French Army Lend Lease Vehicles

[asl3d]

French Army Lend Lease Vehicles

[asl3d]

LLV 1. Lend-Lease Vehicles

From November 1941 through V-J Day the United States supplied the French with military and civilian aid worth (at the time) more than $2.8 billion, including 1,406 tanks, 3,941 other combat vehicles, 27,176 trucks, and 1,523 additional vehicles. In addition, Britain and Canada provided goods and services totaling an estimated $460 million. In 1943-44, under the ANFA rearmament program, the U.S. used Lend-Lease equipment to outfit eight French divisions (five infantry and three armored) plus various supporting units. With a few exceptions, these formations were organized along the same lines as their U.S. counterparts. Three agreements relating to lend-lease and reverse lend-lease aid were concluded with the French: (1) A master agreement identical with those entered into with the United Kingdom, China, the Soviet Union and other countries; (2) a reciprocal aid agreement similar to those entered into with the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and others; and (3) an agreement under section 3(C) of the Lend-Lease Act. All of the supplies, services and information covered by the agreements with the French Provisional Government are directly connected with the prosecution of the war. The basic purpose of the whole program is to enable all French resources and the whole French nation-soldiers, producers and farmers-to be mobilized and used for the war against the common enemy. Supplies, services and information solely for reconstruction or rehabilitation purposes are excluded from these agreements. Supplies required by the French solely for post-war purposes will have to be handled by other means since the Lend-Lease Act is, and is being administered as a war supply measure.

[asl3d]

LLV 2. M3A1 T37LL Stuart LT

The light tank M3 Stuart is the result of a series of light tanks which began in 1931. However the development of M3 began really only in 1940 when Armored Force was created in June. It had a crew of 4 men: the commander, the gunner, the driver and his assistant. The hull was assembled by bolting and accommodated a Continental W-670 of 250 hp gasoline engine. Armament was supplemented by five Browning machine-guns of 7.62 mm: an anti-aircraft mounted to the back of the turret, coaxial mounted with the right side of the gun, a machine-gun of hull assembled on the glacis and two others mounted on each sponsons. M3 was standardized in July 1940 and the production began in March 1941. The Continental W-670 gasoline engine was in fact an engine of plane and because of the priority given to the air force, this engine was not available in great number for M3. M3 Light Tanks were used on Guadalcanal (8-12/42) by Company B of the 1st Marine Tank Battalion. The M3 garnered the distinction of becoming the first U.S.-built AFV to see combat in WW2 when the British used it in Operation Crusader (11/41). A total of 651 U.S. light tanks were Lend-Leased to the Free French. By D-Day this included 273 M3A3 and 230 M5A1. The entire light tank complement of the 2nd Division Blindée consisted of M3A3 when it landed in France, while the 1st and 5th Division Blindée (as well as three of the five armored recon battalions organic to Free French infantry divisions) had a mixture of M3A3 and M5A1. The two non-divisional armored recon battalions, the 1st and 2nd Spahis Algeriens, were also equipped with M3A3 but not M5A1.

[asl3d]

LLV 3. M5A1 T37LL LT

The new model (initially called M4 but redesignated M5 to avoid confusion with the M4 Sherman) featured a redesigned hull with a raised rear deck over the engine compartment, sloped glacis plate and driver's hatches moved to the top. Although the main criticism from units using the Stuarts was that it lacked firepower, the improved M5 series kept the same 37 mm gun. The M5 did not replace the M3A1 but rather was produced concurrently with it, and actually entered production several months before the latter. Its front hull plates were sloped to enhance protection and its turret-front armor was increased. This new armor configuration was then also applied to the M3A1, resulting in the M3A3 which was used only for Lend-Lease purposes. While the designers were thusly creating the M3A3 they decided to also improve its gun mount and move the radio from the hull to the rear of the turret. This new turret was judged superior to that of the M5 and was consequently introduced on M5 production lines, thus creating the M5A1. Both M5 and M5A1 were used to replace combat losses in the light tank battalions of the 1st Armored Division in Tunisia. By the time of the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, all M3 and M3A1 Lights had been withdrawn from active service in the ETO, making the M5A1 the Army's standard light tank. In Europe, Allied light tanks had to be given cavalry and infantry fire support roles since their main cannon armament could not compete with heavier enemy armored fighting vehicles. However, the Stuart was still effective in combat in the Pacific Theater, as Japanese tanks were both relatively rare and were lighter in armor than even Allied light tanks.

