US M41 Light Tank, "Walker Bulldog",

Part 1

Picture 1:
The waning years of World War Two found the US tank design and manufacturing industry in full bloom, having
learned much in the preceding five years of rapid expansion. American AFV designers had taken a quantum leap
forward from their positions in 1939, and they were anxious to develop their plans for the next generation of
armored vehicles. For the Americans, anything was possible, and there was increased interest in improving the
entire line up of light, medium and heavy US tanks even though research and development money had dried up
with post-war cuts in the budget.
In spite of the lack of funds, the once expansive design of the experimental Light Tank T37 of 1949 began to take
shape as the pared down T41. The T41 was designed together with two others tanks as a new "family" of US
vehicles, including a "medium" tank plan called the T42, and a "heavy" tank, the T43. The T42 would continue in
development to eventually become the M47 Medium Tank, and the T43 would become the M103 Heavy Tank.
With more work, the T41 would evolve into the T41E1 Little Bulldog and eventually the M41 Walker Bulldog,
named for General W. W. Walker who died in a jeep accident in Korea in 1951.
One of the driving forces behind these new tank designs was the desire to include common components for all three
AFVs to ease their manufacture and spare parts inventories- an honorable idea that almost did come to pass. The
other strategy behind co-designing the three new vehicles simultaneously was to simplify as much as possible their
mechanical components and operation (soldier proof) while including similar state of the art ranging and sighting
equipment.
A new vision of tank design was evolving in the US and the Walker Bulldog was one of the best illustrations of
that post-war evolution. For instance, the M41 was the first US tank designed around a power plant, the engine
finally being recognized as one of the most important components of an AFV. Previously, a tank's general
dimensions were drawn up first and an engine then found to fit the available space and power requirements. The
Bulldog was also the first US tank with a bore evacuator to clear the gun tube after firing (seen on the end of the
gun tube in this US Army photo). It also had an integrated fire control system to coordinate gun laying between the
commander/gunner and an automatic loader to hasten the rate of fire and reduce the turret crew to two men.
Unfortunately, due to problems with the development of the autoloader (lack of funding), it was dropped before
production of the vehicle began. This US Army photo shows a fine example of a M41A1, except for the blast
deflector on the end of the gun tube, which needs some attention from the crew. Notice the M75 APC behind.

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Picture 2:
This is the Part 1 of a two-part series on the post-war M41 Light Tank. This first part will cover the basic hull
components, while Part 2 will examine the turret interior. This first image is a cross sectional drawing of the M41
from the technical manual (TM9-2350-201-12), illustrating the basic layout and components. As with most tanks
of the time, the vehicle is divided into three general areas- the driver's section at the bow, the fighting compartment
and turret in the center (with a gunner on the right, commander behind him, and loader to the left), and the engine
compartment at the rear, which now includes both the engine and transmission. This was the first mass-produced
US light tank with no hull machine gun or gunner in the bow. Instead, the space to the right of the driver was taken
by a large ammo rack containing main gun rounds (recall the preceding US Light Tank, the M24 Chaffee, had an
assistant driver/hull machine gunner to the right of the driver).
The turret and basket rotate directly behind the driver's seat and in this drawing you can see the ready round rack
on the basket floor, but further ammo storage up in the turret has been deleted for clarity. The gun in the Bulldog is
the 76mm M32 and it is layed with different equipment by the gunner in the M41 and M41A1, as we will see later.
Notice the large turret bustle, housing the radio gear and a large exhaust fan- the entire mass used to balance the
weight of the gun. The engine in the rear of the M41 and M41A1 versions of the tank is a boxer-type Continental
AOS 895-3 and it is seen here coupled to the CD 500-3 Cross Drive transmission. The Bulldog was designed as a
reconnaissance vehicle, its job to slip through enemy lines, engage and estimate the enemy's strength, and then
radio back the news. It was lightly armored, fast, and carried a significant weapon to both cause damage to the
enemy and protect itself.

