GROUND
POWER 56 WW2 Sd.Kfz.251 M8 GREYHOUND SOVIET WEAPONS PTRD
VERY HEAVILY ILLUSTRATED
SOFTBOUND BOOK IN JAPANESE with ENGLISH LANGUAGE NOTES THROUGHOUT
WW2 GERMAN SCHUTZENPANZER
ARMOURED HALF TRACKS (Sd.Kfz.251, Sd.Kfz.252 & Sd.Kfz.253)
WW2 US ARMY M8 ARMOURED CAR
SOVIET RED ARMY COMBAT WEAPONS
OF WORLD WAR II (PART 2)
WW2 ANTI-TANK RIFLES (DEGTYAREV
PTRD, SIMONOV PTRS): The PTRD-41 (Shortened from Russian, ProtivoTankovoye
Ruzhyo Degtyaryova; Противотанковое однозарядное ружьё системы Дегтярёва
образца 1941 года; "Degtyaryov Single Shot Anti-Tank Weapon System Model
of 1941") is an anti-tank rifle that was produced and used from early 1941
by the Soviet Red Army during World War II. It is a single-shot weapon which
fires the 14.5�114 mm round, which was able to penetrate German tanks such as
the Panzer III and early models of the Panzer IV. Although unable to penetrate
the frontal armor of late-war German tanks, it could penetrate their thinner
side armor at close ranges as well as thinly armored self-propelled guns and
half-tracks.
MORTARS (40mm LIGHT MORTAR
M1940, 50mm LIGHT MORTAR M1941, 82mm MEDIUM MORTAR M1941, 82mm MEDIUM MORTAR
M1943, 120mm HEAVY MORTAR M1938)
ANTI-TANK GUNS (37mm MODEL 30
L/45, 45mm, 57mm, 100mm)
ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS (25 MM
AUTOMATIC AIR DEFENSE GUN M1940 (72-K), 37 MM AUTOMATIC AIR DEFENSE GUN M1939
(61-K), 45 MM ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUN (21-K), 85 MM AIR DEFENSE GUN M1939 (52-K))
INFANTRY / MOUNTAIN GUNS (37mm
INFANTRY GUN MODEL 15R, 45mm INFANTRY HOWITZER MODEL 29K, 76.2 MM INFANTRY GUN
MODEL 10P, 76.2 INFANTRY GUN MODEL 1927)
FIELD GUNS (76.2mm FIELD GUN
MODEL 00/02P, 85mm FIELD GUN)
------------------------------
Additional Information from
Internet Encyclopedia
The Sd.Kfz. 251
(Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251) half-track was a World War II German armored
personnel carrier designed by the Hanomag company, based on its earlier,
unarmored Sd.Kfz. 11 vehicle. The Sd.Kfz. 251 was designed to transport the
Panzergrenadier (German mechanized infantry) into battle. Sd.Kfz. 251s were the
most widely produced German half-tracks of the war, with at least 15,252
vehicles and variants produced by seven manufacturers. The utility of this
vehicle led the German Army to develop the similar looking but shorter and
lighter Sd.Kfz. 250 as a supplement.
Some sources state that the
Sd.Kfz. 251 was commonly referred to simply as "Hanomags" by both
German and Allied soldiers after the manufacturer of the vehicle; German
officers referred to them as SPW (Sch�tzenpanzerwagen, or armored infantry
vehicle) in their daily orders and memoirs.
Design
There were four main model
modifications (Ausf�hrung A through D), which formed the basis for at least 22
variants.[1] The initial idea was for a vehicle that could be used to transport
a single squad of 10 panzergrenadiers to the battlefield protected from enemy
small arms fire, and with some protection from artillery fire. In addition, the
standard mounting of at least one MG 34 or MG 42 machine gun allowed the
vehicle to provide suppressive fire for the rifle squad both while they
dismounted and in combat.
The armour plates were designed
to provide protection against standard rifle/ machine gun bullets (like the
7.92�57mm Mauser bullet). The front-facing plates were 14.5mm thick; the sides
were steeply angled, V-shape 8mm thick plates. This level of armour provided
protection against normal (non-tungsten) rifle AP round, which could pierce
about 8mm of vertical armour.
Positive aspects of the open top
included greater situational awareness and faster egress by the infantry, as
well as the ability to throw grenades and fire over the top of the fighting
compartment as necessary while remaining under good horizontal cover. The
downside, as with all armored personnel carriers of the era, was a major
vulnerability to all types of plunging fire; this included indirect fire from
mortars and field artillery, as well as small arms fire from higher elevated
positions, lobbed hand grenades, Molotov cocktails, and strafing by enemy
aircraft.
The first two models (Ausf. A
and B) were produced in small numbers from 1939. Ausf. A and B models can be
identified by the structure of the nose armor, which comprised two trapezoidal
armor panels - the lower of which had an engine cooling vent. The B model,
which began production in 1940, eliminated the fighting compartment's side
vision slits. The C model, which started production in mid-1942, featured a
simplified hexagonal-shaped forward armored plate for the engine. Models A
through C had rear doors that bulged out. The C model had a large production
run, but was quite complex to build, involving many angled plates. From early
1943, the D model was developed with the purpose of halving the number of
angled body plates, simplifying the design and thus speeding up the production.
D models can be easily recognized by their single piece sloping rear, with flat
doors.
The standard personnel carrier
version was equipped with a 7.92 mm MG 34 or MG 42 machine gun mounted at the
front of the open compartment, above and behind the driver. A second machine
gun could be mounted at the rear on an anti-aircraft mount.
Variants were produced for
specialized purposes, including with anti-aircraft guns, light howitzers,
anti-tank guns and mortars or even large unguided artillery rockets, as well as
a version with an infrared search light used to spot potential targets for
associated Panther tanks equipped with infrared detectors.
A strong design feature of the
Sd.Kfz. 251 was the large track area, with the characteristic "slack
track" design with no return rollers for the upper run of track. The
Sd.Kfz. 251 also had the Schachtellaufwerk system of overlapping and interleaved
main road wheels common to virtually all German halftracks of the period. This
lowered the ground pressure and provided better traction, at the cost of much
greater complexity in maintenance. The Sd.Kfz. 251 also had tank steering,
whereby the normal steering wheel moved the front wheels, but after more
turning of the steering wheel, the tracks are braked to cause turning, like on
a tank. However, the interleaved and overlapping main road wheels shared a
major problem with the Tiger I and Panther tanks that also used such roadwheel
configurations - in muddy or winter weather conditions, such as those during a
mud season (rasputitsa) or the winter conditions, accumulated mud and snow
could freeze solid between the road wheels, immobilizing the vehicle.
Use
The early production models of
this vehicle were issued to the 1st Panzer Division in 1939 as the 'Ausf.A' or
'A-version'. There were 232 estimated Ausf.A units produced, which took place
in Hannover's Hanomag, B�ssing-NAG of Berlin-Obersch�neweide, Weserh�tte of Bad
Oeynhausen, Wumag of G�rlitz, and F. Schichau shipyard of Elbing facilities.
These vehicles were meant to
enable Panzergrenadiere to accompany panzers and provide infantry support as
required. In practice, there were never enough of them to go around, and most
Panzergrenadier units had to make do with trucks for transport.
In August 1943, Romania acquired
a total of 27 armored half-tracks, of both the 251 and 250 types[6] followed in
1944 by 251 type and other types of armored cars to convert two cavalry
divisions into armored or mechanized divisions. Sd.Kfz. 251s were known as SPW
mijlociu ("medium SPW") in Romanian service, while Sd.Kfz. 250s were
referred to as SPW ușor ("light SPW").
The Army of the Independent
State of Croatia received 15 Sd.Kfz. 251 in spring 1944 and the Ustashe Militia
received 12 in autumn 1944.
Variants
Sd.Kfz. 251/7
"Pionierpanzerwagen"
Sd.Kfz. 251/9
"Stummel"
Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Ausf.D captured by
the Polish Home Army during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944
Tatra OT-810 - a Czechoslovak
post-war version of the Sd.Kfz. 251 produced by the company Podpolianske
stroj�rne Detva in Slovakia.
There were 23 official variants,
and sundry unofficial variants. Each variant is identified by a suffix to the
model number; however, there was some overlap in the variant numbers.
Sd.Kfz. 251/1 -
Sch�tzenpanzerwagen. Standard personnel carrier.
Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Ausf. A
Ungepanzerte. Made with plain steel 5mm plates instead of armour, to make up
numbers due to slow initial 251 production. Around 350 made up to mid 1940.
251/1 I - with intercom
facilities
251/1 II - Rocket launcher
(called "Stuka zu Fu�" (Walking Stuka) or Wurfrahmen 40) equipped
with six side-mounted frames for launching 280 mm or 320 mm Wurfkoerper
rockets.
Sd.Kfz. 251/1 - Falke Infrared
imaging equipment for driver and MG 42 or MG 34 machine gun operator, to be
used in combination with Sd.Kfz. 251/20 Uhu. Mostly Ausf. D variants.
Sd.Kfz. 251/2 -
Sch�tzenpanzerwagen (Granatwerfer). 81 mm Mortar carrier. Carried 66 rounds for
the GrW34. A base plate was also stored so that the mortar could be offloaded
and used.
Sd.Kfz. 251/3 - mittlerer
Kommandopanzerwagen (Funkpanzerwagen). Communications vehicle, fitted with
extra radio equipment for command use in Ausf. C and Ausf. D versions.
251/3 I - FuG8 and FuG5 Radios
251/3 II - FuG8 and FuG5 Radios
251/3 III - FuG7 and FuG1 Radios
(for ground to air coordination)
251/3 IV - FuG11 and FuG12
Radios (with 9 m telescopic mast); Command vehicle variant (Kommandowagen)
251/3 V - FuG11 Radio
Sd.Kfz. 251/4 -
Sch�tzenpanzerwagen f�r Munition und Zubeh�r des leIG18. Gun-towing tractor,
initially for use with the 7.5 cm leichtes Infanteriegesch�tz 18. Later used to
tow the 50 mm Pak 38, 75 mm PaK 40 and 10.5 cm leFH 18 light field howitzer.
Sd.Kfz. 251/5 -
Sch�tzenpanzerwagen f�r Pionierzug. Assault Engineer vehicle with inflatable
boats stored in the side storage lockers, and light dismantleable assault
bridges stored inside through loss of a seat for more storage space. Early
command vehicles for Pioneer platoons (Pionierzug) were equipped with a 37 mm
Pak 36 anti-tank gun mount.
Sd.Kfz. 251/6 - mittlere
Funkpanzerwagen (Kommandopanzerwagen). Command version equipped with map
boards, cipher and encoding machines, and Enigma equipment. Probably only made
in versions Ausf. A and Ausf. B. Replaced by the 251/3 IV command SPW.
Sd.Kfz. 251/7 I -
Pionierpanzerwagen. Another assault engineer vehicle; this had fittings to
carry assault bridge ramps on the sides.
251/7 II - As above but with
different radio.
Sd.Kfz. 251/8 I -
Krankenpanzerwagen. Armored ambulance capable of carrying up to 8 seated
casualties or 4 seated casualties and 2 stretcher cases.
251/8 II - As above but fitted
with FuG5 radio and 2m rod antenna. Assigned to HQ and Panzer units.
Sd.Kfz. 251/9 -
Sch�tzenpanzerwagen (7.5 cm KwK37). Equipped with a 75 mm L/24 low velocity
gun, using the same pedestal gun mount employed on the StuG III. Nicknamed
"Stummel" ("stump"). In 1944, a revised modular gun mount
was introduced to facilitate production that also incorporated a coaxial MG42.
This universal gun mount was also used to create the Sd.Kfz. 250/8 variant and
the Sd.Kfz.234/3.
Sd.Kfz. 251/10 -
Sch�tzenpanzerwagen (3.7 cm PaK). Equipped with a 37 mm Pak 36 anti-tank gun
mount. Issued to platoon leaders as a fire support vehicle. Early versions used
the whole top half of a Pak 36 with full gunshield, but later ausf. C & D
used a much smaller half-size gunshield so that the vehicle didn't advertise
its firepower, so it looked more like a regular 251/1.
Sd.Kfz. 251/11 -
Fernsprechpanzerwagen. Telephone line layer.
Sd.Kfz. 251/12 - Messtrupp und
Ger�tpanzerwagen. Survey and instrument carrier for artillery units. Never
built.
Sd.Kfz. 251/13 -
Schallaufnahmepanzerwagen. Sound recording carrier for artillery units. Never
built.
Sd.Kfz. 251/14 -
Schallaufnahmepanzerwagen. Sound ranging carrier for artillery units. Never
built.
Sd.Kfz. 251/15 -
Lichtauswertepanzerwagen. Flash spotting carrier for artillery units. Never
built.
Sd.Kfz. 251/16 -
Flammpanzerwagen. Fitted with two flame projectors and initially a rear-mounted
flamethrower, detachable but still connected to the vehicle, to be operated by
dismounted infantry. This was in addition to the standard forward machine gun mount.
Six Sd.Kfz. 251/16 Flammpanzerwagens were authorised for issue to each
Panzergrenadier regiment or in the Pioneer battalion. Though vulnerable, they
were used very successfully at night to quickly attack enemy infantry who had
just captured German trenches, hitting the enemy before they could consolidate
and bring up the heavy weapons that would make them much costlier to defeat
later. Late ausf. D versions had larger gunshields.
Sd.Kfz. 251/17 -
Sch�tzenpanzerwagen (2 cm). Anti-aircraft vehicle armed with a 2 cm KwK38 on a
pedestal mounting with a small armored turret to protect the gunner. Late war,
it was issued as a platoon commander's vehicle to replace the Sd.Kfz. 251/10.
Sd.Kfz. 251/18 I -
Beobachtungspanzerwagen. Artillery observation vehicle.
251/18 Ia - Differences unknown,
likely different radio fit.
251/18 II - Armored observation
vehicle.
251/18 IIa - Different radio.
Sd.Kfz. 251/19 -
Fernsprechbetriebspanzerwagen. Telephone exchange vehicle.
Sd.Kfz. 251/20 -
Sch�tzenpanzerwagen (Infrarotscheinwerfer) Introduced in late 1944, it mounted
a 60 cm infrared searchlight with a range of 1.5 km for illuminating targets at
night. Known as "Uhu" (Eagle Owl), they guided IR sight-equipped Panther
tanks to targets that were out of range of their own smaller infrared
searchlights.
Sd.Kfz. 251/21 -
Sch�tzenpanzerwagen (Drilling MG151s). Anti-aircraft and ground support variant
equipped with a triple-mount ("Drilling" in German means
"triple") of MG151 autocannon; early version being MG151/15 mm
cannon, later being MG151/20 mm Luftwaffe cannon, on a Kriegsmarine triple
mount. Strong firepower, especially when organised into platoons of 6 SPW.
However, with a combined rate of fire of 2000 RPM, it could fire off its full
load of 3000 rounds in just 90 seconds.
Sd.Kfz. 251/22 - 7.5 cm PaK40
L/46 auf mittlerem Sch�tzenpanzerwagen. Fitted with a 75 mm PaK 40 anti-tank
gun. Probably too big a gun for the carriage, overloaded but effective, and the
Yugoslav military was still using captured examples into the 1950s.
Sd.Kfz. 251/23 - 2 cm
H�ngelafette 38 auf mittlerem Sch�tzenpanzerwagen. Reconnaissance variant
intended to replace the Sd.Kfz. 250/9 and fitted with the same turret mounting
as the Sd.Kfz. 234/1 armoured car. Probably never built.
OT-810 - Czechoslovakian
modified version known as Tatra OT-810 was made by Podpolianske stroj�rne
Detva. About 1,500 vehicles were built during 1958�62, they have had an
air-cooled diesel engine made by Tatra and armored roof over the troop
compartment for better protection in case of nuclear war.[12] The vehicle was
not liked by those who used it and was nicknamed "Hitler's revenge".
Last vehicles were removed from Czech Army magazines in 1995.
Field modified variants -
Various field modified variants also existed during World War II. There was a
kit for installing an armoured map table in place of the forward MG34 mount in
use in 1941. One interesting variant was made at the closing stages of the war,
when German forces removed the armored bodies of damaged Sd.Kfz. 251s and
installed them on light truck chassis, resulting in a wheeled variant of the
Sd.Kfz. 251. At least two were made in this way judging by their number plates.
---------------------------------------------
The M8 light armored car is a
6�6 armored car produced by the Ford Motor Company during World War II. It was
used from 1943 by United States and British forces in Europe and the Pacific
until the end of the war. The vehicle was widely exported and as of 2006 still
remained in service with some countries.
In British service, the M8 was
known as the "Greyhound", a service name seldom, if ever, used by the
US. The British Army found it too lightly armored, particularly the hull floor,
which anti-tank mines could easily penetrate (the crews' solution was lining
the floor of the crew compartment with sandbags). Nevertheless, it was produced
in large numbers. The M8 Greyhound's excellent road mobility made it a great
supportive element in the advancing American and British armored columns. It
was marginal cross country, especially in mud.
Development and production
history
In July 1941, the U.S. Army
Ordnance Department initiated the development of a new fast tank destroyer to
replace the M6 37 mm gun motor carriage, which was essentially a �-ton truck
with a 37 mm gun installed in the rear bed.[1][page needed] The requirement was
for a 6�4 wheeled vehicle armed with a 37 mm gun, a coaxial machine gun mounted
in a turret, and a machine gun in the front hull.[1][page needed] Its glacis
armor was supposed to withstand fire from a .50 in (12.7 mm) machine gun and
side armor from a .30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun. Prototypes were submitted by
Studebaker (designated T21), Ford (T22) and Chrysler (T23), all of them quite
similar in design and appearance.
In April 1942, the T22 was
selected, despite complaints about deficiencies, due to the need for vehicles.
By then, it was clear that the 37 mm gun would not be effective against the
front armor of German tanks; so, the new armored car, now designated the M8,
took on a reconnaissance role instead. Contract issues and minor design
improvements delayed serial production until March 1943. Production ended in
June 1945. A total of 8,523 M8 and 3,791 M20 armored cars were built, The M8s
and M20s were manufactured at Ford Motor Company plants in Chicago, Illinois,
and Saint Paul, Minnesota; the St Paul plant built 6,397 M8s to Chicago's
2,126; the 3,791 M20s were produced at the Chicago plant only.
In May 1942, having viewed the
prototype, the British Tank Mission turned down the offer to acquire the M8
through lend-lease.[1][page needed] It was named "Greyhound" in
keeping with other U.S. armored cars already ordered by the British, such as
the (cancelled) T18 Boarhound, the T17 Deerhound, the T17E1 Staghound and the
(also cancelled) M38 Wolfhound.
Mission and operational
performance
The cavalry reconnaissance
troops (equivalent to companies) assigned to infantry divisions and squadrons
(equivalent to battalions) assigned to armored divisions or independent, and
used at the direction of a division or corps commander, served as advance
"eyes and ears," and this required speed and agility. When on the
march, the cavalry was to make contact with enemy forces at the earliest
practical moment and maintain it thereafter. The reconnaissance troops
identified hostile units and reported their strength, composition, disposition
and movement. During withdrawals, the cavalry often served as a screening force
for the main units.
The M8 was not designed for
offensive combat, and its firepower was adequate only against similar lightly
armored enemy vehicles and infantry. With only the unarmored hull pan to serve
as floor armor, the M8 was particularly vulnerable to mines.
The vehicle's other drawback was
limited mobility in muddy or broken terrain or heavily wooded areas. The use of
wheels, rather than continuous tracks like a tank, gave it a higher ground
pressure which hampered its off-road performance in such terrain. Armored
cavalry units preferred using the �-ton reconnaissance car (Willys MB
"jeep") in these environments.[citation needed] A large turning
radius, limited wheel travel, and open differentials also limited its
cross-country mobility and made the M8 susceptible to immobilization off-road
in off-camber terrain and defiles. This led operators to using the vehicle
mostly on existing roads and paths, where it became vulnerable to ambush.
Conversely, the performance of the M8 on hard surfaces was exceptional, with
the vehicle having a long range and able to consistently maintain its top speed
of 55 mph. Conversely, as a wheeled vehicle, the M8 was generally more reliable
than tracked vehicles of similar size, requiring far less maintenance and
logistical support.
Description
Shells for the main 37 mm gun
were stored on racks inside the turret. The barrel of an M1 carbine, carried
for close-in vehicular defense, is visible at left.
The M8's armor was thin, but it
provided protection for the crew from small-arms fire and shrapnel, enough so
that the vehicle could carry out its main mission of reconnaissance. The
frontal, sloped hull armor varied in thickness from 0.5 to 0.75 inches (13 to
19 millimetres) The side and rear hull armor, also sloped but slightly less so
than the front, was 0.375 inches (9.5 mm) thick. The top armor was 0.25 inches
(6.4 mm) thick, as was the floor.[7] The turret was comparatively better
protected than the hull, being 0.75 inches (19 mm) thick all around, with an
0.25-inch (6.4 mm) partial roof. The cast, rounded gun shield was uniformly 1
inch (25 mm) thick.
The M8 was fitted with a 37 mm
M6 gun (aimed by an M70D telescopic sight) and a coaxially mounted .30 in (7.62
mm) Browning machine gun in a one-piece, cast mantlet, mounted in an
open-topped, welded turret. The M8 was initially fitted without any kind of
anti-aircraft defense; as a stopgap solution a .50 caliber Browning M2HB
machine gun on a ring mount was retrofitted to nearly all vehicles already in
service. A purpose-designed pintle was mounted on all late-production vehicles,
but it saw comparatively little action due to a troubled development process.
The crew of four comprised a
commander (who doubled as the loader), gunner, driver, and radio operator (who
could also act as a driver). The driver and radio operator were seated in the
forward section of the hull, while the commander and gunner sat in the turret,
with the commander seated on the right, and the gunner on the left,
The vehicle carried 80 37 mm
rounds (16 in the turret and 64 in an ammunition rack in the right sponson)
when fitted with a single radio. Vehicles with a second radio installed only
carried 16 main gun rounds. Some units solved this problem by cutting up the
removed main ammunition rack and stowing 18 rounds in each sponson, under the
radios. This raised the number of main gun rounds able to be carried to 52.
Another modification (the most common one) involved fabricating (again from the
discarded main ammunition rack) a 43-round bin to be placed behind the driver's
seat, and a 20-round bin attached to the framing of the turret basket. This
raised the ammunition capacity up to rounds.Machine gun ammunition consisted of
1,500 .30 caliber rounds and 400 .50 caliber rounds. In addition, the vehicle
carried a mix of six Mk 2 fragmentation grenades, 6 MK 3 offensive grenades,
four smoke grenades, and four M1 carbines for the crew, and six M1 anti-tank
mines.