[asl3d]

LLV 4. Crusader T40L MT

The Crusader was loosely based on the A13 Mk II and the unsuccessful A13 Mk III Covenanter. It was fast, low-slung, and better armored than its predecessors, but was notoriously unreliable due to having been ordered directly into production in August 1939 without sufficient testing. The Crusader II featured a slight increase in armor thickness, but retained the 2pdr gun which was now obsolete vs the newest PzKpfw III and IV. The Crusader CS carried a 3-inch howitzer. Both the Crusader I and II carried a BMG mounted in a sub-turret that was disliked due to being cramped. The lower part of its angled turret acted like a lever at each shell impact, dislodging the turret from its mounting, or a hull vulnerable spot above the ammunition racks, where, if red hot metal fragments penetrated, they triggered a fire. There were also issues with the engine overheating, oil leaking, and problems with the cooling filter system, mostly caused of sand erosion. If the Crusader turned to be effective in Libya against Italians, it was another affair against the "Desert Fox". While its speed, light protection and armament could deal with most German Panzer I and IIs, the Panzer III, equipped with the long barrel 50 mm gun, and the Panzer IV and its 75 mm, were more than a match. The Crusader first saw action with the 6th RTR of the 7th Armoured Brigade in the abortive attempt to relieve Tobruk in June 1941, during which more Crusaders were lost. Thereafter it became the most numerous Allied tank in the desert until the arrival of Grants and Shermans. In the autumn of 1942, the 1st Free French Tank Company (Compagnie de Chars) was re-equipped with 14 Crusader tanks. Each section had two with 2pdr (40mm) main armament and one Crusader III.

[asl3d]

LLV 5. M4 T75 Sherman MT

The Sherman used the chassis of the M3 Medium with a new superstructure and turret for its MA, and by 1944 it had become the main battle tank of all the Western Allies. The chief deficiencies of the early Shermans were: the aforementioned mediocre AT capability; a high, bulky silhouette; the use, except in the M4A1, of a number of plates welded together (as opposed to a single rolled or cast piece) to form the sloping hull front, which significantly compromised the glacis' ballistic protection; and a high susceptibility to fires due mainly to exposed ammo rounds which often ruptured when a projectile penetrated the tank. A total of 49,234 Shermans were built, of which 30,600 were equipped with the 75mm gun. Of these, 6,748 were the M4 type, (which was the original design model but actually entered production in July 1942, several months after the M4A1 and M4A2 versions). The first factory which delivered the M4 was the Lima Locomotive Works. All of these first batches were sent to the British Army through Lend-Lease, and fought in Africa. Early models had the three-piece bolted nose, while later models had a mixed cast/rolled hull. The lower hull was made of large welded parts, although the bogies were bolted to the hull for easier replacement or repair, and the rounded front was made of three bolted steel plates. Other external parts were either bolted or welded. The upper hull, at first cast, was later welded, with a well-sloped glacis, flat sides and slightly sloped engine compartment roof, making a characteristic tumblehome culminating just below the main turret. The armor was 76 mm thick on the nose and upper glacis, 51 mm on the turret and upper sides and 30 mm elsewhere.

[asl3d]

LLV 6. M4A1 T75 Sherman MT

This was the first Sherman model to enter production. It was also the only original model to have a cast upper hull; otherwise it was identical to the M4 except for carrying six fewer rounds of ammunition. The 1,676 M4 Mediums built at the Detroit Tank Arsenal often are referred to as "composite hull" Shermans, because their front hull was cast (like the M4A1) while their side and rear hulls were welded. This first major version was introduced early on in February 1942. It had a fully cast, rounded upper hull. Production of the regular M4A1 totaled 6,281 machines until December 1943. The Sherman’s suspension was of the VVSS (Vertical Volute Spring Suspension) type. The running gear comprised three sets of bogies, each with two paired large rubber-covered road wheels, a rear adjustable track idler wheel and front drive sprocket connected to the gearbox, and three return rollers. The 78-links track was of the standard model, although reinforced and modified to minimize ground pressure. The Continental R975 engine was an air-cooled, gasoline radial engine delivering 400 hp at 2400 rpm. It was fed by two tanks totaling 660 l of gasoline, which gave around 195 km of practical range. The power-to-weight ratio was 15.8 hp/ton. The gearbox was spacer, manual, synchromesh, with 5 forward gears, one reverse. The controlled differential comprised a built-in brake steering system, which was controlled by levers. The engine compartment contained two fixed large fire extinguishers, manned by a crewmember from the fighting compartment. The armor was 76 mm thick on the nose and upper glacis, 51 mm on the turret and upper sides and 30 mm elsewhere.

