Of all the ww2 military vehicles, what I seem to see the least of in media is the armored car. How were armored cars used in the war, and how extensively?

by onlysane1
the_howling_cow

Armored cars were used pretty extensively by the United States in World War II, all though they did not have the hodgepodge of production variants that the Germans did. By far and away the most-produced (and probably least-known) armored car that the United States used was the M3 Scout Car, a heavy four-wheeled truck whose chassis eventually provided the "front half" of the M2 and M3 halftracks. 20,918 were built from 1940-1944, and it served with the United States until 1943, and under Lend-Lease. In US service, drawbacks such as light armor, high ground pressure, and a completely open top led to its retirement and replacement with the M8 Greyhound, (it was given this nickname by the British, and like "Sherman", U.S. troops seldom used it) which was originally conceived as a wheeled tank destroyer. 8,523 Greyhounds were built between March 1943 and May 1945 at Ford plants in Chicago, Illinois and St. Paul, Minnesota. A variant of the M8 which lacked a turret and was used as a reconnaissance and "ferreting" vehicle by tank destroyer units and as a mobile listening post with powerful radios was the M20 Armored Utility Car, 3,971 of which were produced from July 1943 to June 1945 at Chicago.

Month M8 M20
March 1943 15 --
April 1943 31 --
May 1943 110 --
June 1943 169 --
July 1943 512 126
August 1943 314 205
September 1943 803 275
October 1943 545 293
November 1943 1,000 400
December 1943 800 325
January 1944 562 214
February 1944 468 193
March 1944 241 53
April 1944 223 48
May 1944 241 53
June 1944 234 32
July 1944 256 29
August 1944 243 83
September 1944 232 158
October 1944 234 160
November 1944 234 159
December 1944 215 155
January 1945 232 97
February 1945 144 153
March 1945 162 163
April 1945 150 150
May 1945 153 156
June 1945 -- 111
Total 8,523 3,971

  • 40 or 52 M8 armored cars were authorized for each Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized (TO&E 2-25) dependent upon where it was assigned

  • 12 or 13 M8 armored cars were authorized for each Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop, Mechanized (TO&E 2-27) dependent upon where it was assigned

  • 4 M8 and 10 M20 armored cars were authorized for each Tank Destroyer Battalion, Towed (TO&E 18-35)

  • 6 M8 and 30 M20 armored cars were authorized for each Tank Destroyer Battalion, Self-Propelled (TO&E 18-25)

  • 3 M20 armored cars were authorized for each Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, Cavalry Group, Mechanized (TO&E 2-22)

Interestingly, cavalry "reconnaissance" units didn't perform much reconnaissance;

Mechanized Cavalry Group Operations in the ETO by Mission, 1944-45 *

Campaign Offense Defense Reconnaissance Security Special Operations
Normandy (6-7/44) 6.5 0 5.0 17.3 71.2
N. France (7-9/44) 8.6 9.0 8.8 44.8 28.8
Rhineland (10-12/44) 7.8 55.4 1.7 13.6 21.5
Ardennes (12/44-1/45) 12.1 38.6 0 11.6 37.7
Germany (2-5/45) 15.8 5.7 2.9 40.7 34.9
Mean (6/44-5/45) 10.16 21.74 3.68 25.6 38.82

*: by percent

U.S. Army Armored Car Strength and Losses in the ETO, 1944-45

Month* M8 Strength M8 Losses M20 Strength M20 Losses
June 1,463 16 457 0
July 1,562 31 472 3
August 1,580 119 541 2
September 1,490 145 544 13
October 1,651 27 671 48
November 1,984 17 1,015 3
December 2,272 87 958 277
January 2,265 200 1,037 18
February 2,442 30 1,127 25
March 2,884 42 1,139 12
April 2,595 135 1,418 25
May 2,529 112 1,445 20

*: data as of the 20th of each month

M20 armored cars were versatile and often found themselves in areas where they were "not supposed to be" such as in cavalry reconnaissance squadrons as substitutes for M8s, or as the command cars of generals such as Patton. The M8 and M20 were very versatile, having a long range (200-400 miles) and high speed (55 mph) on road, and also the ability to disconnect the front axle from the transmission to make it a rear-wheel-drive 6x4 vehicle. Unfortunately, the M8 and M20 had thin floor armor (0.25") which left their crews vulnerable to mines, (a technical order was issued to try and fix this in April 1944) and had a high ground pressure when compared to tracked vehicles, which meant their off-road performance was generally no better than the M3 Scout Car they replaced. When the M8 was fitted with two radios as often was intended, the ammunition capacity of the 37 mm gun was reduced to only 16 rounds (those stored in the turret) and several ad-hoc methods had to be devised to increase it, such as cutting up the main 64-round rack in the right sponson into two 19-round racks and placing them in the storage compartments in each sponson under the radios. Another, more common configuration was a 20-round rack welded to the turret basket and another 43-round rack which replaced the jerry can behind the driver's seat, bringing ammunition capacity up to 79 rounds, only one less than the original 80. The M8 was also without even an interim antiaircraft machine gun mount until December 1943 due to slow design work and Ordnance Department bickering. The front and rear fenders were often completely removed from M8 and M20 vehicles as they were a nuisance during maintenance and cleaning.

The United States also developed several obscure armored cars, such as the heavy T18 Boarhound, which only the British showed even a marginal interest in; 30 were built between December 1942 and May 1943. Other armored cars that the United States developed but never used in combat were the T17 Deerhound and the T17E1 and T17E2 Staghound, which provided satisfactory service to US military police units stateside and the Britain and its allies through Lend-Lease; a total of 4,094 were built between October 1942 and May 1944. In 1944, the proposed successor to the M8 Greyhound, the M38 Wolfhound, was cancelled.

Sources:

Official Munitions Production of the United States by Months, July 1, 1940-August 31, 1945, released by the Civilian Production Administration, May 1, 1947

M8 Greyhound specifications

M8 Greyhound Light Armored Car 1941-91, by Steven J. Zaloga

TankArchives

In the Red Army, armoured cars came in two categories: medium (6x4, armed with cannons) and light (4x2, armed with machineguns). Both types were designed for reconnaissance in tank, cavalry, and infantry units.

The medium armoured cars (BA-3, BA-6, BA-10) had the same turret as the T-26, carrying a 45 mm gun, which gave them considerable firepower. This allowed reconnaissance units to engage Japanese tanks during the battles of Khalkin Gol and Lake Hasan. However, the chassis weight limit meant that these armoured cars had about half as much armour as the T-26 tank, making them vulnerable to regular bullets are a range of less than 50 meters and armour piercing bullets at a range of less than 600 meters. Later versions had superior armour, but were still vulnerable to armour piercing bullets at close ranges.

The light armoured cars (BAI, BA-20) were much smaller, more lightly armoured, and were armed only with one machinegun. Both light and medium armoured cars came with railroad modifications that would allow them to serve in armoured train units and drive on railroad tracks at high speed.

By the Great Patriotic War, the idea of a medium armoured car was outdated. The T-26 was no longer in production, so having a compatible turret was of no benefit. Reconnaissance could be done by T-40 (later T-60 and T-70) tanks. There wasn't much in the way of cost savings, either: a BA-10 cost 48,946.50 rubles (without including the cost of armament, optics, or a radio), compared to 75,000 for a T-60. The T-60 was also comfortable with operating off-road, which the BA-10 was not nearly as good at.

The light armoured car, however, was still relevant. However, the BA-20 was showing its age, so it was replaced with the BA-64. At a similar mass, the BA-64 had thicker armour, plus it was sloped, which made it much more resistant to bullets. Unlike its predecessor, it was a 4x4, which greatly increased off-road performance. Its open top turret allowed the machinegun to elevate to very high angles, making it useful during city fighting or in an AA role.

The Red Army Tank Brigade instituted on August 23rd, 1941, contained 15 armoured cars for 91 tanks. The authorized number of armoured cars was reduced to 3 in 1942 and remained at 3 in most types of units after that. Exceptions include the Guards Heavy Tank or SPG Breakthrough Regiments (1 BA-64), the Flamethrower Tank Battalion (6 BA-64), and the Motorcycle Battalion (5 armoured cars).

Sources: