The M50 was initially born through five T156 pilot vehicles that each fitted recoilless rifles of different calibers for testing purposes. The United States Marine Corps became its primary user and Allis Chalmers manufactured it from 1955 to 1957 to the tune of 297 units. The type was devised as an air-transportable tank destroyer but found better use in the anti-infantry role during the Vietnam conflict. The vehicle utilized a three-man crew in a compact, angled hull superstructure which sported 6 x 106mm recoilless rifles overhead. Its name translated in the Greek to mean "thing" which was an appropriate title for the diminutive machine which was unlike any combat vehicle seen to that point. One of the most unique of the fighting vehicles to emerge from the Vietnam War-era (1955-1975) was the M50 "Ontos".
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