to be death traps.

Nice light tank/reconnaissance vehicle history...fully accurate as far as I can tell. It would be nice to get an update on US efforts to field a replacement for the M2 Bradley IFV. Thanks for your work!

Interesting story. Thanks.

I love Sofilein

Once again, thank you for the video. What’s left on my wish list? Well while playing Challenger I always enjoyed the 9th Hi-tech list. This reflected the shenanigans the U.S. army was going through at the time. It looks very much like a 40K orc army with lots of preposterous vehicles depending on high numbers. FAVs, with TOW, or auto grenade launchers, RDF light tanks with a 75mm auto-cannon, all sorts of Hummer variants, including ones armed with Hellfire. I think eventually Div 86 prevailed with most units getting Abrams and Bradleys.

Really enjoyed hearing "you" chat about the M551. Now how to get you in front of the camera instead of behind it... Hmmm. Well done video, Keep up the good work!

Drove one for 2 years at Ft. Irwin (NTC). Used to heat up our MREs on the exhaust. 👨‍🍳

Who's doing the commentary and what have you done to our Sofilein. Very very well done Lady.

Thanks Sofilein for a great video. Happy New Year! Have you ever been to the Ontario Tank Museum?

👍 Thank you 😉

Loved this tank! If you remember the sturmtiger a rocket firing behemoth that shot a huge 300mm rocket. This was kinda on there minds....when developing a light support tank. It didn’t work out. But the guided missle was hoped to be a bunker buster. The whole thing was to light. But it was a lot of ideas put into one tank. They didn’t use the missle...but that big 152mm was a good brush buster..and the short barrel made it good in tight spots.

Loved it thanks...ps can you do a Type 59 since it's such an iconic tank in WOT?

There is one at the American Armor Museum on Long Island. I got to ride one summer of 1976 at Fort Bragg and see one air dropped.

huh cool the sheridan skin i have to replace the fugly one in game is spot on this one!

Old dude I know was a crewman on one. From the stories he's told me, he really liked the tank. Not sure how much actual combat he saw however so that could be a large factor.

Hey Greg, I was a Medic, HHT, 2/2 ACR, 1976-78 in Bamberg and border camp at Coburg. We probably crossed paths! Toujours Pret!

Pretty snazzy... it was my favorite as a boy. I had a diecast toy m-551. I guess I always wanted it to be an actual success.

NTC used these with chopped off barrels and fiberglass kits, they called them Vismods, and OPFOR used them as Russian stand ins. Before the 11ACR moved there in the later half of the 90s, they used infantry to man most of these vehicles; being a 6'3 grunt and then stuck in one of these as a gunner sucked as much as it was neat. I was lucky enough to be in one that had all its turret screens.

I first saw one of these at Fort Lee's Ordnance Education Center

Drove Sheridans in the Army. Fond memories, but a marginal track. SLOW loading! Thanks for the flashback.

The 551 was my favorite tank in Battlefield Vietnam😊

Waaaaaait....Cadillac made this tank? Or just the prototype or engine? Not entirely sure on their role here. AND DAMN the recoil thing, had no idea. Any unfortunate gunners actually lose an eye from it? Good video, watched others on the Sheridan and this had much more info!

When will Benning put these vehicles on display? Haven't seen them when I went there recently

It's so cute!

Was gunner on a vismod one at NTC; as a grunt.

Sheridan was a pretty formidable guy.

Good vid girl.

Please say you have a video on the ACAV!

'Sold in Zerg like numbers' ... classic quote.

Oh, hi Warpath!

"Based on calibre" Does that mean the Sheridan is a heavy tank ?

Army NEVER considered the Sheridan to be a "tank". The cadre at the Armor School, Fort Know pounded into our heads the track was NOT a tank. Rather, it was a reconnaissance vehicle....officially an Armored Reconnaissance/Airborne Assault Vehicle, M551/M551a1. It was not a tank.

Gunner "Heat", T72, 800 meters, Identified, "UP", ON THE WAY, 3ACR, C-TRP, DONNA ANNA RANGE,OPERATION BRIGHT STAR, 73. THANK YOU AMERICANS ❤

M103 next

Looks much better than the one in game. I know a mod exists

...good info. I never knew it was such a waste of a tank. That gun launcher seemed like it would be awesome.

Have not seen a video on the Bradly

A peak inside and some actual footage of it in action would help your videos.

And you can find it as Targetpracticeobject in fragments 😎👍

The Army always wants tanks that can fly and float. That always means the poor guys stuck in these things get killed because of thin armor and no mine protection. As happened in Vietnam. Armored fighting vehicles would improve drastically if the clueless designers of the M113 , the Ontos , and the Bradly and the Sheridan were the first one's sent to combat zones. Instead what happens is kids get killed in them , most often from mines in the case of Vietnam and then reports come back to the planners of these vehicles and then they start to add better protection. What idiot thought that 50 mm of aluminum so called armor would great of an A PC like the M113 and also the Bradley?

M26 Pershing!!

I never felt it was as bad as people say in the role it was designed for. It just needed more time in the development oven but it had to be rushed for the war. Later models fixed the majority of the issues except for the Shillelagh.

This is the most WH40K tank i ever saw. Praise the Emperor!

Centurion always gets my vote... and Challenger 2 nearly set my trousers alight... Find us experimentals weirder the better. ARVs are always cool..

The Abrams is air transportable and, with only slightly higher mishap rates than the M551, is also air dropable.

Next tank Bob semple tank

😍😍😍уменя есть в ангаре шеридан ..любимая лт

11th acr babeeeee

The Sheridan "tank" recon vehicle looks the part but sadly never lived up to the hype. When up against rivals such as the Scimitar and Scorpion fielded by the UK, it was always going to loose out.

this tank looks like something the imperial guard from warhammer40k would use

I lov u

Interesting point, the Shillelagh missile had (on paper at least) the same or very similar performance to the TOW-A (400mm armor penetration, 350 m/sec flight speed). It *should have been* as good as the TOW and if it'd been used in a similar fashion (stand-alone launcher that didn't also fire a 152mm round that screwed up the fire control system), I'm sure it'd have been an effective weapon.

I saw one air dropped at Fort Bragg in 1979/80. It made a better bomb, than tank. Major report of survey.

1/6 Armored Cav, Ft Hood. 152mm gun total failure, case tended to crack, lifted front end off the ground &destroyed the missile guidance system. Fast, easy to maintain, no armor protection.

I enjoyed the video, but I would have clicked 'Like' just for "...if you dug it!" - Bob.

I drove this tank but in WOT

Do something on the Scimitar. It supposedly has interesting stories with Iraqi tanks.