M9 Half-track
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The M9 half-track was a
half-track A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with wheels at the front for steering and continuous tracks at the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. A half-track combines the soft-ground traction of a tank with the Car handl ...
produced by
International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated IH or International) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household equipment, and more. It wa ...
in the United States during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
for
lend-lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...
supply to the Allies. It was designed to provide a similar vehicle to the M2 half-track car. It had the same body and chassis as the M5 half-track (also built by International Harvester for lend-lease) but had the same stowage and radio fit as the M2 half-track. The M9 served for a significant amount of time. 3500 were produced by the end of World War II. It was used during World War II, the
Arab-Israeli War of 1948 The Arab citizens of Israel form the country's largest ethnic minority. Their community mainly consists of former Mandatory Palestine citizens (and their descendants) who continued to inhabit the territory that was acknowledged as Israeli by ...
, the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
, the
Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...
, the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, the
Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...
, and the
Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...
. It had been used by eleven countries by the end of its service.


Development

The United States adopted half-tracks in large numbers as they could be built more quickly and cheaply by civilian vehicle producers than vehicles from the established armored vehicle manufacturers. The M2 half-track car had first been intended as an
artillery tractor An artillery tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, is a specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights and calibres. It may be wheeled, tracked, or half-tracked. Traction There are two m ...
, but was also used for carrying the machine gun squads of armored infantry regiments and for reconnaissance units until faster and better-armed
M8 Greyhound The M8 light armored car is a 6×6 armored car produced by the Ford Motor Company during World War II. It was used from 1943 by United States and British forces in Europe and the Pacific until the end of the war. The vehicle was widely exported ...
armored cars were available. In order to supply U.S. allies, much more production was required than was possible through the firms producing the M2 (and the larger M3 half-track). International Harvester (IH) could produce half-tracks, but some differences had to be accepted due to different manufacturing methods and components. This led to IH producing for
lend-lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...
the M5 half-track and M9 as equivalents for the M3 and M2 respectively.


Design

The M9 used the same chassis and mechanical components as the M5. It was laid out to provide similar stowage, access to the radios from the inside, rear doors, and a pedestal machine gun mount as with the M2.Berndt (1993) p. 147. The M9A1 variant of the M9 matched the improvements made to the M2, M3, and M5, changing to ring mount machine gun mount and three pintle machine gun mounts.Hunnicutt (2010), p. 46. As with the M5, due to the lack of face-hardened armor, homogenous armor was used. Although thicker, it gave less protection and could be penetrated by
armor-piercing Armour-piercing ammunition (AP) is a type of projectile designed to penetrate armour protection, most often including naval armour, body armour, and vehicle armour. The first, major application of armour-piercing projectiles was to defeat the ...
rifle bullets from rather than . The armor also made the vehicle heavier, though the performance was essentially similar.


Service history

The M9 started production in August 1942, at IH.Green (2014), p. 280. The M9 and M9A1 were manufactured en masse and 2,026 were produced in total.Berndt (1994) pp. 28–30 According to American military historian and defense specialist
Steven Zaloga Steven Joseph Zaloga (born February 1, 1952) is an American author and defense consultant. He received a bachelor's degree ''cum laude'' at Union College and a master's degree at Columbia University, both in history. He has published many book ...
, 2,026 M9s and 1,407 M9A1s were produced in 1943. The M9 was used in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the
Arab-Israeli War of 1948 The Arab citizens of Israel form the country's largest ethnic minority. Their community mainly consists of former Mandatory Palestine citizens (and their descendants) who continued to inhabit the territory that was acknowledged as Israeli by ...
, the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
, the Indo-Pakistani War, the
Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...
, and many other conflicts. The production of M9s was leased to other countries, like most other IH half-tracks produced in World War II. This M9A1 was leased to both the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and the United Kingdom, with the latter providing it to other countries in the
British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire The B ...
.Zaloga (1994), p. 12.Ness (2002), p. 192.


Operators

The M9 was used by many countries but not the United States, as there was sufficient M2 and M3 production for U.S. needs. The UK leased some half-tracks to
Free France Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...
and other governments-in-exile. The Soviet Union received them directly.Green & Green (2000) p. 147. Following World War II, the second-hand market was a source of supply for some countries, including Israel.Zaloga (1994), pp. 22–23. M9 half-tracks were provided by the U.S. under the Military Aid Program to the following countries: * * * * * – including 603 M9/M9A1 half-tracks from the US ArmyZaloga (1994), pp. 21–22 * * * * * * – 413 M9s received from the US under Lend-Lease *


See also

*
List of U.S. military vehicles by model number The following is a (partial) listing of vehicle model numbers or M-numbers assigned by the United States Army. Some of these designations are also used by other agencies, services, and nationalities, although these various end users usually assig ...
* List of U.S. military vehicles by supply catalog designation


Notes


References

* Berndt, Thomas (1993). ''Standard Catalog of U.S. Military Vehicles''. Iola, WI: Krause Publishing. * Berndt, Thomas (1994). ''American Tanks of World War II''. Minnesota, MN: MBI Publishing Company. * * Green, Michael (2014). ''American Tanks & AFVs of World War II''. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. * Green, Michael; Green, Gladys (2000) ''Weapons of Patton's Armies''. Minnesota, MM: MBI Publishing Company. * Hunnicutt, R. P. (2010). ''Half-Track: A History of American Semi-Tracked Vehicles''. Navato, CA: Presidio Press. * Ness, Leland L. (2002). ''Jane's World War II Tanks and Fighting Vehicles''. London, UK and New York City, NY: HarperCollins. * * Zaloga, Steven J. (1994). ''M3 Infantry Half-Track 1940–1973''. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing.


External links


Half-track Car M9A1
{{WWIIBritishAFVs World War II half-tracks Half-tracks of the United States World War II armored fighting vehicles of the United States Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944 Armoured personnel carriers of WWII