M2 (Light Tank, M2)

History of the M2 (light tank, M2)

"Armored vehicles" received a baptism of firepower during the First World War as hulking diamond-shaped tracked large vehicles that hobbled around potholes on battlefields. At the time they were called "landing ships" and few realized their enormous war potential.

It was the British who actually invented the armored fighter, and the armies of other countries soon followed suit. During the two world wars after World War I and before World War II, tanks underwent a development that led to the death of these ancient diamond-shaped beasts.

While the French had international success with the wartime Renault FT-17, the British deployed their popular Vickers 6-ton system. These two tanks later influenced the design of several light tanks around the world, including those that appeared in Italy, the Soviet Union and the United States.

M2 was born as T2E1

In 1935, the U.S. Army commissioned Rock Island Arsenal to develop a prototype of a new light tank, later known as the "Light Tank T2E1". The T2E1 was the culmination of several early attempts - notably the "T1" and "T2" prototypes - which were more akin to the advancement of the British Vickers 6-ton series. As a light tank, the T2E1 is fairly compact and relatively light by modern standards.

It has a one-man turret armed with a .50 caliber heavy machine gun. The vehicle is suspended on a conventional track system consisting of a front drive sprocket and a rear track idler and four wheels on two bogies.

Like other tanks of the time, the vehicle had a pronounced side profile due to its raised hull structure.

Light tanks as combat vehicles were a solid design choice for Americans (and others) at the time. The catastrophic effects of the economic collapse caused by the collapse of the world economy (the Great Depression) have left lasting scars on military procurement around the world. As a result, many armed forces have "should" develop (or purchase) light armor systems compared to more complex and expensive medium and heavy systems.

The T2E1 is the perfect product for the U.S. Army's emerging armored units. Pure machine gun weapons were also standard equipment at the time.

M2A1

The T2E1 was adopted by the US Army as the "M2" or more formally the "Light Tank M2". The first production models in 1935 were called "M2A1" and began to follow a rather short series of variants. However, after only 10 prototypes were delivered, the army changed their initial vision for the tank and called for a design with no less than two machine guns on two separate turrets.

The "multi-turret" concept proved to be very popular at the time, especially in Europe, where the idea of ??attacking multiple enemies at once was accepted as a solid doctrine. In practice, this concept quickly proved cumbersome for vehicle commanders, and over time the concept was eventually abandoned during World War II - the tank was moved to a multi-person, single-turret layout.

M2A2 - "Mae Sai"

With this in mind, Rock Island Arsenal responded with a revised M2 design, now equipped with the requisite twin turret layout, with the second turret deployed a .30 Browning M1919 machine gun to match the original .50 caliber Brown Ning to complement the main tower. Due to the nature of the "twin turret" design, US Army personnel dubbed the facelifted M2 "Mae West," referring to the sex symbol/actress of the era.

The production designation was subsequently changed to "M2A2" to indicate the above changes, which also began to appear in 1935.

Spanish Civil War, the enemy's proving ground

On July 17, 1936, the Spanish Civil War began on the Iberian Peninsula, and the Republican Army united against the Nationalist allies. The bloody struggle will spread across the country in three years, killing some 500,000 people and displacing 450,000.

For interested parties, war is an opportunity to fulfill political obligations or explain new tactics using the latest technology available. This was most clearly illustrated by Adolf Hitler's Germany, which sided with the nationalists (as did Italy and Portugal) and displayed their latest weapons in the horrific "Blitzkrieg" vanguard raids of WWII and tactics.

The first modern tanks were tested in the Spanish conflict, most notably the Soviet T-26 and BT series fast tanks, and the German Panzer I. Other players included several light tanks of Italian origin and others built in years dating back to 1916, dating back to the First World War. The Spanish battlefield continued to demonstrate the limited usefulness of pure machine gun tanks in modern warfare, a fact that soon reached the hands of American war planners far beyond the ocean.

M2A3

In 1938, the M2A2 was upgraded to the new M2A3 standard, retaining the dual turret layout but including improved armor protection as well as improved suspension for better off-road performance. The brand has produced a total of 72 examples, making it the definitive brand for the collection to date.

M2A4

Having lived through the experience of the Spanish Civil War, and soon half of Europe fell into the hands of the advancing Germans (including the vaunted French army and their advanced tanks), the US Army commissioned a revised version of the M2A3 adding a new Cannon - Arms a tower. The weapon of choice became the 37mm "Gun M5" with 103 projectiles to be stored above the tank. In addition to new weapons and turrets, armor protection has been upgraded to 25mm, while the powertrain has been overhauled. Infantry suppression is no less than 4 times. 30-06 Browning M19191A4 series machine gun, crew received 8,470 rounds.

These machine guns are located around the vehicle, including one in the bow, the others on the sides of the front hull, and one can be mounted on the spigot outside the rear of the turret.

This new production brand became "M2A4" and proved to be the pinnacle of the entire M2 lineup, with approximately 375 examples delivered in total. Power is provided by a Continental W-670-9A 7-cylinder 245-horsepower engine with a top speed of 36 mph and a range of 200 miles. Armor thickness was kept at a maximum of 25mm, especially on the front hull and turret fairing, for obvious reasons.

The car was driven by four people: the vehicle commander (who unfortunately also served as the gunner), the driver, the dedicated ammunition handler (loader) and the "passenger".

The United States entered the war, and the M2 influenced the design of the M3

In December 1941, Imperial Japan attacked the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, officially beginning America's involvement in World War II. By this time, the M2 series was already a superior weapon by European standards, eventually being replaced by the more powerful M3 Stewart light tank on the American production line in March 1941. Nonetheless, the M2 was still available in some quantity and played a role in defeating most light tanks in the Pacific Rim. Class tank of the Imperial Japanese Army. In fact, the newer M3 Stuart line does owe a lot to the M2 before it, and both share a similar look in overall form and function.

Concepts attempted in the M2 series made their way into the refined M3 and over time into the M5 Stuart series. Therefore, the importance of the M2 in American tank warfare during World War II cannot be ignored.

M2 at war

When the war finally came to America, the previous M2 brands were all used in tanker training roles, and only the M2A4 brand was in the war. During Operation Guadalcanal (August 1942-February 1943) they fought with the 1st US Tank Battalion. The only other major operator of the vehicle is the British, who previously ordered 100 systems to supplement their dwindling supply.

However, after only 36 M2 prototypes arrived, the order was escalated to the Stuart tank class. The British Army M2 is thought to have been used in rage during the Burma campaign.

M2A4, Patton and DTC

Prominent U.S. Army General George S. Patton is known for using the M2A4 as his personal tank during courses at the Desert Training Center (DTC).

Located in the Mojave Desert, California/Arizona, DTC was established in 1942 to train a new generation of American tankers on the methods of modern warfare, especially the upcoming 1943 North African campaign following Operation Torch. login. Operation Torch was the first U.S.-British landing attack of the war to threaten German expansion on the African continent.

The force also included members of the Canadian, Dutch and Free French armies.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

103x37mm bullet (M2A4)

8,470x7.72mm Ammo (M2A4)

Changes