[asl3d]

LLV 7. M4A2 T76L Sherman MT

At the beginning of 1944, begins the production of Shermans(76) which are in fact standard models (M4A1, M4A2 and M4A3(75)W) equipped with the T23 turret and of the gun of 76 mm. A total of 10,883 vehicles of Sherman(76) was produced (22% of the total production), which some with the new horizontal suspension (HVSS). This evolution to M4A2 Sherman came in April 1942, with a new General Motors 6046 engine, welded hull with extra applique armor on the hull sides and gunner position. It was produced to a total of 8,053 until May 1944. Early versions of the M4A2(75), had small hatches and protruding drivers’ and co-drivers’ hoods, a 57-degree glacis and dry ammo stowage bins. The rear hull plate was sloped. A transitional version built by Fisher, the M4A2(75)D, had a one-piece 47-degree glacis, with large hatches, but it still used dry ammo bins and applique armor. This model was also produced with a diesel GM 6046, 410 hp, used mostly by the British and the USMC. The range was 241 km, with 641 liters of fuel (consumption was 279 liters/100 km), total weight 31.8 tons, with a 1.01 kg/cm³ ground pressure. The hull frontal glacis was 108 mm thick. The final-production M4A2s in 1944 incorporated the new front hull design that was coming into use on all the Shermans (other than the M4 and M4A1). This new design replaced the multi-piece welded glacis with a thicker one-piece unit. Shermans with this glacis are generally described as having the 47 ° front hull, which refers to the glacis plate's inclination from the vertical. About 1,600 of the M4A2 (L) were constructed. "(L)" in the piece name indicates "late model". The M4A2(76)W was the up-gunned late variant, of which over 3230 will be delivered until May 1945.

[asl3d]

LLV 8. M4A3 T75 Sherman MT

Beginning in Feb. 1944 all newly-built models of the 75mm-armed M4A3 incorporated both the 47 ° glacis and a new arrangement for ammunition stowage wherein all MA rounds were now stowed on or beneath the turret floor in racks that contained jackets filled with antifreeze and water. This was known as "Wet Stowage". The M4A3(75)W remained in production until March 1945, long after all other 75mm versions had been discontinued. The M4A3 was first delivered by the Ford Motor Company in June 1942. It was produced to a total of 5,015 by all manufacturers combined. Early versions still had the dry ammunition stowage, direct vision slots for the driver and the 60-degree hull glacis (89 mm). It featured the new liquid-cooled Ford V8 500 hp engine, which was capable of giving a top speed of 42 km/h on road, and a 209 km range. Early series also saw extra 25 mm thick applique armor welded over the ammo storage bins and the turret gunner position, later removed. By 1943-44, the recognition white stars were usually painted black or olive drab in order to mask them to enemy gunners, which used them as an aiming point. The main gun was a 75 mm M3 L/40 model, provided with 90 rounds, at first protected by a Combination Gun Mount M34 and coupled with a fixed secondary cal.30 Browning M1919A4 machine gun. Both machine-guns (coaxial and hull) received a total of 4750 rounds in cartridge bands, with some tracers. Later models received the new M34A full mantlet, which also protected the machine-gun port. Anti-air and anti-personal defense was provided by the turret roof cal.50 Browning heavy machine gun, provided with 400 rounds. The main gun had elevation and azimuth control and FM radio liaison with an artillery center for stationary gunnery support.

[asl3d]

LLV 9. M4A3E8 T76L Sherman MT

To provide a heavily armoured assault tank, 254 M4A3(75)W were produced between May and July 1944 with an extra 1 1/2 inches of armour plate on the hull front and upper hull sides, a new lower front hull casting 5 1/2 inches thick, and a new turret with 6-inch cast armour and a 7-inch thick gun shield. The M4A3E2 was nicknamed the "Jumbo" and was a very successful variant, often being used as the lead vehicle in a column when moving through unfriendly territory. The front sprocket-wheels will know two models, as well as the road wheels (5 to 6 branches). Each track was composed of 79 rubbers block links of 421 mm broad joints between-them by external guides. Rubber quickly wearing several styles of protections out of steel were used to protect the rubber links. The problem of these tracks was their low width which caused a too important pressure on the ground, as well as a weak traction on soft ground. To compensate the pressure on the ground, extensions (duckbills) were connected to the external guides, which made it possible to increase the width of the tracks and to decrease the pressure on the ground. To replace the VVSS one developed the "horizontal suspension". As its name indicates it this suspension were provided with bogie trucks (3) with horizontal volute springs (which got the best road drive). These bogie trucks were provided each with 2 steel double road wheels and surmounted of a return roller. Two other larger return rollers supplemented the suspension. This suspension were composed of 580 mm tracks which got for the tank a low pressure on the ground. Several types of tracks were used, which some made up of a double line of links.

[asl3d]

LLV 10. M4A3 T105 Sherman MT

First introduced in February 1944, production of the 105 mm version stopped in March 1945, after a total of 1,641 machines. It was devised during the Italy campaign, to give added infantry support firepower with the advantage of a fully traversing turret. The standard M1919A4 howitzer was modified and compacted for the task. The original design of the Sherman's 75mm gun turret allowed for the alternate installation of a 105mm howitzer. Production of the M4(105) amounted to 1,641, with about half having the new HVSS system. M4A3(105) production totaled 3,039, with all but about 500 having HVSS. The first models did not have cupola of commander, nor trap door for the loader and not traverse engine of turret. Three of these tanks formed the basis of the assault gun platoon in the HQ company of an Army medium tank battalion, and one (two in 1945) was also present in the HQ platoon of each of that battalion's medium tank companies. If the principal role of M4(105) were to provide the local fire support against the enemy fortifications, some had the occasion to destroy enemy tanks by means of M67 HEAT rounds. The projectiles M67 HEAT had a swiftness of 381 m/s at a distance of 7,885 m, sufficient to bore an armour-plate of 102 mm thickness at this distance. The maximum range of the shells M1 HE was 11,500 m. The armor was slightly thinner than usual, ranging from 63 mm (glacis sloped at 47 degrees), 38 mm for the sides and rear and 19 mm for the top. The mantlet was 91 mm thick, turret front was 76 mm, slopes were 51 mm and top 25 mm. The engine was the early radial Continental R975-C4, 9-cylinder 4-cycle, air cooled (15,945 cc and 460 hp at 2,400 rpm), giving a range of 161 km and a cruise speed of 38.6 km/h on road.

[asl3d]

LLV 11. M10 T76L Wolverine TD

In November 1941, one thought to transform into tank destroyer, the medium tank M4A1 equipped with a gasoline engine. But ultimately it was the chassis of the M4A2 equipped with a diesel engine which was selected and a model out of wooden of the new tank destroyer was produced in January 1942. The design of this new model was identical to that of the M4A2 but with a shielding side of 25 mm only and one new open turret (on the top and the back) accomodating an anti-tank gun of 76 mm. The M10 Tank Destroyer is based on the chassis of the M4A2 Sherman with diesel engine GM 6046 of 12 cylinders (mounted by couple on line), with liquid cooling, of 13.9 L of displacement, developing 375 to 410 hp to 2100 rpm. It is distinguished from the M10A1 thanks to its grid of ventilation of small size on the rear deck of the superstructure. The M10 Gun Motor Carriage used the basic chassis and drive train of the M4A2 Medium Tank; the hull, however, was completely redesigned using thinner but well-sloped armor to decrease weight and thus enhance mobility, and its pentagonal turret was open-topped to increase visibility. Its main armament was a modified 3-in. AA gun which was massive and heavy; consequently two 1800-1b. counterweights had to be attached to the rear of the M10's turret to balance it. Other features unusual for a U.S. "tank" were its lack of power traverse and the use of twin diesel engines. 4,993 were built. Initially the U.S. Army wanted to issue M3 GMC halftracks to the Free French, since so many were available in North Africa. The French protested vigorously, however, and in the end new M10 were shipped from America. By mid May of 1944, 115 had been Lend-Leased for use in the TD battalion in each Division Blindée.

