M2 Half-Track

French engineering inspired the design of this armored half-track vehicle--the Peugeot-Kégresse semi-tracked armoured car of the 1920s and Citroën-Kégresse P17 half-track truck of the 1930s. U.S. artillery units used the vehicle as a prime mover and ammunition carrier; armored infantry units used it for carrying machine gun squads; and armored reconnaissance units used it as an interim solution until more specialized vehicles could be fielded. Standard armament for the type was a pintle-mounted .50 (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun. It had a top speed of 45 mph. The longer M3 half-track evolved from the M2, but both units served together in all theaters throughout the war (including with the Soviet Union via Lend-Lease). American industry produced about 17,000 units from 1941 through early 1945.