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M2 Half-Tracks - Variants

Each half-track type had different bodies. Each vehicle had a specially designed, commercial type, front-and-rear drive, truck chassis with an armored hull. The vehicles were designed for travel on highways and cross-country and would negotiate steep grades and rough terrain provided traction is maintained. Almost all half-tracks were weapons carriers, but there were numerous variants. The variants of the M3 halftrack, to name just a few, include: mortar carriers, howitzer carriers, command and control vehicles, anti-aircraft vehicles, and anti-tank vehicles. Each had a particular role.

1. Car M2 had a seating arrangement for a crew of ten. A driver's seat, commander's seat, and one other seat are in the driver's compartment. A gun rail extends throughout the: inside of the body allowing the movement of the-guns mounted on skates to command full 360 degrees rotation; There is no rear door on this model, but it has two large ammunition storage compartments with outside doors, located just behind the driver's compartment. A lid on each stowage chest opens from inside the vehicle, allowing removal of ammunition boxes from the top shelf. Access to the remaining shelves is reached from outside the vehicle: The gas tanks are located inside the vehicle body at the rear sides. A radio mast is located at the side of the' rear center seat. There are no rifle scabbards or gun pedestals on this model and it comes equipped with a roller or a winch at thefront end of the vehicle: The M2 armament consists of one caliber ,30 and one caliber .50 machine gun and a caliber .45 submachinegun.
2. Car M2A1 is the same as the Car M2 with the addition of a ring mount on the front side of the driver's compartment. It has one caliber .50 machine gun in ring mount. There are also.three pintles for caliber .30 machine guns, located one on each side, and one in rear.
3. Personnel Carrier M3 has a seating arrangement for a crew of 13 men. There are three seats in the driver's compartment and the other ten are arranged in two rows of five each, backed up against the fuel tanks and-body sides. The fuel tanks are located just behind the driver's compartment at the sides of the vehicle. There is no gun rail or radio mast inside the body of this vehicle, but it has one pedestal, mounting a caliber .30 machine gun, located just behind the center seat of the driver's compartment. A door is located at the rear of this model, and it also has rifle scabbard mounts, six on each side, along the sides in the space at the back of the side seats. M3 Personnel Carrier, (Half-Track) was first manufactured in 1941 by White Motor Co., and later produced by Autocar Co., and Diamond T Motor Co. The M3 was used to transport cargo and personnel in combat zones. It used the same chassis and mechanical components as the M2 half-track car, but the rear-armored body was 10 inches longer and featured a door in the rear to ease entry and exit from the vehicle. With no cover provided for the squad and driver, the M-3 was armed with a heavy machine gun, M1917A1 with tripod M1917A1 for mounting for fire support on the ground away from the vehicle. The M3 was typically only assigned to units organic to armor divisions. The M3 was far more capable than the 2-1/2 ton truck (deuce-and-a-half) used by motorized infantry in support of mobile combat operations.
4. Personnel Carrier M3A1 is the same as the Personnel Carrier M3 with the addition of a gun ring mount on the top right side of the driver's compartment.
5. 75-mm Gun Motor Carriage M3 and M3A1 carry'a crew of five men, seating.two in the driver's compartment, one on each side of the body at breech of gun, and one against rear door. The armament consists of one 75-mm gun with an armor plate hood which covers the breech of the gun and moves with the pointing of the gun. The gas tanks are mounted in the rear at each side of vehicle body. This was the first standardized US self-propelled antitank weapon used in World War II, and provided high mobility for the 75-mm. gun. It was replaced in March 1944 by the 76-mm. motor gun carriage M18, and in September 1944 was declared obsolete.
6. 75-mm Howitzer Motor Carriage T30 had a rear door and a gun pedestal mount at the rear center which carries a machine gun. There is no gun rail inside the body and the gas tanks are mounted in the rear at the sides. An'armor plate hood covers the breech of the 75-mm howitzer. A crew of five men is carried.
