Howitzer Motor Carriage M8

75 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M8

75 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M8 on display at the Musée des Blindés.
Type Self-propelled artillery
Place of origin USA
Production history
Designer Aberdeen Proving Ground
Manufacturer Cadillac
Specifications
Weight 16.33 tonnes (36,001 lb)
Length 4.98 m (16 ft 4 in)
Width 2.32 m (7 ft 7 in)
Height 2.72 m (8 ft 11 in)
Crew 4 (Commander/loader, gunner, driver, co-driver)
Armor 9.5 – 44.5 mm
(0.37 – 1.75 in)
Main
armament
 75 mm M2/M3 Howitzer
46 rounds
Secondary
armament
 .50 cal (12.7 mm) M2HB Browning machine gun
400 rounds
Engine Twin Cadillac Series 42, 16-cylinder, gasoline
220 hp (164 kW)
Power/weight 13.47 hp/tonne
Suspension Vertical volute spring
Operational
range
 160 km (99 mi)
Speed 58 km/h (36 mph)

The 75 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M8, also known as the M8 Scott, was a self-propelled howitzer vehicle of the United States developed during the Second World War.[1]

Development

The first design for a close support howitzer on an M5 tank chassis was the T41, which had the howitzer in the hull front. This did not progress past the mock-up stage as the crew would not have been sufficiently protected and design work started on the T47.[2] It was developed on the chassis of the then-new Light Tank M5 (Stuart VI). The prototype was designated the T17E1 HMC.[3] It had the standard M5 turret removed and replaced with a larger open-topped turret; as a result, the drivers' hatches had to be moved from the hull roof to the glacis plate. After a mock-up had been produced, it was ordered into production.

Armament

Armament consisted of a new open-topped turret armed with a 75 mm M2 howitzer, later a 75 mm M3 howitzer, which was a rework of the M1A1 pack howitzer. It carried 46 rounds of 75 mm ammunition; types of ammunition carried were Smoke M89 and H.E. (high explosive) M48. Unlike the standard M5 Light tank, the M8 featured no hull-mounted or coaxial Browning M1919A4 .30cal machine gun. A Browning M2HB .50cal machine gun with 400 rounds was mounted on the right rear corner of the turret for local defense and anti-aircraft purposes.

Production

The T17E1 HMC was ordered into production as the 75 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M8 in April 1942. Production ran from September 1942 to January 1944. A total of 1,778 vehicles were produced by Cadillac Motor Car Co.

Combat service

The M8 was used in the Italian Campaign, the Western Front, and in the Pacific Theater of Operations by the US Army and on the Western Front by the French Army. It was also used by the French Union and State of Vietnam during the First Indochina War. It stayed in French service until the 1960s and saw service in Algeria.

Operators

See also

References

  1. ↑ "M8 Scott (Howitzer Motor Carriage M8) 75mm Self-Propelled Howitzer (SPH) (1942)". MilitaryFactory. October 17, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  2. ↑ Chamberlain and Ellis (1969) British and American Tanks of World War II p96
  3. ↑ http://www.wwiivehicles.com/united-states/vehicle/name-designation/t-number-vehicles.asp

External links

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