Picture 3:
There were over 3700 M41 Light Tanks
eventually constructed and as the tank matured
in use with the troops, changes were made to
improve the vehicle. This is the general
arrangement of the driver's area in the left bow
of the M41 and this equipment remained
relatively unchanged until late in production.
The main problem up here revolved around the
unique T bar steering crossbar; it was too weak
and would occasionally break near the right
grip when yanked hard by rough handed

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drivers. As you can see, the control bar rotates

from mounts at the top and bottom, and the
attachment for the control rod that eventually
leads back to the steering mechanism at the
stern is all the way over at the far left of the
bar, attached to the hull wall. By pushing on
the right side of the steering bar the driver
turned the tank left and pushing on the other
side of the bar turned the tank the opposite
direction. But, because the torque on the bar was greatest furthest from the control connection at the far left, the
right side of the bar could deform or break near the horn button. The problem was recognized and partially fixed by
strengthening the bar from vehicle 603, and by vehicle 2453 there was a new stronger steering bar in use that we
will see in a few minutes.
A simple pull knob hand throttle is visible under the control bar's connection at the far left, and both brake and
accelerator pedals can be seen directly under the steering mechanism. The seat is adjustable forward/back as well as
up/down using the control levers just to the left of the seat bottom (the back has been removed). The accelerator
pedal is large so the driver can still use it when he is elevated in his seat while driving head out. A tachometer and
speedometer are located in their own small panel under the hand throttle and retaining brackets for the driver's
periscopes are at the top of the image. The driver's view outside the tank when buttoned up is excellent, using three
M17 periscopes that are angled slightly left, directly forward, and slightly to the right, and a fourth periscope at the
far left that was angled back to the left rear.
Initial vehicles had a plan pivoting driver's hatch and movement of the inside hatch control handle would first raise
the hatch an inch or so and then pivot it over to the right. When infrared driving equipment was added to the M41,
a mount in the hatch was included for an infrared M19 night viewing periscope to be used with additional infrared
driving lights added to the bow. The M19 had to be removed before the hatch could be opened. The operating
handle for the hatch is seen at the upper right in the drawing, the gearshift gate is at the bottom right, and the main
instrument panel is to the far right. Regardless of the hatch type, drivers lived in mortal fear when driving with
their heads out because if the turret rotated while they were exposed they could have their necks broken by the
bottom of the mantlet. The predominate paint used inside the M41 is typical US gloss white and most of the darker
areas seen in these images are black, including the seat padding, instrument dials and the gear shift gate instructions
at the right.

Picture 4:
This is the image from the M41 tech. manual illustrating
the driver's seat controls and associated equipment. There
is an escape hatch under his seat, and the seat bottom has
to be dumped by pulling on the release control at the back
of the spring box in order to access the belly hatch. The
seat bottom is spring loaded for height adjustment, the
spring mounted in the box you see surrounded by seat
controls. Simply by lifting yourself off the seat and

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pulling the vertical seat control lever, the seat bottom

would rise to meet you and then lock into position when
you released the handle.
US designers gladly borrowed a number of design
innovations/developments from captured WWII German
AFVs, and the neat, well protected torsion bar suspension
system was an American favorite. In the case of the M41,
the escape hatch is located between the first and second
torsion bars on the floor. While torsion bars do provide a number of suspension benefits, they also introduce
problems of vehicle layout and servicing. Heavy German tank designs required many torsion bars crossing the hull,
which did not allow spacing for belly escape hatches in most of their tanks.
Other problems inside the vehicle arising from the use of torsion bar suspensions is the additional height required
of the hull for the equipment and the more difficult servicing of broken components. The cable looping down at the
upper right of the picture is from the hand throttle, while the connecting rods below the throttle cable are from the
accelerator pedal and gearshift (range selector). This fire extinguisher is a red 5lb CO2 type and it is portable. The
engine compartment is protected by two 10lb fixed cylinders and an automatic fire suppression system.

