M3 Half-Track

SPECIFICATIONS
CREW: 1 - Driver and 12 Passengers
DIMENSIONS: Length 20 ft 10 in / Width 6 ft 6 in / Height 7 ft 5 in
COMBAT WEIGHT: 20,000 lbs
FUEL CAPACITY: 60 gallons
PERFORMANCE: Max road speed 45 mph; Range 200 miles
ARMAMENT: .30 cal with 4,000 rounds carried

Longest Serving Vehicle of the War
More than 53,000 half-tracks were built during World War II. It was one of the longest-serving combat vehicles of the war, operating in every theater from the outset of hostilities until the Japanese surrender in 1945. The half-track let infantry keep pace with tanks on the battlefield. With its wheeled front axle and rear track carriage, the vehicle was more mobile in rough terrain than a truck and less expensive and complicated to maintain than a fully-tracked vehicle.
Highly Versatile and Adaptable
The M3 Half-Track Personnel Carrier series was the most widely produced half-track of the war. Though designed to transport soldiers, it also carried ammunition, towed artillery, evacuated wounded and operated as a mobile command post. The adaptable chassis of the M3 also served as the base for many specialized half-tracks, including anti-aircraft vehicles, tank destroyers, self-propelled guns and mortar platforms.
A Water-Cooled Gun, Ideal in North Africa
While the standard armament for the M3 was the air-cooled M1919 Browning .30 caliber machine gun, the vehicle displayed here mounts an M1917, the heavier water-cooled model. The water-cooled .30 caliber machine gun was used extensively during the North African Campaigns.