7. 105-mm Howitzer Motor Carriage T19 had a rear door and a gun pedestal mount at the rear center which carries a machine gun. There is no gun rail inside the body and the gas tanks are mounted in the rear at the sides. An armor plate hood covers the breech of the 105-mm howitzer. A crew of six men is carried.
8. 81-mm Mortar Carriers M4 and M4A1 carry a crew of eight-men with the usual seating arrangement for three in the driver's compartment, Each vehicle has a gun rirng running completely around the inside of the body, mounting one caliber .50 machine gun on a skatemount: A caliber .45 submachine gun and one 81-mm mortar complete the armament. There is an extra door at the rear of the vehicle and two extra doors for the stowage compartments at the front sides of the body. The gas tanks are located at the rear sides of the body.
9. Half-track Personnel Carrier M5 was distinguished by the seating arrangement for a crew of 13, a pedestal mount, and the presence of a rear door. There are 3 driver's compartment seats, and the remaining 10 seats are arranged in 2 lengthwise rows of 5 each.
10. Half-track Car M9A1 had a seating arrangement for a crew of 10, a gun ring, a radio mast, and a rear door. The driver's seat and commander's seat were in the driver's compartment. A third seat is just behind the driver's compartment but also faces toward the front. The remaining seats are arranged 3 on either side at the fuel tanks and 1 facing the rear just behind the center driver's compartment seat.
11. Multiple Gun Motor Carriage M13 had an electrically operated gun turret, carrying its own battery charging unit. The turret mounts two caliber .50 machine guns and turns a full 360 degrees. There is no gun rail, pedestal mount, or rear door on this model. There are folding panels at the two sides and rear end of the body. The gas tanks are mounted just to the rear of the driver's compartment on each side. of the body. This vehicle carries a crew of five men.
12. Multiple Gun Motor Carriage M14 was distinguished by the seating arrangement for a crew of five, and the twin mount machine gun. There are three driver's compartment seats and the remaining two seats face each other just to the rear of the driver's compartment.
13. Multiple Gun Motor Carriage M15 and.M15A1 had a manually operated gun turret mounting three synchronized guns. The turret turns a full 360 degrees, mounting one .37-mm automatic cannon and two caliber .50 machine guns. The driver's compartment and gun turret are separate units on this model. Two gas tanks are located at the center of the vehicle, the upper tank just behind the driver's compartment, and the lower tank is below the level of the floor just to the rear of.the upper tank. The filler spout of the lower tank rises at the left-hand rear corner of the upper tank. A gun support, located on the rear of the driver's compartment, and two turret locks, lock the turret and cannon in position while traveling. This vehicle carries a crew of seven men. The M15A1 was a later model; the-main difference is a change in mounting the cannon and two machine guns at a common level (the cannon is below the level of the machine guns in the M15).
14. Multiple Gun Motor Carriage M16 resembled the M13 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage. It has an electrically operated gun turret with four caliber .50 machine guns in place of two as on the M13. The folding side and rear panels have a dip or-section cut out of their top edge to permit more gun depression. The M13 becomes an M16 with these changes incorporated. 81-mm Mortar Carrier M21 (Forward Firing) carried a crew of six men. Its armament consists of an 81-mm mortar which fires forward only; one caliber .50 machine gun and pedestal mounting; one caliber .45 submachine gun. The M16 was based on the M3 personnel carrier half-track. It had a crew of five: commander, driver, gunner and two loaders. The gunner operated an M45 Quadmount electric gun-turret which could rotate 360 degrees. The M45 was equipped with four M2 .50 caliber heavy machine guns, each with 200-round "tombstone" magazines. All the tracking and shooting at targets were done visually, which limited the M16's effectiveness at night and in bad weather. About 2,700 M16s were produced from September 1943 through March 1944. Because it was so successful, about 700 M3s were converted to M16As. The weapon remained in the Army inventory until 1958. The M-45 gun turrets from the M16s were used until the 1970s by the U.S. Army, and it is still used today by some foreign militaries.