[asl3d]

LLV 12. Daimler Dingo Mk I BMG SC

With the end of the Thirties, the firm Alvis Coventry proposed the prototype of a scout 4x4vehicle. This vehicle baptized "Dingo" transported two crewmen and a light machine-gun .303cal (7.7 mm) Bren standard. In 1937, the BSA firm also produced a similar vehicle but slightly heavier. The Morris Commercial Car Ltd firm, also went there from its prototype. In early 1938 the War Office requested a very small, partially armored vehicle to be used for scouting and liaison. This eventually resulted in the "Mark I Scout Car"—more commonly known as the Daimler Scout Car. Production ran to 6,626 vehicles in five Marks, the last of which was open-topped. Dingos proved quite successful, and the resulting demand for scout cars led to several other companies being asked to produce similar types. Ford of Canada answered this call by producing the Lynx, a copy of the Daimler. To get it into production as quickly as possible, already-existing automotive components were utilized, and because of this its exterior dimensions were significantly greater than those of the Daimler. 3,255 Lynx were built. The Daimler's first combat came in Belgium and France, with 21 in the 4th Battalion of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, the recce battalion of the 50th Infantry Division, and 30 more in the various HQ units of the 1st Armoured Division. Thereafter as scout cars became more available they were allotted to many different types of units. From mid 1943 the Daimler SC was most commonly employed in armoured car regiments. The Lynx was used by Canadian units, and by British and Indian troops in the PTO. A small number of these were used by the Free French—e.g., the 1st Regiment de Marche de Spahis Marocains contained two in January of 1943.

[asl3d]

LLV 13. M3A1 Bo HMG ht

The US M3A1 Bo HMG ht is differed from the M3 Halftrack by having a .50-cal MG on a ring mount to the right of the driver, and an air-cooled .30-cal MG on one of three pintle mounts that were located on the side and rear walls of the passenger compartment. 2,862 M3A1 were built. The M3 very resembled to the M2 if not that the hull was prolonged towards the back of a few centimetres, and that because of the removal of the rail, a door could be installed to the back. M3 comprised 13 seats: two seats for the pilot and the copilot in the cockpit, the seat of the commander just behind them and the seats of the infantrymen laid out by 5 on each side of the compartment of troop. Because of the removal of the rail, 3 receptacles for .30cal machine-guns (7.62 mm) were installed on the circumference of the station of combat coming to reinforce the pedestal accomodating a .30cal or .50cal (12.7 mm) machine-gun. A 1944-45 armored infantry platoon consisted of one M3A1 halftrack carrying the platoon leader and a squad, two M3 halftracks with a passenger squad apiece, one M3 with a passenger HS and a 60mm MTR, and one M3(MMG) halftrack. Such a platoon possessed tremendous firepower for an "infantry" unit, but it should be noted that the squads usually dismounted before attacking because their halftracks were vulnerable to the lightest of AT weapons and even close-range MG fire. An undetermined number of these AFV were supplied to the Free French. One major difference between the U.S. infantry division's table of organization and that of a U.S.-equipped Free French infantry division was the latter's armored reconnaissance battalion, which was roughly triple the size of the mechanized cavalry recon troop in the U.S. division.

[asl3d]

LLV 14. M20 Bo HMG AC

Ford Motor Co developed in April 1943 a version without turret of this famous US vehicle of the Second World War, known officially as the Armored Utility Car M20. This vehicle was derived from the M8 Armored Car by replacing the turret with a ring-mounted .50-cal MG and rearranging the interior to create a cargo/passenger compartment. The requirement for such a vehicle came from the Tank Destroyer Force who wished to replace their obsolete M3A1 Scout Cars; thus most M20 were used in TD battalions for command, scouting, and cargo-carrying purposes. A total of 3791 specimens were produced in 1943-1944 by Ford Motor Co. The crew was consisted of the driver and his assistant plus 4 passengers. The armament of M20 consisted of a .50cal machine-gun (12.7 mm) mounted on a circular mounting M49 to the back of the compartment of combat and a bazooka of 60 mm M9A1 and M1 rifles. M20 and the other allied armoured cars were used at this time as vehicles of support and protection of the sides of allied divisions. In 1944-45 each TD platoon (SP), in addition to four Gun Motor Carriages and a Jeep, also contained two M20 Scout Cars that conducted local reconnaissance for the platoon and afforded it extra protection against close assaults by enemy infantry. At the time of the battle of the Ardennes, the allied units of reconnaissance often obliged to beat retirement sometimes by giving up their material and vehicles as in Poteau (14th Cavalry Group). Finally the German offensive in the Ardennes was contained and pushed back and the walk of Allies towards the victory could begin again at the beginning of 1945 and the units reconnaissance to take again their task by locating the increasingly rare enemy armoured tanks and infantrymen concentrations.

