The M8 Howitzer Motor Carriage (HMC) provided artillery support for the American reconnaissance battalions in the Second World War, the vehicle fulfilled a similar role to the M4(105) Sherman armed with a 105-millimeter howitzer in the American armoured forces. The British, who gave US armored vehicles the names of American Civil War generals, christened the M8 HMC “Scott”.
The M8 Howitzer Motor Carriage was used in the Assault Gun Troop of a Mechanized Cavalry Squadron in numbers of six or eight vehicles. This light howitzer on a self-propelled gun carriage served as artillery support for the Reconnaissance Troops. The self-propelled gun was developed on the basis of the M5. The chassis of the vehicle was based on the M5 light tank. It was relatively lightly armored with 12.7 millimeters (driver’s cab, front), 6.35 millimeters (hull sides and rear) and five millimeters (base plate) of armor thickness. The turret was open at the top. It was more heavily armored than the chassis (maximum 38 millimetres).
The primary armament consisted of a howitzer with a caliber of 75 millimeters, which was equipped with a gyrostabilization was equipped with gyro stabilization. This device enabled precise firing even at full speed, but this was an unnecessary luxury, as the gun was usually fired from a stationary position. The ammunition supply consisted of 46 grenades: mostly HE explosive grenades (High Explosive, type M48) and WPsmoke grenades (type M89). The elevation range was between +40 and -20 degrees. In contrast to the M3/M5, a coaxial machine gun was dispensed with, as this would have been too expensive due to the steeper projectile trajectory typical of howitzers. projectile trajectory typical of howitzers. There was also no nose machine gun. The secondary armament was an M2 heavy machine gun in .50 caliber mounted on the turret, which took over the tasks of close defence and anti-aircraft defence. https://militaeraktuell.at/steyr-puch-pinzgauer-von-anfang-an-eine-erfolgsgeschichte/ Under the previous prototype designation T47, the construction of this armoured vehicle was commissioned in April 1942. Production, which continued until January 1944, was carried out by the Cadillac Motor Car Division of General Motors and then ended after the production of 1,778 vehicles.
The HMC was used by the Light Tank Battalions (three units per battalion), the Armored Infantry Battalions (three units per battalion) and the Armored Reconnaissance Battalions of the 1st to 3rd US Armored Divisions (three units per battalion). The Mechanized Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons of the US Armored Divisions each deploy eight units, while the Mechanized Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons of the Cavalry Groups each deploy six. This meant that a platoon with two HMCs could support a reconnaissance troop. The preferred firing position was set back from the edge of a wood. For longer fire missions, simple shelters were often dug for crews and ammunition. Each HMC had an M8 trailer (with 92 rounds of ammunition) or an M10 trailer (with 117 rounds of ammunition). As each vehicle itself had an ammunition supply of 46 rounds, this resulted in a very good combat equipment. However, when firing at the impressive rate of fire of a maximum of 25 rounds per minute, it was quickly used up. In indirect fire, the M8 HMCs could be effective up to around 8,600 meters, but they could also be used in direct fire.
The M8 was mainly used by the US Army and Marines in the European theater of war and in the Pacific and in the Pacific. In the course of the loan and lease agreement it was also sold to Great Britain delivered. Towards the end of the war, however, the M8 was replaced by a version of the Sherman-tank with a 105-millimeter howitzer. The French army used the M8 in Indochina, as did the Vietnamese army (ARVN), the Laotian and Cambodian armies and the Philippine army. The Chinese National Army (Kuomintang) used the M8 in the civil war against the communists and some vehicles were still in service with the Mexican army in the 1990s.
An M8 was converted in the USA during the war as a test vehicle when the aim was to find a successor to the M3/M5 series. Instead of the 75-millimeter howitzer, a 75-millimeter cannon was installed. The result was not a usable main battle tank, but it showed that more powerful guns could be integrated into a vehicle of this weight class.
