View source for M2 half-track car

{{more footnotes needed|date=January 2013}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox weapon
|name=M2 half-track
| image= M2-Halftrack.jpg
| image_size = 300
|caption=US
|origin=United States
|type=[[Half-track]] [[artillery tractor]]/reconnaissance vehicle
|used_by=See ''[[#Former operators|Former operators]]''
|designer=[[Firestone Tire and Rubber Company|Firestone Defense Division]]
|is_vehicle=yes
<!-- Service history -->
| service            =
| wars               = [[World War II]]<br>[[First Indochina War]]<br>[[Cambodian Civil War]]<br>[[Nicaraguan Revolution]]
|length={{convert|5.96|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|width={{convert|2.2|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|height={{convert|2.26|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|weight=9 metric tons
|crew=2
|passengers=7
|suspension=Wheeled front axle, rear track
|speed={{convert|45|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}<ref name="lonesentry1">{{citation |url=http://lonesentry.com/manuals/tm-9-2800-military-vehicles/half-track-m2a1.html |via=Lone Sentry |title= Car, Half-Track, M2A1 (TM 9-2800: Standard Military Motor Vehicles) |publisher=U.S. War Department |date=September 1, 1943  |accessdate=25 September 2013}}</ref>
|vehicle_range={{convert|220|mi|km|abbr=on}} (average)<ref name="lonesentry1"/>
|primary_armament=0.5&nbsp;inch [[M2 Browning]] heavy machine gun
|secondary_armament=14 mines, 10 hand grenades<ref name="lonesentry1"/>
|armour=6–12&nbsp;mm
|engine={{convert|386|cid|L|abbr=on}} White 160AX [[Straight six engine|inline six]]<ref name="lonesentry1"/>
|engine_power={{convert|148|hp|kW PS|abbr=on}}<ref name="lonesentry1"/>
|pw_ratio=
}}

The '''M2 half-track car''' was an armored [[half-track]] produced by the United States during [[World War II]]. Its design drew upon half-tracks imported from France in the 1930s, employing standard components supplied by U.S. truck manufacturers to speed production and reduce costs. The concept was designed, and the pilot models manufactured by the [[Firestone Tire and Rubber Company]] (before the prototype was officially labeled M2.)<ref>Green, p.157</ref> Production by the [[White Motor Company]] began in 1940 and was expanded to include [[Autocar Company|Autocar]].

The M2 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.a0011525615&seq=28 |title= M2 |date=1943-01-01|publisher= 	Washington, D.C. : War Department |access-date=2025-05-03}}</ref> was initially intended for use as an [[artillery tractor]], but also found use with reconnaissance units. [[International Harvester Company]] built the [[M9 half-track]], a variant of their M5 half track, to fulfill the same purpose. It saw wide use in World War II, chiefly by the United States, but also by its allies. A few legacy units were used in the [[Nicaraguan Revolution]].

==History==
The concept of a half-track vehicle had been evaluated by the US Army Ordnance Department using [[Kégresse track|Citroën-Kégresse]] vehicles.

The Cavalry branch of the US Army found that their wheeled armored scout cars had trouble in wet terrain due to their high ground pressure.

In 1938, the [[White Motor Company]] took the Timken rear bogie assembly from a T9 half-track truck and added it to an [[M3 Scout Car|M3 scout car]], creating the T7 half-track car.<ref>Zaloga p4</ref> This vehicle was significantly underpowered. When a further requirement came down from US Army artillery units in 1939 for a prime mover to be used as an [[artillery tractor]], a vehicle with an uprated engine was developed, which was designated the half-track scout car T14.

By 1940, the vehicle had been standardized as the M2 half-track car. The M2 design was recognized as having the potential for use by mechanized infantry, which spawned the larger-bodied [[M3 Half Track|M3 half-track]]. Both the M2 and M3 were ordered into production in late 1940, with M2 contracts let to [[Autocar Company|Autocar]], White and Diamond T. The first vehicles were received by the Army in 1941.

The M2 was supplied to armored artillery units as the prime mover and ammunition carrier for the [[M2 howitzer|105mm howitzer]], and to armored infantry units for carrying machine gun squads. It was also issued to armored reconnaissance units<ref>Zaloga p4-5</ref> as an interim solution until more specialized vehicles could be fielded.

