M42A1 "Duster"
• A mobile, full tracked, lightly armored antiaircraft & ground support weapon system.
• Manufactured by Cadillac at the Cleveland Tank Arsenal in the 1950s.
• Weight of 49,500 pounds and a crew of six.
• Powered by a continental air cooled supercharged engine with 895 cubic inches and 500 horsepower.
• A GM Allison automatic transmission.
• Armament included twin 40mm automatic guns, Swedish design by Bofors (240 rounds per minute) and an air cooled 30 caliber flexible machine gun.
• Aircraft engagements up to 700 mph, a radio and intercom system, fording depth of 1 meter, infrared night vision with periscope, speed of 45 mph, fuel capacity of 140 gallons, range up to 100 miles and a grade ascending ability of 60 percent.
• Employed in Korea and Vietnam.
• From 1959 to 1987, the "Duster" was the weapon system of the 2-263 Air Defense Artillery Battalion, SC Army National Guard, headquartered in Anderson, SC.
Marker is at the intersection of Mall Road and Country Club Lane, on the left when traveling west on Mall Road.
Courtesy hmdb.org
