M1 combat car
| M1 Combat Car | |
|---|---|
 M1 Combat Car | |
| Type | Light tank |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1937-1943 |
| Used by | United States Philippines (1937-1942) |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Rock Island Arsenal |
| Produced | 1937-? |
| No. built | 113 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 8,523 kg (18,790 lb) |
| Length | 4.14 m (13.6 ft) |
| Width | 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) |
| Height | 2.26 m (7 ft 5 in) |
| Crew | 4 |
| Armor | 16mm |
Main armament | .50 cal machine gun |
Secondary armament | .30 cal machine gun |
| Engine | Continental automobile W-670 7-cylinder gasoline 250 hp (190 kW) |
| Suspension | Vertical volute spring |
Operational range | 161 km (100 mi) |
| Maximum speed | 72 km/h (45 mph) |
The M1 Combat Car was a light tank used by the U.S. Cavalry in the late 1930s.[1] After the Spanish Civil War, most armies, including the U.S. Army, realized that they needed "gun" armed tanks and not vehicles armed merely with machine guns,[2] and so the M1 became obsolete. The M1 was the immediate predecessor of the M2 Light Tank.
History
Under the terms of the Defense Act of 1920, tanks were restricted to infantry units which had M1 tanks equipped with a twin machine gun turret. To allow U.S. Army cavalry units to be equipped with armored fighting vehicles, the tanks developed for the cavalry were designated "combat cars". (Exactly the same device was used for Japan's Type 92 Heavy Armoured Car, a light tank for the cavalry.) The M1 series entered service in 1937. The Cavalry branch opted for a single, larger turret on its nearly identical M1 Combat Car. In 1940, the Combat Car designation was dropped, and the vehicle was renamed as the light tank M1A2.[3]
Variants
- M1 - the original variant. 89 built.
- M1A1 - new octagonal turret instead of a D-shaped one; increased distance between the wheel bogies. 17 built.
- M1A1E1 - engine replaced by Guiberson T-1020 diesel. 7 built.
- M2 - new Guiberson diesel engine and trailing idler. 34 built.
See also
- SCR-189
- List of U.S. military vehicles by supply catalog designation
- List of U.S. military vehicles by model number
- M2 Light Tank
- T7_Combat_Car
References
- Notes
- ^ The Encyclopedia of Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles - The Comprehensive Guide to Over 900 Armored Fighting Vehicles From 1915 to the Present Day, General Editor: Christopher F. Foss, 2002
- ^ Zaloga (Armored Thunderbolt) p. 4 & 5
- ^ http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/combatcarm1.html
- Bibliography
Further reading
- R.P. Hunnicutt (1992). Stuart, A History of the American Light Tank Vol. 1. Presidio Press. ISBN 978-0-8914-1462-9.
External links
- AFV database
- WWII vehicles
- "Mobile Machine-Gun Nest Carries Five Guns" Popular Mechanics, September 1934
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