M8 Greyhound

The combat car M8 Greyhound was a 6x6 armored car produced by the Ford Motor Company and was used by the Americans and British in Europe and in the Far East until the end of the war. The M8 was widely exported and in the UK it was known as Greyhound.

 

In July 1941 an order was issued to develop a new anti-tank vehicle to replace the M6. The application requested a 6x4 vehicle armed with a 37mm gun, a machine gun mounted on the tower and another mounted on the front. The shield should withstand shots from a .50 caliber and withstand shots from a .30 caliber machine gun on the sides.

 

Prototypes were made by Studebaker (T21), Ford (T22) and Chrysler (T23), all were similar in design and appearance. In April 1942, the T22 was chosen. Soon, it became clear that the 37mm gun would not be effective against German tanks, so the M8 was designed for reconnaissance missions.

 

Emissions of contracts and design enhancements delayed serial production until March 1943. Production ceased in June 1945 and a total of 8,523 units were produced. About 1,000 units were supplied to France, England and Brazil (for the Brazilian Expeditionary Force).

 

The crew consisted of four men and a commander that also acted as the main weapon recharger, a gunner, a driver and a radio operator. The driver and radio operator were in front of the vehicle while the commander and gunner were in the tower.

 

The vehicle carried 80 rounds of 37mm when equipped with only one radio. Vehicles equipped with two radios carried only 16 rounds of 37mm but some modifications were able to increase this number to 40. The Machine gun ammunition was around 1,500 rounds of .30 and 400 rounds of .50. M1 rifles were also charged for the crew, hand grenades and mines.

 

The first use of the M8 was in Italy in 1943. Later the vehicle was used against Japanese tanks, since they were vulnerable against its 37mm gun. The vehicle was considered fast, well armed and armored for reconnaissance missions. But the cavalry units complained of his off-road performance that was worse than M3A1, car that M8 replaced. In the mountainous terrain of Italy and in places with snow in northern Europe the M8 was restricted to roads, which were prejudicial to their recognition function.

 

The vehicle was very vulnerable to mines and extra armor kit was produced for him. Another problem is that sometimes it was used for fire support missions and were very vulnerable to German armaments. In 1943 the United States began to seek a replacement for the M8.