It’s the early 1950s, the Korean War has highlighted a pressing need for a lightweight, air-transportable tank destroyer. The U.S. Army envisions a nimble vehicle capable of rapid deployment to counter enemy armor. Enter the M50 Ontos. | The War Rooms

Introducing the M50A1 Ontos, the "thing" that was rejected by the Army but loved by the Marines. With its distinctive six 106 mm recoilless rifles, the Ontos was designed as a tank destroyer but the Marines used it as a mobile gun platform. The Ontos was capable of firing its rifles one at a time, in pairs, or all at once. Because the lightweight Ontos could go where heavier tanks could not , it was highly effective in both jungle and urban fighting. Col. Stanley S. Hughes, the commander of the