Full Name | M8 Light Armored Car |
Class | Light Vehicle |
Movement | 8 |
Armor Value | 1 |
Vs Infantry (RNG / FPR) | 5/5 |
Vs Vehicle (RNG / FPR) | 5/4 |
Traits | |
Period | 1943-1945 |
Theaters of Service |
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This 6×6 armored car had superb on-road mobility (but only marginal off-road mobility) and a top speed of 55 mph. It excelled in supporting advancing Allied armored columns. The type was armed with a 37 mm Gun M6 (L/56.6) and .50 caliber coaxial machine gun mounted in a closed, fully-rotating turret, plus a .30 caliber machine gun in the front hull. This family of 37 mm guns could fire both anti-tank and anti-personnel rounds (including canister). A crew of four operated the vehicle. The Ford Motor Company produced 8,523 units between early 1943 and mid-1945. The U.S. Army used it in Italy, Europe, and the Pacific, in the role of basic command and communication combat vehicle of the U.S. Cavalry Reconnaissance Troops. After the war, the U.S. exported the type to many nations, with some examples remaining in service into the first decade of the twenty-first century.