This half-track is an M2A1 possibly converted from an M2 late in 1943. It is a White Motor Company truck with tracks and armor, with a complement of 10 men, 50 caliber machine gun in the circular mount and three other fixed mounts on the two sides and rear which can mount a variety of machine guns. In spite of all the firepower and armor, it was intended as a transport vehicle for troops fighting in conjunction with tanks or as a scout vehicle to locate the enemy. The owner of the haf-track is a member of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association (MVPA).

History

The half-track design had been evaluated by the US Ordance department using Citroën-Kégresse vehicles. The White Motor Company produced a prototype half track using their own chassis and the body of the M3 Scout Car.

In 1938, the White Motor Company took the Timpken rear bogie assembly from a T9 half-track truck and added it to an M3 Scout Car, creating the T7 Half-Track Car. This vehicle was woefully underpowered, and when a further requirement came down from US Army artillery units for a prime mover (artillery tractor), a vehicle with an uprated engine was devised, then designated the T14. By 1940, the vehicle had been standardized as the M2 Half-Track car, and was being supplied to army units as both a prime mover and a reconnaissance vehicle. The latter was to serve in the interim, until more specialized vehicles could be fielded.

Between 1942 and 1943, these vehicles, just as with the M3 half tracks, would receive a number of modifications to the drive train, engine, and stowage, among other things.

Total production of M2 and derivatives was about 13,500 units. Later, to meet the needs of the Lend-Lease program, the International Harvester Company was brought into manufacture vehicles similar to the M2, as the M9 adding another 3,500 units.

Usage

The first M2s were fielded in 1941, and would be used in the Philippines, North Africa, and in Europe by the US Army, and around the Pacific by the USMC. About 800 M2 and M9 halftracks were sent to the Soviet Union. Many remaining vehicles intially destined for lend-lease were transfered to other US allies, primarily in South America. These vehicles often recieved a number of upgrades designed at extending service life. The Argentine Army retired its last of their upgraded M9 during 2006.

Photo courtesy of the Military Vehicle Preservation Society
Information courtesy of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia