1942 Autocar M2A1 Half-Track
The workhorse of armored infantry: The WWII Halftrack
- Net weight: 15,100 lbs.
- Gross weight: 7,687 lbs.
- Engine: White 160 AX 6-cylinder
- Displacement: 386 cu. in.
- Horsepower: 127 @ 3,000 rpm
- Fuel: Gasoline
- Maximum speed: 45 mph
- Range: 210 miles
In May 1941 White delivered 62 M2s, the first of 11,415 to be built by White and Autocar. The M2s were armed with an M2 heavy-barrel .50-caliber machine gun, and two water-cooled .30-caliber M1917A1 machine guns. These weapons were mounted via trolleys on a skate rail that surrounded the interior of the vehicle. In later production the pair of water-cooled weapons gave way to a single air-cooled M1919A4 .30-caliber machine gun. Tripods were stored externally on the rear of the vehicle so these weapons could be dismounted and used on the ground.
The M2 had a bottom-hinged door just behind the driver’s door, and another one in a similar location on the other side of the vehicle. These doors provided access to large ammunition storage compartments.
In mid-1942, the Ordnance Committee recommended that the skate rail on the M2 be replaced with the M49 ring mount. The new vehicles was classified the M2A1. In addition to the ring mount and its M2HB Browning, there was a pintle socket installed on each side and the vehicle rear for installation of the single M1919A4 air-cooled .30-caliber machine gun. There were only 1,643 M2A1s built.
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From the staff of North America's no. 1 historic military vehicle source -- Military Vehicles Magazine