Between 1942 and 1943, both the M2 and M3 would receive a number of modifications to the drive train, engine, and stowage, among other upgrades.

Total production of M2 and derivatives by White was about 13,500 units. To meet the needs of [[Lend-Lease]] to the Allies, the [[International Harvester]] Company produced 3,500 units of the [[M9 Half-track|M9]]. The M9 was the same as the IH-produced M5 but with different internal stowage and apart from using IH mechanical components the M9 was longer than the M2.

==Use==
The first M2s were fielded in 1941, and would be used in the Philippines, [[North Africa campaign|North Africa]], and Europe by the U.S. Army, and around the Pacific by the [[United States Marine Corps|Marines]]. About 800&nbsp;M2 and M9 half-tracks were sent to the [[Soviet Union]]. Many remaining vehicles initially destined for Lend-Lease were transferred to other U.S. allies, primarily in South America. These vehicles often received a number of upgrades designed at extending service life. The Nicaraguan [[National Guard (Nicaragua)|National Guard]] received 10&nbsp;M2s in 1942, which saw heavy action during the 1978-79 [[Nicaraguan Revolution]]. The [[Argentine Army]] retired its last upgraded M9 in 2006 and donated them to Bolivia.

In 1947, the Finnish heavy vehicle producer [[Vanajan Autotehdas]] bought 425 M2 half-track vehicles from the Western Allied surplus stocks located in France and Germany. The vehicles were delivered without armor.<ref name="YVSP: s.40-41">Blomberg: ''Teloilla tai pyörillä.'' p. 40–41.</ref> Some 359 units were converted into field and forest clearing vehicles, some were scrapped for parts and 60 units were equipped with conventional rear axles and converted into 4×4 or 4×2 trucks. They were badged as ''Vanaja VaWh''. The last units were sold in 1952.<ref name="YVSP: s.49-50">Blomberg: ''Vihdoinkin kuivilla.'' p. 49–50.</ref>

== Former operators ==
* {{flag|Argentina}}{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
* {{flag|Belgium}}{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
* {{flag|Brazil}}{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
* {{flag|Cambodia}}{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
* {{flag|Chile}}{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
*{{Flag|Czechoslovakia}}{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
*{{Flag|Finland}}{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
*{{Flag|France}} - used during the [[First Indochina War]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Vietnam Tracks: Armor in Battle 1945–75 <!-- |series=General Military -->|first=Simon|last=Dunstan|publisher=Osprey |edition=Presidio |year=1982|isbn=0-89141-171-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/vietnamtracksarm00duns/page/24 24-25]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/vietnamtracksarm00duns/page/24}}</ref>
*{{Flag|Greece}}{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
*{{flag|Israel}}<ref>Zaloga, ''M3 Half-track'' <!--New Vanguard 11--> p24</ref>
*{{Flag|Mexico}}{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
*{{Flag|Netherlands}}{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
*{{Flag|Nicaragua}} – 10 M2s in service with the [[National Guard (Nicaragua)|National Guard of Nicaragua]] in 1979.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
*{{Flag|Paraguay}} – 23 still in service.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
*{{Flag|Philippines|1936}}{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
*{{Flag|Poland}}{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
*{{Flag|Portugal}}{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
*{{Flag|South Vietnam}}{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
*{{Flag|Soviet Union}}{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
*{{Flag|United Kingdom}}{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
*{{Flag|United States|1912}}

[[File:Halftrack-fort-benning-1.jpg|right|thumb|M2 at Fort Benning, Georgia, 1942. Note the shorter hull compared to the M3s (left and background) and hinged doors of ammunition compartments in the side armor.]]

== Variants ==
[[File:Halftrack-production-4.jpg|right|thumb|Partly finished M2s travel along an assembly line.]]

===Prime mover/scout vehicle===
;M2
:White half-track with White 160AX engine. Fitted with a [[skate rail]] mount, featuring an M2HB machine gun.
;M2E6/M2A1 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.a0011525615&seq=30 |title= M2A1 |date=1943-01-01|publisher= 	Washington, D.C. : War Department |access-date=2025-05-03}}</ref>
:Any vehicle with the improved M49 machine gun ring mount over the right hand front seat. Three fixed pintle mounts for 0.30 machine guns were often fitted at the unit level in the field.

