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Armoured cars have long been a feature of the American armoured fighting vehicle scene, and in 1940 and 1941 the US Army was able to observe operational trends in Europe and so develop a new armoured car with a good performance, a 37-mm (1.45-in) gun, 6x6 drive, a low silhouette and light weight. In typical American fashion design submissions were requested from four manufacturers. One of the manufacturers, Ford, produced a design known as the T22, and this was later judged to be the best of all The American Light Armored CarMS was considered too ligh t in armour by theBritish, but was otherwise widely used. The main gun was a 37-mm (1.46-in) gun with a 7.62-mm (0.30-in) machine-gun mounted coaxially. A common addition was a 12.7-mm (0.50-in) Browning moun ted on the turret. 86 submissions and was ordered into production as the Light Armored Car Mo. The M8 subsequently became the most important of all the American armoured cars and by the time production was terminated in April 1945 no fewer than 11,667 had been produced. It was a superb fighting vehicle with an excellent cross-country performance, and an indication of its sound design can be seen in the fact that many were still in use with several armies until the mid-1970s. It was a low vehicle with a full 6x6 drive configuration, with the axles arranged as one forward and two to the rear. The wheels were normally well covered by mudguards, but these were sometimes removed in action. The crew of four had ample room inside the vehicle, and the main 37-mm (1.46-in) gun was mounted in a circular open turret. A 7.62-mm (0.3-in) Browning machinegun was mounted co-axially, and there was a pintle for a 12,7mm (0.5-in) Browning heavy machine-gun (for anti-aircraft use) on the turret rear, A close cousin of the M8 was the Armored Utility Car M20, in which the turret was removed and the fighting compartment cut away to allow the intenor to be used as a personnel or supplies carrier. A machine-gun could be mounted on a ring mount over the open area, In many way the M20 became as important as the M8 for it proved to be an invaluable run-about for any number of purposes, ranging from an observation or command post to an ammunition carrier for tank units, The US Army employed the M8 and M20 widely from the time the first production examples left the production lines in March 1943. By November of that year over 1,000 had been delivered, and during 1943 the type was issued to British and Commonwealth formations. The British knew the M8 as the Greyhound but it proved to be too thinly armoured to suit British thinking, the thin belly armour proving too vulnerable to anti-tank mines. Operationally this shortcoming was overcome by lining the interior floor areas with sandbags. But these drawbacks were more than overcome by the fact that the M8 was available in large numbers and that it was able to cross almost any terrain. The 37-mm (1.46-in) main gun was well able to tackle almost any enemy reconnaissance vehicle the M8 was likely to encounter, and the vehicle's crew could defend the M8 against infantry with the two machine-guns, The M8 could be kept going under all circumstanes, but its main attribute was that it nearly always seemed to be available when it was wanted. Specification Light Armored Car M8 Crew: 4 Weight: (in action) 7.94 tonnes Dimensions: length 5.00 m (16 ft 5 in); width 2.54 m (8 ft 4 in); height 2.248 m (7 ft 4 Va in) Powerplant: one Hercules JXD 6- cylinder petrol engine developing 110hp(82kW) AnMSin a typical reconnaissance situation during the Normandy fighting of 1944. The crew have stopped to observe some enemy movement or positions, and two men are observing through binoculars to obtain as comprehensive an assessment as possible. Performance: maximum road speed 89 km/h (55 mph); maximum range 563 km (350 miles); fording 0.61 m (24 in); gradient 60%; vertical obstacle 0.3 m (12 in)
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