[asl3d]

LLV 15. Marmon-Herrington TATR AC

The British contracted for a number of the 4x4 type, stipulating that each be equipped with an ATR, LMG, and an AA Vickers MG in lieu of the original armament of one Vickers. This version they named the Marmon-Herrington II. 338 ME and 549 MFF Mk II were built, with the former going to North Africa and the latter retained for use elsewhere. In May 1941 the Mk III entered production, featuring improvements derived from its predecessors' use in combat; 798 ME and 1,780 MFF Mk III were built, with about one-third of the latter going to India, Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies. While unsophisticated in design, lightly armored and poorly armed, Marmon-Herringtons were unfailingly reliable and proved a valuable asset to the Allies in 1941-42. Indeed, of the four British AC regiments that operated mainly in North Africa, only one (the 12th Lancers) was not completely equipped with the "Monkey-Harry" at some time during that period. In addition, South Africa's contribution to the desert war included two AC regiments and two divisional recce battalions, all of which employed Marmon-Herringtons throughout their tours of duty there. Besides North Africa, ME types also saw action in Syria, East Africa and Madagascar. The Union of South Africa ultimately produced 5,746 Marmon-Herringtons during WW2 (including the Mks IV-VII which saw no combat). Prior to mid 1943, an AC troop comprised three armored cars. In the fall of 1942 the 1st Regiment de Marche de Spahis Marocains became an armoured car unit. 21 Marmon-Herrington III formed the bulk of its vehicles, with three per platoon and four platoons per squadron. Some mounted non-standard ordnance.

[asl3d]

LLV 16. Humber T37LL AC

The Humber Armored Car, based on a Quad FAT (field artillery tractor), was an intermediate step between the crude pre-war AC and the more mechanically sophisticated Daimler Armoured Car. The Humber Mark I was to be in the beginning the Tank-Light-Wheeled Mark III. The Humber IV was essentially the Humber II AC with a U.S. 37mm gun. The hull was manufactured by the firm Guy Motors, with some minor modifications, but was placed on a chassis of artillery tractor Roots Carrier. The pilot had sat in front of the hull and the two-seater turret accomodated the commander and the gunner. The engine was placed at the back of the vehicle. The shielding was 15 mm maximum and the engine (gasoline) was Rootes of 6 cylinders developing 90 hp to 3200 rpm. Humber could reach the 73 km/h on road.In North Africa, Humbers were first used by the 11th Hussars and 12th Lancers; later in that theater, several other AC regiments and the RAF Regiment also received them. In the ETO, Humbers were generally found in the squadron and regimental HQs of AC regiments, as well as in the various HQ units of other armored formations. In the PTO, Humber IV were used by the 1st Indian Light Cavalry Regiment. From late 1942, Humber AC were most often employed in the recce regiments of infantry divisions, in which a scout troop typically comprised one Humber AC as the troop HQ, a recce section of two car-patrols and two carrier sections containing a total of seven Carriers. With some 5,300 of all Marks produced, Humbers were numerically the most important British-built AC of WW2. A total of three Humber armoured cars were listed as being used in the 1st and 2nd Squadrons of the 1st Regiment de Marche de Spahis Marocains in January 1943.