;[[M9 half-track|M9]]
:[[International Harvester]] built half-track, developed to complement the M2 for Lend-Lease, but using the large hull of the M5. Also, it did not feature the rear access doors, and is outwardly very similar to the M5, but with a different internal configuration. The M9A1 was an M9 with the M49 machine gun mount and a rear door.

===Self-propelled guns===
;M4/M4A1 81mm MMC
:M2 based motor mortar carriage equipped with the 81&nbsp;mm [[M1 mortar]]. The mortar was intended to be fired dismounted from the vehicle, but could be fired in an emergency to the rear from a base inside the vehicle. The A1 modification allowed the weapon to be fixed facing forward and fired from within the vehicle.
;M2 w/ M3 37&nbsp;mm
:Mechanized infantry units in the US Army were supposed to receive the [[M6 gun motor carriage]], based on Dodge light trucks. With the overall failure in combat of these vehicles, some units removed the M3 37&nbsp;mm guns and their assemblies and mounted them on M2 half-track cars.

===Anti-aircraft variants===
; Multiple gun motor carriage T1E1
:M2 based mobile anti-aircraft gun featuring an open rear with a Bendix mount featuring two .50&nbsp;inch (12.7&nbsp;mm) M2 machine guns. The Bendix mount proved to be unsatisfactory. Prototype only.
;MGMC T1E2
:As T1E1 with Maxson M33 mount in the place of the Bendix mount. The M33 mount also featured two .50&nbsp;inch M2 machine guns. Would be developed into the M3 based [[M3 Half-track#Anti-aircraft variants|T1E4]]. The T1E2 was rebuilt as the T61 with Maxson quad turret.<ref>Chamberlain and Ellis, p192</ref>
;MGMC T1E3
: M2 fitted with a partial hard top and a Martin turret, identical to that used on the [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress]]. Proved to be overcomplicated and was ill-suited to the space available in the M2. Prototype only.
;T28 CGMC
:M2 based combination gun motor carriage with a single [[37 mm gun M1|37 mm gun M1A2]] autocannon flanked by two .50&nbsp;inch M2 machine guns. The side armor was removed in order to make room for the mount. The project was canceled in 1942 but then revived the same year, when a decision was made to use the longer M3 half-track personnel carrier chassis for the subsequent [[M3 Half-track#Anti-aircraft variants|T28E1]]

==See also==
* [[List of U.S. military vehicles by supply catalog designation]]
* [[List of U.S. military vehicles by model number]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book| last1 = Blomberg| first1 = Olli| last2 = Vehicles| first2 = Patria| title = Yhteissisusta Vanajan ja Sisun kautta Patriaan| year = 2003| publisher = Patria Vehicles Oy| location = Hämeenlinna| language = fi| isbn = 978-952-91-5613-9 }}
* {{cite book| last = Janda| first = Patryk| title = Half-Track vol. I| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=eVZGYgEACAAJ| year = 2009| publisher = Aj-Press Publishing| location = Gdańsk, Poland| isbn = 978-83-7237-207-9 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Chamberlain |first1=Peter |last2=Ellis |first2=Chris |title=British and American Tanks of World War II |date=1981|publisher=Arco publishing |orig-date=1969}}
* Green, Michael; Green, Gladys. [https://books.google.com/books?id= Weapons of Patton's Armies]. MBI Publishing Company, 2000
* Mesko, Jim. ''M3 Half-tracks in Action''. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1996
* ''SNL G102''
* ''TM 9-2800'' army vehicles dated 1947
* United States, War Department. ''TM 9-710 Basic Half-Track Vehicles (White, Autocar, and Diamond T)''. Washington, DC: War Department, 1944.
* {{cite book |last=Zaloga |first=Steven J. |author-link=Steven Zaloga|title=M3 Infantry Half-Track 1940-73 |series=New Vanguard 11  |location=Oxford, UK |publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=2004}}

==External links==
{{Commons|M2 Halftrack}}
* [http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/halftrackm2.html AFV Database]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160204063254/http://www.wwiivehicles.com/usa/half-tracks/half-tracks.asp World War II Vehicles - US Half tracks]

{{WWIIAmericanAFVs}}
{{WWIIBritishAFVs}}

[[Category:World War II armored fighting vehicles of the United States]]
[[Category:Reconnaissance vehicles of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II half-tracks]]
[[Category:Half-tracks of the United States]]
[[Category:Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944]]