United States M3 half tracked armored personnel carrier

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The origin of history

US M3 half tracked armored personnel carrier

Armoured personnel carriers appeared about the same time as chariots. At the end of the First World War, the British launched the Mark IX tanks that were specially used to transport infantry. Since the cost of the tanks themselves is much higher than that of the trucks used at the time, some countries use the armored auto rights to double as a transport.
In the 1930s, many countries began to develop mechanized forces. In order to match the speed of the vehicles and their off-road ability, half-track vehicles and protective armor became the most common types. During the Second World War, the United States M3 half-track vehicle and the German SdKfz251 half-track vehicle are the most famous representatives. These vehicles have side armor to defend against small-calibre weapons and ammunition fragments, but lack top protection. It is most common to carry machine guns on the body.
In the 1920s, semi-crawler armored vehicles appeared to solve the problem of poor off-road capability and no armor protection when trucks were transported. The so-called half tracked armored vehicles are the armoured vehicles with the front part of the vehicle like a car and the rear part like a tractor. The rear crawler and suspension system plays a major role in promoting the operation and the main load-bearing function. The combination of the steering wheel and the drive track enables the half tracked armored personnel carrier to perform multiple tasks. The U.S. military’s M3 half-tracked armored personnel carrier is one of the most widely used combat vehicles in World War II. With the engine in front and three occupants in the middle, the crew room can be loaded with up to 12 soldiers, and can also be used to drag cannons or equipment. Tank artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, heavy artillery, and mortars are some of the other weapons.
From 1932 to 1940, the United States successively produced T-1, T-8, and T-14 half-track armored vehicles. Later, the T-14 was designated as an M2 half-track vehicle, mainly used as a reconnaissance vehicle and a tractor. The T-8 was modeled as an M3 half-track armored transport vehicle. These vehicles were widely used in World War II. After that, more than 10 countries and regions were equipped with American-made half-crawler armored vehicles. Between 1943 and 1944, together with the M3A3 and M4A4 tanks, the Chinese garrison in India also received a certain number of M3A1 half-crawler armored combat vehicles. This vehicle weighs 6.8 tons and has 3 crew members, 11 passengers and 1 counterweight. 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun and 2 7.62mm machine guns. In the war of liberation, the People's Liberation Army also had a small amount of seizures of the M3A1 half tracked armored combat vehicle.


Structural features

A German marching hand beside the wrecked M3

The half-track vehicle design is designed to address the shortcomings of both early track and wheel drive systems. Tracked vehicles have good off-road capability, but their payload size is limited. At the same time, the track life, especially in off-road environments, is relatively short, and the production cost is higher than that of wheeled vehicles. The life of the wheel is also higher than that of the track. At the same time, the weight that the wheeled vehicle can carry is high. However, the terrain that the vehicle that uses the wheel can pass through when the load is high is very limited, and the ability to walk in bad weather is far inferior to that of the tracked vehicle. .
During World War II, the peak period of the use of half tracked vehicles, such as Germany and the United States have produced a large number of half-track vehicles for transport or combat missions. The common point of these vehicles is the use of wheels in the front and the rear part of the crawler. Germany once tested the half-crawler vehicles in over-the-road type. In addition to enhancing off-road and load capacity, these half-track vehicles are approached by similarly large trucks, making it easier to find drivers.
In 1937, the United States adopted the M2 non-armored half tracked vehicle chassis and the M3A1 reconnaissance vehicle body to make the T7 vehicle. After the T7 vehicle was shaped, it was called the M2 half tracked vehicle. In 1939, the M3 half tracked vehicle was developed. The body of the car is slightly longer than that of the M2, so that it has greater bearing capacity. In 1940, Ardmore Motors, Diamond T Motors, and White Motors signed a contract for the production of a half-tracked vehicle with the Army. These vehicles use White's 160AX gasoline engine, Spicer's transmission and the Timken-Deroit axle. In order to further expand production, UW Harvester also produced the M9 and M5 half-track vehicles, which use many of the company's auto parts, but their performance is comparable to that of the M2 and M3 parts. By 1944, the United States had continuously produced 42,000 semi-track-type vehicles. In the Second World War, a large number of allied forces were equipped. In the 1967 and 1973 wars, Israel also made heavy use of half-track vehicles. The power of its current half-track vehicles has been converted into General Motors (GMC) 6V-53 diesel engines (128kW/2800r/min). Because of the shortcomings of half-track vehicles, the United States Army has replaced it with a full-crawler armored personnel carrier at the end of the 1940s.
The half tracked vehicle adopts a traditional overall layout with the engine at the front, three occupants centered and the crew room behind. In order to facilitate the vehicle to cross the trench, a round roller is installed in front of the car, and some vehicles use a winch with a pulling force of 44.5 kN instead.
All types of half-track vehicles use standard automotive components. The only difference is the engine. M2 and M3 and their variants use White's 160AX water-cooled gasoline engine, while M5 and M9 and their variants use the IWC's water-cooled gasoline engine. The front of the powerhouse is armored shutters that protect the radiator and can be operated in the cab.
Transmissions include mechanical 4-speed gearboxes, 2-speed gearboxes, cardan shafts, full-floating axle shafts, and automotive front and rear axles. The steering of the vehicle is steered with a steering wheel. With foot brake and hand brake.
The body is semi-open type and is made of rolled steel plates that are connected by screws. In front of the occupant's compartment is a windshield made of 12.7mm thick unbroken glass that can be removed during combat and the armored front window with two observation holes is lowered. The doors on both sides can be opened forward. The upper part of the side door has a viewing hole protected by a sliding cover. To expand the field of vision, the upper half of the door can be opened outward.