Picture 5:
Another image from the M41 manual illustrates
some of the equipment immediately to the right of
the driver. The gearshift gate allows automatic
shifting from two forward ranges (low and high)
as well as one reverse range. The single stage
hydraulic torque converter allows very smooth
gear changes, although there is a bit of slippage at
low speeds. We also begin to see further interest
in crew comfort in this US M41 design with the
inclusion of a built-in crew heater; the heater duct
and controls are at the bottom and far left of the
illustration. The periscopes are not installed, but
you can see the holding clamps for the right
periscope at the top left of the picture. The early
hatch release control handle is also visible up
there, to the right.
In the center of the instrument panel are a number
of indicator lights, and the instruments underneath
include left and right fuel level gages and the
engine oil pressure gage. The large black
electrical switches include the main driving lights (left bank of switches) and the main engine power switches. The
M47 Medium Tank and M103 Heavy Tank use almost identical primary instrument panels. An auxiliary generator
gasoline engine is located in the rear engine compartment and allows power for recharging the batteries as well as
lights and other electrical requirements when the main engine is switched off; the controls for the aux. generator are
at the far left on the panel. The auxiliary power outlet receptacle (above) allows power connections between

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vehicles to assist start them when they have dead batteries or other electrical problems. Although we do not see it
in this image, the area of the bow to the right of these panels is filled with horizontal storage tubes on a multitiered rack for 76mm main gun ammo.

Picture 6:
This image of a late M41A1 comes from the
same tech. manual (it covers both vehicle
types) and illustrates the improved steering T
bar and the installation of the infrared
periscope M19. Most of the other equipment
is identical with what we saw before, but
notice that the M17 periscopes are now
installed and the retaining clips are locked
closed. The introduction of infrared lights and
viewers on the Walker Bulldog was a big step
forward for the US Army. Although research
into infrared viewing devices had been
occurring in the US during the last years of
the war, the capture of German equipment
and information provided by German
scientists accelerated the program greatly.
Initial post-war US tanks used infrared as a
driving aid only because the lights were dim
and the beams did not carry far. Tanks were fitted with these smaller infrared driving lights at the bow of the
vehicle, next to the traditional service headlights and blackout lights. It was only later that powerful infrared
searchlights were mounted up on the turret mantlet, which allowed direct targeting at night. Infrared lights produce
a very short wavelength light that, in its pure form, is not visible to the human eye. The simplest infrared viewers,
like the M19 here, collect the reflected IR rays and use an image converter tube to change them back to visible
images that are seen through the eyepieces.
The periscope consists of two main components- a quickly replaceable head assembly that contains the prism to
direct the reflected infrared rays down to the periscope body, and the body that contains the objective lens and
image converter for the reflected rays. The viewer requires electricity and you will usually find a power plug for the
periscope in the vicinity of the viewer, in this case off to the right. Magnification through the M19 viewer is only
1x, which relegates the periscope to the driver's position in most AFVs. By the way, this same M19 periscope, in
one form or another, is still used today by the US Army and a number of other countries, typically in the improved
M19A1 form.

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Picture 7:
When the access plates are removed, the hatches fully opened, and the hatch support bracing is removed, the engine
compartment looks like this. The Continental engine is an air-cooled, 6-cylinder, opposed, and supercharged
gasoline engine. Air cooling does away with liquid coolant systems and their propensity to leak or rupture, but it
requires very large fans and many cooling ducts and vents. The black fan and shroud is located at the forward end
of the central compartment, and just about covers the entire engine. Off to both sides of the engine you can see the
insulated exhaust pipes leading to the mufflers on both side fenders- these are not "cooling" vents as indicated in
the legend but the exhaust pipes are covered with protective cooling jackets.
To the upper right of the bay (right/forward) is the top of the auxiliary engine/generator. Also on the right, but
further back toward us, are the batteries (24V DC system). The white painted transmission case occupies most of
this end of the compartment and is covered here with shifting linkages and other controls. Cross Drive
transmissions, like this Allison CD-500-3, combine the transmission and steering unit into one box, providing a
very compact package for armored vehicles. This same power shift transmission design is also used in other
vehicles that share the same general chassis components of the M41, such as the M44 and M52 SPG and the M42
SPAAG (Duster). This transmission's big brother, the CD-850, has been used in a number of larger vehicles,
including the US M48 and M60 tanks as well as the first Israeli Merkavas.
The engine/transmission in the M41 is loud... VERY loud, and anyone standing near it when one of these monsters
opens up in first gear will not soon forget it. Each gear has its own characteristic sound, from the load scream of
first gear to the whining of the others. The exposed mufflers on the fenders become so hot they glow in the dark
and extreme care is required when working around these areas to keep from burning yourself.

