M8 Tractor

Last updated
M8 High-Speed Tractor
M8 HST.jpg
M8E2 high speed tractor 1954
Type Artillery tractor
Place of originFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Service history
Used by US Army
JGSDF
Production history
Manufacturer Allis-Chalmers
Produced1950 to 1955
Specifications
Mass54,000 lb (24,000 kg)
Length22 ft (6.731 m)
Width10 ft 11 in (3.327 m)
Height10 ft (3.048 m)
Crew1 + 1

Armor none
Main
armament
1 x 0.5 inch (12.7 mm) anti-aircraft machine gun
Engine Continental AOS-895-3 six-cylinder air-cooled petrol engine
863 hp (644 kW)
Power/weight34.60 hp/tonnes
Operational
range
180 miles (290 km)
Maximum speed 40 mph (64 km/h)

The M8 High-Speed Tractor was an artillery tractor used by the US Army and Marine Corps from 1950.

Contents

Construction

The M8 is a full-track tractor based on the chassis of the M41 Walker Bulldog light tank. It was used to tow cargo trailers and artillery such as the Skysweeper 75 mm anti-aircraft gun and the M59 Long Tom gun. The basic M8 variant could be quickly adapted for carrying projectiles and charges. Unusually for a tractor, the M8's engine was located at the front of the cab. Some M8s were equipped with a hydraulic M5 dozer blade.

History

The M8 was developed following the failure of the T33 cargo-carrier, which was based on the M24 Chaffee light tank chassis. The new, standardized M8 was produced between 1950 and 1955.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armoured fighting vehicle</span> Combat vehicle with both armament and armour

An armoured fighting vehicle or armored fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, assault guns, self-propelled artilleries, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), and armoured personnel carriers (APC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assault gun</span> Class of self-propelled artillery

An assault gun is a type of self-propelled artillery which uses an infantry support gun mounted on a motorized chassis, normally an armored fighting vehicle, which are designed to provide direct fire support for infantry attacks, especially against other infantry or fortified positions. Assault guns were pioneered by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany during the 1930s, initially being self-propelled guns with direct fire in mind, with Germany introducing the first purpose-built assault gun, the Sturmgeschütz III, in 1940.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon</span> Mobile vehicle with a dedicated anti-aircraft capability

An anti-aircraft vehicle, also known as a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) or self-propelled air defense system (SPAD), is a mobile vehicle with a dedicated anti-aircraft capability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self-propelled artillery</span> Artillery mounted on a vehicle for mobility and protection

Self-propelled artillery is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mortar, and self-propelled rocket artillery. They are high mobility vehicles, usually based on continuous tracks carrying either a large field gun, howitzer, mortar, or some form of rocket/missile launcher. They are usually used for long-range indirect bombardment support on the battlefield.

This page details tank production by the United States of America during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artillery tractor</span> Specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces

An artillery tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, is a specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights and calibres. It may be wheeled, tracked, or half-tracked.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3-inch gun M1918</span> Anti-Aircraft Gun

The 3-inch gun M1918 was a United States 3-inch anti-aircraft gun that entered service in 1918 and served until it was largely superseded by the 3-inch anti-aircraft gun M3 in 1930, though the M1918 remained with some National Guard units until early in World War II. The M3 was subsequently replaced by the M1 90mm AA gun early in World War II, primarily during 1942. The M3 3" gun was later adapted for the anti-tank role, serving as the main armament of the M10 tank destroyer during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy armoured car</span> Weapon

The Guy Armoured Car was a British armoured car produced in limited numbers during Second World War. The car saw limited action during the Battle of France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M40 Gun Motor Carriage</span> Self-propelled artillery

The 155 mm Gun Motor Carriage M40 was an American self-propelled artillery vehicle built on a widened and lengthened Medium Tank M4A3 chassis, but with a Continental engine and with HVSS, which was introduced at the end of the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorraine 37L</span> French tracked carrier

The Lorraine 37L or Tracteur de ravitaillement pour chars 1937 L, is a light tracked armoured vehicle developed by the Lorraine company during the interwar period or interbellum, before the Second World War, to an April 1936 French Army requirement for a fully armoured munition and fuel supply carrier to be used by tank units for front line resupply. A prototype was built in 1937 and production started in 1939. In this period, two armoured personnel carriers and a tank destroyer project were also based on its chassis. Mainly equipping the larger mechanised units of the French Infantry arm, the type was extensively employed during the Battle of France in 1940. After the defeat of France, clandestine manufacture was continued in Vichy France, culminating in a small AFV production after the liberation and bringing the total production to about 630 in 1945. Germany used captured vehicles in their original role of carrier and later, finding the suspension system to be particularly reliable, rebuilt many into tank destroyers of the Marder I type or into self-propelled artillery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howitzer Motor Carriage M8</span> WW2 US self-propelled gun

The 75 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M8 was a self-propelled howitzer vehicle of the United States in use during World War II. It was developed on the chassis of the M5 Stuart tank and was equipped with a M116 howitzer in an M7 mount.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M116 howitzer</span> American pack howitzer

The 75mm Pack Howitzer M1 was a pack howitzer artillery piece used by the United States. Designed to be moved across difficult terrain, gun and carriage could be broken down into several pieces to be carried by pack animals.

<i>Raupenschlepper Ost</i> German light tracked vehicle

Raupenschlepper Ost was a fully tracked, lightweight vehicle used by the Wehrmacht in World War II. It was conceived in response to the poor performance of wheeled and half-tracked vehicles in the mud and snow during the Wehrmacht's first autumn and winter on the Soviet Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4.5-inch gun M1</span> Field gun

The 4.5 inch gun M1 was a field gun developed in the United States in the beginning of World War II. It shared the same carriage with the 155mm Howitzer M1 and fired the same ammunition as the British BL 4.5 inch Medium Field Gun. Beginning in 1944, the weapon was used by the U.S. Army as corps-level artillery; with the end of hostilities, it was declared obsolete.

References