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).
This page details tank production by the United States of America during World War II.
The M3 Stuart/light tank M3, was an American light tank of World War II. An improved version of the tank entered service as the M5 in 1942 to be supplied to British and other Commonwealth forces under lend-lease prior to the entry of the U.S. into the war. Afterwards, it was used by U.S. and Allied forces until the end of the war.
The M8 light armored car is a 6×6 armored car produced by the Ford Motor Company during World War II. It was used from 1943 by United States and British forces in Europe and the Pacific until the end of the war. The vehicle was widely exported and as of 2024 still remained in service with some countries.
The M2 light tank, officially Light Tank, M2, was an American light tank of the interwar period which saw limited service during World War II. The most common model, the M2A4, was equipped with one 37 mm (1.5 in) M5 gun and five .30 cal M1919 Browning machine guns.
The T17E1 armored car was an American armored car manufactured during the Second World War. It saw service with British and other Commonwealth forces during the war under the name Staghound, but was never used on the front line by US forces. A number of other countries used the Staghound after the war; some vehicles continued to serve until the 1980s.
The Marmon–Herrington armoured car was a series of armoured vehicles that were produced in South Africa and adopted by the British Army during World War II. They were also issued to RAF armoured car companies, which seem never to have used them in action, making greater use of Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars and other types.
The M38 Wolfhound was a 6×6 US armored car produced in 1944 by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. It was designed as a replacement for the M8 Greyhound series, but the end of the war in 1945 led to the cancellation of the project after the completion of a handful of prototype vehicles.
The T18 Boarhound was an American heavy armored car produced in small numbers for the British Army during the Second World War.
The 37 mm gun M3 is the first dedicated anti-tank gun fielded by United States forces in numbers. Introduced in 1940, it became the standard anti-tank gun of the U.S. infantry with its size enabling it to be pulled by a jeep. However, the continuing improvement of German tanks quickly rendered the 37 mm ineffective and, by 1943, it was being gradually replaced in the European and Mediterranean theaters by the more powerful British-developed 57 mm gun M1. In the Pacific, where the Japanese tank threat was less significant, the M3 remained in service until the end of the war, but some 57mm guns were issued.
The medium tank T20, medium tank T22 and medium tank T23 were prototype medium tanks, developed by the United States Army during World War II. They were designed as successors to the M4 Sherman. The standard main weapon for production versions of these designs was to be the 76 mm gun M1.
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. The vehicle is also known by the nickname General Scott, or just Scott, which was originally assigned to the vehicle by the Ordnance Department in November 1944 for publicity purposes, such as in newspapers, but does not appear to have been used by troops in the field during the war.
The United States has produced tanks since their inception in World War I, up until the present day. While there were several American experiments in tank design, the first American tanks to see service were copies of French light tanks and a joint heavy tank design with the United Kingdom.
The M1 armored car was a four-wheel drive American armored car tested by the United States Army Ordnance Department in 1931 and briefly in 1932. It was built by James Cunningham, Son and Company of Rochester, New York, and during testing demarcated as the Model T4.
The T23 armored car was an entry from the Fargo Division Chrysler for a new fast tank destroyer to replace the M6 37mm gun motor carriage in July 1941 initiated by the U.S. Army Ordnance Department. Required specification was to be able to withstand fire from a .50 in (12.7 mm) machine gun to the front and side from a .30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun. Although Dwight D. Eisenhower's headquarters were in favor, the design was rejected in favor of the Ford T22.