Picture 8:
This is the training manual image of the Continental engine when attached to the Allison transmission- the left
picture is the left side of the engine. This was one of the last gasoline power plants to go into a US armored
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vehicle, as diesel power would shortly become recognized by AFV designers to be necessary to increase the range
available for a given amount of fuel. The AOS-895 displaced 895.9 cubic inches and delivered 500 gross horse
power at 2400rpm. With the approximately 140 gallons of gas in its tanks, the M41 has a cruising range on roads
of only around 100 miles, and roughly 2/3 of that on cross country conditions. However, on those same roads, the
maximum speed was over 45mph, so although the range was limited, this was one fast little tank for its time. In
order to improve the vehicle's range, the carburetors were replaced with fuel injectors, and the M41s powered with
the new engine were renamed M41A2 and M41A3, respectively.

Picture 9:
Because the M41 was designed to be robust and
simple to maintain, it proved popular with a
number of country's Armed Services. So when the
vehicle was withdrawn from US active inventory
with the introduction of the replacement M551
Sheridan, surplus Bulldogs were
given/loaned/sold to many countries allied with
the USA. This is another US Army photo, in this
case showing Thai troops learning transmission
servicing from their American instructors in 1962.
Although the lower rear transmission cover is still
closed, the upper one is hinged open and a
number of the smaller side access doors are also
opened. Notice the engine oil filler neck and its
corresponding port in the upper transmission
access cover. If you look closely, you can see
both the range selector control rod and the gear
changing rod traversing across to the top of the
transmission from the left hull wall. The batteries are barely visible on the far right as well as their retaining
bracket. Although the interior of the engine compartment was painted the same gloss white as the fighting
compartment, the inside of the engine hatches are the primary exterior color, in this case some shade of olive drab
green.

Picture 10:
The primary difference between
the M41 and M41A1 is the gun
laying equipment inside the turret.
The controls to elevate/depress the
gun and rotate the turret were
changed during early production in
order to comply with a new Army
Field Force directive in 1951 (after
the tank had been in production). The directive required that only 5 seconds would be necessary to fire the gun
after the decision to engage a target had been made. For that day, 5 seconds to select ammo type on the ballistic
computer and traverse, elevate or depress the gun onto target was very quick indeed, and the initial pulsing relay
control gun laying system was not equal to the new requirements.
In order to comply with this new directive, the primary manufacturer, Cadillac Motors of GM, designed a modified
turret and new gun control system, and these were introduced into production line on vehicle 1419. The new
Cadillac system turned out to be quicker, less complex and occupied less space than the original pulse relay system,
and after experimental usage in a number of different vehicles, the Cadillac system and new turret became standard
issue from tank number 1803 on. Prior M41 tanks were also supposed to be converted to the Cadillac system, but
improvements to the original pulsing relay control allowed it to conform to the 5 second order, and those earlier
vehicles were modified with the improved pulsing relay system instead. The tanks with the original turret type and

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improved pulsing relay were left with the original M41 designation, while those later vehicles with the modified
turret and Cadillac system were named M41A1. You will find both vehicle types in photos of the US Army, as
well as a number of other armed forces around the world, sometimes side by side in the same unit.
The left image here is the M41 early turret type and the one on the right is the M41A1 later type. When you
examine the turret sides of the different vehicles in these US Army photos you will see that the M41 turret (left)
uses more cast armor, including a band along the lower area of the turret side. The M41A1 type has cast armor
only on the front of the turret and there is no visible weld seam along the lower area of the turret side extending to
the rear bustle. Of course there were also changes to the gun mount and interior of the turret, but we will explore
these and other internal components in Part 2 of the M41 Walker Bulldog story.

TO M41 WALKER BULLDOG PART 2

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