[asl3d]

LLV 17. M8 T37LL Greyhound AC

Of all models developped by the Americans during the Second World War, few were used to the combat within the units of reconnaissance of US Army: M8 Greyhound Armored Car, M20 Utility Car and the M3A1 Scout Car. This vehicle was to be fast, to be equipped with 6 driving wheels, to be equipped with a discrete silhouette, to have cross-country capacities and to be armed with the anti-tank gun of 37 mm. Its weight was to be also weak and it was to be convertible in carrier of mortar, transport of ammunition or anti-aircraft vehicle. M8 started production in March 1943 and was used for the first time in Italy in September 1943. It replaced quickly the old M3A1 Scout Car in the reconnaissance missions because of its cross-country capacities and its higher fire power. It was incorpored in the units of reconnaissance of the Cavalry. However, its employment in Italy was rather limited because of confined nature of engagements and their hardness, few favourable to a vehicle little armoured and designed for missions in-depth enabling it to use its speed. After the landing in Normandy in June 1944 and to have put the Norman bocage behind them, the Allies laid out of all space necessary to use their M8 in an optimum way. Each section was made up of 3 vehicles. They were used jointly with Jeeps. The armament and the shielding of M8 did not enable it to engage the enemy tanks but the gun of 37 mm proved its utility against the enemy infantry and the light vehicles. From late 1943, each mechanized cavalry recon platoon was authorized one section of three M8, while each TD battalion was authorized 2-6 M8. M8 were used in Free French tank, armored infantry and armored recon battalions. To fully equip these units would have required about 140 M8.

[asl3d]

LLV 18. M7 B105 Priest SPA

The requirement for a self-propelled howitzer with mobility equal to that of the tanks it would support was met by modifying the M3 Medium Tank to carry a 105mm howitzer in an open-top non-turreted fighting compartment. It was standardized as the M7 Howitzer Motor Carriage, and 3,490 were built. Another 826 were built based on the M4A3 Medium Tank and designated the M7B1 HMC. The M7 offered an appreciable mobility to the 105 mm field howitzer. The standard use was to make fire into battery (section of M7) since the back lines to ram the enemy positions as a battery of standard howitzers would do it. The crew was composed of 7 men: the driver sitting in the front-left corner of the hull, the commander and the 5 gun crewmen installed in the compartment of combat. The inclined nose of M24 was preserved just as it is, safe forthe machine-gun assembled on ball which was removed. The armament consisted of an howitzer of 105 mm M4 assembled on M5 mounting assembled in front of the compartment of combat a little shifted on the right and a machine-gun of 12.7 mm installed on a cupola of shooting located at the right side of the principal weapon. The Americans used M7 on all fronts: North Africa, Italy, Western Europe and the Pacific. The M7 HMC first saw combat with U.S. forces in Tunisia. The HQ company of an armored infantry battalion contained an assault gun platoon of three M7 HMC (instead of M8 HMC). Excluding those shipped to the British, 179 M7 HMC were Lend-Leased. It is quite possible that all were sent to the Free French, who used them in the armored artillery battalions of their three Division Blindée. (As per the U.S. table of organization, each such division would have required 54 M7.)

[asl3d]

LLV 19. T30 Bo B75* AG ht

US Ordnance Department ordered at the end of 1941, the development of a conversion of M3 Halftrack armed with the howitzer of 75 mm M1A1 while waiting for the development of an entirely tracked model. It was referred to as an assault gun, and consisted of an M3 Halftrack carrying a 75mm pack howitzer. On these machines howitzer was assembled same manner as the gun of 75 mm, just behind the seats of the drivers. Howitzer M1A1 could swivel of 22.5° on each side and had an elevation of 49.5° and a depression of 9°. It was 6.28 m long, 2.22 m wide, 2.51 m and high, and weighed 10.3 short tons. The vehicle had a fuel capacity of 230 l. It had a range of 240 km and had a speed of 64 km/h, and was powered by a White 160AX, 147 hp, 6,330 cc, six-cylinder, gasoline engine. The T30's main armament was a short barreled 75 mm pack howitzer. The 75 mm Pack Howitzer M1 as mounted could depress nine degrees, elevate 50 degrees, and traverse 22.5 degrees to each side. The vehicle had stowage for sixty rounds of 75 mm ammunition and, although it was not designed for anti-tank use, it had a high explosive anti-tank shell that could penetrate 76 mm of armor. The gun shield had 9.5 mm thick armor, designed to stop a .30 cal (7.62 mm) bullet from 230 m away. Most infantry divisions in the North African Campaign deployed a "cannon company" equipped with six T30s and two 105 mm T19 HMCs. The Free French received more than 1,400 U.S. halftracks, built by the International Harvester Co. solely for Lend-Lease purposes. They were employed by the Free French in the same way as U.S. forces used them; e.g., each Division Blindée contained three armored infantry battalions fully equipped with halftracks. Eight T30 HMC were used by one of the armored recon battalions.