The M8 was powered by a Hercules
Model JXD in-line six-cylinder 320 cubic-inch gasoline engine giving it a top
speed of 55 mph (89 km/h) on-road, and 32 mph (51 km/h) off-road. With a 54 US
gal (200 L) fuel tank, it could manage a road range of 200�400 miles (320�640
km) The Hercules JXD ran more quietly than other engines of comparable power,
which helped the M8 maintain an element of surprise and reduce the chance of
being heard by the enemy. Because of this, the M8 armored cars in Patton's
Third Army were known as "Patton's ghosts", since they were difficult
to detect.
Each M8 armored car was equipped
with a long-range radio set to communicate with higher headquarters. A
short-range radio set was used to communicate within the unit, or with
headquarters. The M8 weighed 16,400 lb (7,400 kg) fully loaded with equipment and
crew, and was capable of 100�250 mi (160�400 km) cross country or 200�400 mi
(320�640 km) on highways without refueling.[7] On normal roads, it was capable
of a sustained speed of 55 mph (89 km/h).[10][7] Early production models were
fitted with the SCR-193 transmitter and SCR-312 Receiver due to lack of SCR-508
radio sets.
Service history
World War II
The M8 light armored car entered
combat service with the Allies in the 1943 invasion of Sicily. It was purpose
designed to serve as the primary basic command and communication combat vehicle
of the U.S. Cavalry Reconnaissance troops. It was subsequently used by the US
Army in Italy, Northwest Europe and the Pacific. In the latter theater, it was
used mostly on Okinawa and the Philippines, and was even employed in its
original tank destroyer role, as most Japanese tanks had armor that was
vulnerable to its 37 mm gun. Over 1,000 were supplied via Lend-Lease to US
allies; the United Kingdom, Free France and Brazil.
In the European Theater, the M8
received "varied acceptance." Its on-road performance was generally
good, and it was armed and armored well enough for reconnaissance missions. On
the contrary, the turning radius was considered too wide, and the engine was
considered underpowered, routinely experiencing problems such as overheating
from being run at high output continuously and/or having its ventilation
louvers obstructed by personal equipment stored on the rear of the vehicle.
Large numbers were regularly under repair, gaining the vehicle a reputation of
being unreliable. Off-road mobility, especially on soft ground like mud or
snow, was poor; in the mountainous terrain of Italy and in the Northwest
European winter, the M8 was more or less restricted to roads, which greatly
reduced its value as a reconnaissance vehicle. It was also very vulnerable to
landmines. In February 1944, an add-on armor kit was designed to provide an
extra quarter-inch of belly armor to reduce landmine vulnerability. Some crews
also placed sandbags on the floor to make up for the thin belly armor. Another
problem was that commanders often used their reconnaissance squadrons for fire
support missions, for which the thinly-armored M8 was ill-suited. When it
encountered German armored reconnaissance units, the M8 could easily penetrate
their armor with its 37 mm gun. Conversely, its own thin armor was vulnerable
to the 20 mm autocannons that German scout cars were equipped with.
Due to mobility problems with
the M8, namely with regards to its suspension, the US Army's Special Armored
Vehicle Board recommended the development of a new six-wheeled armored car
which matched the M8's dimensions and size but was equipped with an articulated,
independently sprung suspension system. Two prototypes, the
Studebaker-developed T27 Armored Car and the T28 designed by Chevrolet were
trialled by the US and also reviewed by the British Armed Forces. Although the
T28 was standardised as the M28 and marked for production by Ford, the new
armored car program was shelved and then permanently cancelled due to the end
of the war, as impetus and funding for new military development projects had
plummeted. The fleet of M8 and M20 armored cars already available was then
considered more than adequate for the postwar US Army, which was demobilizing
thousands of personnel and already had large stockpiles of equipment surplus to
its requirements.
Post-war
After the war, many of the US
Army's M8 and M20 armored cars were marked off as surplus and donated or sold
to various countries, especially under the Foreign Military Assistance Program
(MAP). Most of the remaining vehicles remained in service with the United
States Constabulary in various Western European nations. M8s were also used by
American occupation forces in Korea, which later donated them to the fledgling
Republic of Korea Army's first armored cavalry regiment.
Most M8s and M20s remaining in
US service had been allocated to one of five reorganized armored cavalry
regiments by the early 1950s.The others were utilized by the Military Police
Corps, which deployed them during the Korean War for guarding static
installations and escorting prisoners. A small number of M20s were modified by
US or South Korean forces as assault vehicles equipped with ring-mounted
flamethrowers during that conflict.[13] All the US Army M8s and M20s were
retired from active duty due to age and increasing obsolescence shortly after
the Korean War. The majority of decommissioned vehicles were then shipped
abroad as aid to various armies, especially the French Far East Expeditionary
Corps, save for a small number which were retained by Army National Guard
units.[1][page needed] When the Army National Guard retired its own armored
cars a few years later, an undisclosed number were purchased by domestic police
departments and modified for riot control purposes.
France was the largest postwar
operator of the M8/M20 series after the United States, having received hundreds
of the vehicles as American aid between 1945 and 1954. During the First
Indochina War, many second-hand examples were shipped directly from the US to
French Indochina, where they were deployed for rural patrols and road
reconnaissance. These remained in service in Indochina until the end of the
war, when they were donated to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). The
French Foreign Legion also utilized the M8 during the Algerian War, where it
was superseded first by the Panhard EBR and subsequently by the Panhard AML in
counter-insurgency operations. The EBR was accepted as a generic replacement
for all remaining M8s by the French military in 1956. Between 1956 and 1964 the
remaining M8s and M20s were donated to the Mobile Gendarmerie, as well as the
armies of several former French colonies.
ARVN M8s and M20s saw
considerable action during the Vietnam War; however, by 1962 the US noted the
attrition rate of the fleet was becoming high due to age.[13] This resulted in
a proposal to fund the design and production of a new purpose-built armored car
for the South Vietnamese government: the Cadillac Gage Commando. The Commando
series began to replace the M8 and M20 in ARVN service from the mid-1960s
onward. A small number of the older armored cars were still held by the ARVN
reserves as late as 1975; these were inherited by the People's Army of Vietnam
after the war.
Another country which received a
substantial number of ex-American M8s following the war was Belgium, which
presumably received them as part of a NATO military assistance program. These
M8s were adopted primarily by the Belgian Air Component, which issued them to
base security units, and the Force Publique in the Belgian Congo. Following
Congolese independence several of the Force Publique M8s fell into the hands of
Katangese separatists, while others were repurposed for peacekeeping operations
by the United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC).
The
continued proliferation of M8s and M20s during the late 1960s and the 1970s
resulted in American and French defense contractors offering several commercial
upgrade kits to extend their service life. At least ten countries, Cameroon,
Cyprus, Ethiopia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Morocco, Venezuela,
and Zaire, modernized their M8/M20 fleets with diesel engines and new
transmissions during this time. The National Army of Colombia also invested
heavily in upgrading the M8's turret armament, having it replaced by a single
.50 caliber machine gun and a launcher for BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles. In
the late 1960s Brazil developed an upgraded M8 with an articulated suspension,
new gearbox, and a new engine built with parts that could be sourced locally.
This project spawned a series of indigenous prototypes, including a bizarre
four-wheeled variant of the M8 chassis known as the VBB, and another more
conventional six-wheeled design known as the VBR-2. The latter subsequently
evolved into the first Brazilian-manufactured armored car, the EE-9 Cascavel.