US M3 half tracked armored personnel carrier

There is a door to the right in the back of the passenger compartment. If necessary, a bow bracket and a canvas cover can be placed on the top of the passenger compartment. The front of the loading room is equipped with a machine gun holder, but different types of vehicles are equipped. The M2 and M2A1, M9 and M9A1 vehicles have two 12.7mm machine guns, M3 and M5 only have one 7.62mm machine gun, and the M3A1 and M5A1 each have one 7.62mm and 12.7mm machine gun.
The front track of the half-track vehicle adopts a multi-layered reinforced tire with built-in ballistic packing. Each of the two tracks has a driving wheel and an inducer with tensioning device. There are 8 small weight wheels. The driving force of the driving wheel is directly transmitted by the half shafts. Track suspension is a spiral spring linkage. Use non-slip plastic track. All kinds of half-track vehicles are capable of floating without water, and there are no three defense devices.


Model evolution

Various coating styles for M3 half-track vehicles

M2A1
M2---------------- M4 Type 81mm Self-propelled Mortar - M4A1
M13 multi-purpose gun
M21 type 81mm self-propelled mortar
M3----------------M3A1—M3A2
M16 multi-purpose gun
M15 Multi-purpose Gun - M15A1
M5A1—M5A2
M5----------------M14 multi-purpose gunner
M17 multi-purpose gun
M9----------------M9A1


Performance data

US M3 half tracked armored personnel carrier

10 crew members
Full weight 8890kg
Net weight 6940kg
Unit power 10.6kW/t
Car length
Roller 5.962m
Winch 6.137m
Car width 2.221m
Vehicle height 2.692m
The distance between the floor and the ground is 0.233m
Track distance
Before 1.637m
After 1.722m
Track width 305mm
Reaching distance 1.187m
Highway maximum speed 64km/h
Fuel Reserve 227L
The maximum length of the road is 280km
The wading depth is 0.812m
Grade 60%
Climbing vertical wall height 0.304m
engine
Production company White
Model 160AX
Type 6 cylinder inline gasoline engine

Chinese Expeditionary Army M3 in Myanmar

Power/speed 94kW/2800r/min
transmission
Production company Spicer
Type manual
Forward/Reverse 4/1
Transmission 2 speed
Clutch Type Single Dry
Suspension type
Front leaf spring
Rear scroll spring
Tire specifications 8.25×20
Brake type hydraulic
Weapons caliber / type / quantity 12.7mm / machine gun / 1
7.62mm/machine gun/1

US M3 half tracked armored personnel carrier

Ammunition Base
12.7mm bullets 700 hair
7.62mm bullets 7750 hair
Armor type / thickness / material
Body front homogeneous / 7mm/steel plate
Side Homogeneous / 7mm / Steel Plate
Front upper homogenizer / 12.7mm / steel plate
Top (Engine) Homogeneous / 7mm / Steel Plate
Rear homogeneity / 7mm / steel plate
Electrical system voltage 12V
Number of batteries / voltage 1 / 12V

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