Now I'm fairly well known with WWII era tanks, but couldn't make out what kind of tanks they used in this movie, both for the Nationalists and the US forces.
The nationalist tanks reminded me of the M26 Pershing, but I'm sure they weren't Shermans like Wikipedia states.
Anyone?
I only know Nationalists have their tanks equipped by the US.
shareThe nationalist army barely had any Shermans let alone Pershings. The road and bridge conditions were so poor during the late 1940's in China that Shermans or Pershings would simply have not been drive-able had they been deployed in China. US therefore equipped the nationalist army some light-weight, out-dated junk tanks that could be taken out by high explosive or small caliber cannons like you see in the movie.
shareat the very end during the flashbacks the one he blew up was a Sherman
shareThey were all mock ups to look like M4 Shermans and M26 Pershings. The running gear/chassis were all wrong and the tanks appeared to be on the smallish side. The upper portions were all fabricated over an existing tracked vehicle. I couldn't quite make out what served as the basis for the tanks but my guess is that the chassis is from some sort of Russian/Chinese tractor. The Russian BMD-1 series of airborne fighting vehicles also come to mind, but the hull shape would require extensive alterations for the fabricated upper portions to fit.
shareimcdb says they were based on the Chinese Type 62 tank
shareIf that is the case, the Type 62 is a scaled down version of the Type 59 (which itself is a copy of the Russian T-54). The chassis/running gear is still not quite right as the Type 62 doesn't have return rollers (smaller upper wheels).
share