By Kenneth W Estes

Kenneth W Estes looks at what may have been the unwanted 'ugly duckling' of the Army, which refrained from naming the M103 alone of all its postwar tanks.

The T43 design represented the pinnacle of U.S. Army tank engineering of the late 1940s. The outbreak of war in Korea brought a rush order in December 1950 which led to a complete production run of 300 vehicles. After 1951, the Marine Corps alone retained confidence in the heavy tank program, investing its scarce funds in the improvements necessary to bring about its fielding after a hurried production run in midst of the 'tank crisis' of the year 1950-51.