M8 Greyhound (Light Armored Car M8)

History of the M8 Greyhound (M8 Light Armored Vehicle)

One of the unsung American heroes of World War II was the venerable M8 Greyhound series of wheeled armoured personnel carriers. Thousands of units were built throughout the war years, and this type proved to be excellent on the battlefield.

Despite some inherent limitations of her design, she is a dependable and tough thoroughbred. The crew appreciated the available combat space, plenty of firepower when fighting enemy infantry and light vehicles, and excellent off-road performance with six tired vehicles.

Few American tanks are as important and oft-forgotten as the M8 Greyhound series - the hero of the war is almost always the M4 Sherman - the enterprising attitude of the M8 crew and its ubiquitous design make it a quality second to none.

As wars swept across Europe in the early 1940s, American war planners were very eager to see the development of theaters, especially as they pertained to ongoing ground wars. The Nazi German army cleverly used its mechanized forces with air support and paratroopers "in a flash" and conquered half of Europe in the process. Key to its success are light reconnaissance brigades, which typically precede the main force, gathering intelligence and reconnaissance locations, and transmitting relevant mission information back to headquarters in preparation for an attack.

Therefore, when developing the specifications for their own light armored reconnaissance vehicle, the Americans took into account these characteristics and the tactics associated with them, in order to concretize a new reconnaissance vehicle.

In October 1941, the U.S. Army proposed formal specifications for the construction of a new armored vehicle with a wheeled chassis and a 37mm main gun armament. Four proposals were subsequently received, two of which were selected for further development - one from Chrysler (a Fargo division) and one from rival automaker Ford. Both designs use a wheeled 6x6 chassis with a 37mm main gun. Chrysler's attempt was built on a 6x6 truck chassis, which the U.S.

Army named the "37mm GMC T23". Dubbed the "37mm Gun Motor Carriage T22," the Ford concept car features a hull-mounted machine gun.

Ultimately, the Ford T22 proposal prevailed, although the Army requested several design changes before mass production. These include modifications to the front hull hatches for the driver and front passenger, as well as armored wheel wells on the sides. The machine gun mounted on the hull was completely removed. The resulting changes produced the T22E2 pilot vehicle, and the official production designation became the M8 Light Armored Vehicle in May 1942. Initial production called for 5,000 cars, then as demand for the vehicle increased on the battlefield in Europe and beyond, that total increased to 6,000.

Over time, the total was increased to 5,000 units, and the first M8 rolled off the Ford assembly line in March 1943. By November of this year, more than 1,000 vehicles had been delivered to the U.S. Army.

Like other American armored vehicles (and some aircraft) of the war, the M8 was originally used in the hands of the British Army, and like other armored systems before it, it was they who gave the M8 the nickname "Greyhound" due to its form and function. The British - using recent combat experience - were quick to eschew the type's poorly protected underbelly, finding their M8 armor too thin for the role.

In any case, the type was widely used and passed on to Commonwealth allies in Australia and Canada.

Externally, the M8 Greyhound became one of the most recognizable vehicles of the entire war. A key design feature is its six wheels, three mounted on one side of the vehicle, split into a pair of front and two rear axles. The sloping plates are well angled for basic point-defense ballistic protection, while the sides of the vehicle are near-vertical fairings and the upper parts of the wheels (optional) are covered in thin armor.

Behind the glacis panel are two articulated hatches for the driver (sitting on the left and a passenger (sitting on the right)). The top of the hull is flat and a circular open turret system is mounted on it. The turret is designed amidships and is manually mounted to provide a 360 degree arc of fire when manually traversed.

Antennas were mounted forward of the rear engine compartment and behind the turret turret along the top edge of the turret to facilitate communications. Crew of four including driver, vehicle commander, gunner and loader/MG - gunner/radio operator Armor protection ranges from 0.1" to 0.7", various fairings covering the vehicle are mounted on thin panels in the front corners of the vehicle Mirrors on extension brackets help the driver in reversing Headlights in front of each front fuselage hatch for basic environmental protection in a steel cage According to

The main armament of the M8 series became the M6 ??L/56 bolt-action 37mm gun, firing either Armor Penetrating (AP) or High Explosive (HE) rounds. Gun loading is manual and approximately 80 rounds of 37mm ammunition are stored on board. The gun can deal with most enemy light armoured vehicles and helps to disperse enemy massings. This weapon is powered by a .Browning M1919A4 30 caliber coaxial machine gun (mounted to the right of the main gun and operated by the layer) for anti-infantry use. Optionally a .50 caliber Browning M2HB can be mounted on a circular track at the rear of the turret for anti-aircraft purposes.

Greyhounds held about 1,500 rounds of .30 caliber ammo and up to 400 rounds. 50 caliber ammunition.

Power for the M8 series is provided by a water-cooled Hercules JXD 6-cylinder 110 hp petrol engine mounted in the rear of the fuselage. The powerplant supplies power to all three axles, giving the vehicle a top speed of 56 mph in ideal conditions, albeit in poor off-road conditions. Range is within 350 miles, and the suspension is leaf spring.

All in all, the M8 weighs between 7.8 and 8.5 tons and has a lightweight design with a barrel length of over 16 feet, a width of over 8 feet and a height of nearly 7.5 feet. Its design is such that it provides a low stance for enemy gunners and is relatively easy to hide in tall bushes etc.

In use, the M8 proved its robustness, adaptability and reliability in the field. The engine and drivetrain turned out to be a good match, and the rollers handled excellentlyespecially off-road. However, this type of armor was light and early production forms lacked significant ground protection, making the M8 very vulnerable to mines, improvised bombs or anti-tank weapons. In response, crews (as with the M4 Sherman medium tank) began attaching sandbags to the vehicle floor to absorb these blasts, and it was not uncommon for sandbags or similar obstacles to be attached to the exterior of the vehicle. The open-air turret also didn't help the M8 initially attract crews.

This design detail exposes the turret crew to unnecessary enemy fire or artillery jets and adverse weather conditions. The turrets are also moved manually, making quick-reaction maneuvers nearly impossible when attacking enemy targets in the heat of battle.

In addition to the standard and well-known family models of armored reconnaissance vehicles, the "M20" variant also exists. The M20 was nothing more than the M8 with its turret system completely removed to create an open-air fighting compartment. Defense will be handled by a single machine gun along the flexible ring. Benches can be installed in cubicle areas for additional staff, or empty to carry supplies back and forth.

The M20 can then be used as a command and liaison vehicle, allowing it to be used as a rapid personnel carrier. It was originally designated the M10 in 1943 to avoid confusion with the existing M10 artillery motor transporter tank destroyer, but the name was reverted to the M20 as the "M20 Armored Utility Vehicle".

The M20 proved to be a battlefield concept in its own right, and by the end of the war, its output was comparable to the basic M8 reconnaissance vehicle.

Ford was the main defense supplier for all M8 and M20 production cars, with around 15,458 produced by 1945. 11,667 were M8 models and 3,791 were M20s, making the Greyhound the most numerous of all American armored reconnaissance vehicles available during the war. Production ceased in April 1945.

The M8 Greyhound prevailed in the post-war world, thanks to both its strong performance in war and its "number advantage" as it spawned a plethora of examples. Surprisingly, some serviceable M8s were still in service in the second half of the century, making the M8 one of the longest-serving military vehicles in history.

In addition to combat operations in World War II, the M8 was used in the Korean War (1950-1953).

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

80x30mm ammo

400 x 12.7mm ammo

1,500 x 7.62mm ammo

Changes