M5 Half-Track Personnel Carrier
A British M5A1 Half-Track armoured personnel carrier with ring mount, converted from a Lend-Lease M14 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage manufactured by IHC International Harvester Co. of Chicago, Illinois. 1600 M14 Half-Tracks were supplied to the British who removed the Quad .50 cal. M2 anti-aircraft gun and converted these vehicles to the M5 or M5A1 Half-Track personnel carrier, command vehicle, or truck configuration. The Soviet Army used M5 and outwardly similar M9A1 Half-Tracks almost exclusively as HQ vehicles of armoured formations. M5A1 Half-Tracks later served in the Israel Defence Force and the ALS Lebanese Militia. The vehicle shown above belongs to the 1st Motor Battalion, Grenadier Guards, of the 5th Guards Armoured Brigade. The US and French army used similar M3 Half-Track Personnel Carriers.
Available Scale Model Kits
- M5 Halftrack stowage set, 1:35 Verlinden 1856
- M5A1 Half-Track, 1:76 Airfix 02318
- M5A1 Half-Track, 1:76 Fujimi 76069
- M5A1 Half-Track, 1:76 Hinchliffe 20/171
- M16 Half-Track Conversion, 1:76 Matchbox 40078
- M5A1 Half-Track, 1:285 GHQ UK33
- M5A1 Half-Track, 1:300 Heroics & Ros ISM06
Technical Specifications
- M5A1 Half-Track with ring mount (with or without winch)
- Engine: International Harvester Co. IHC 6-cylinder, 107 KW
- Transmission: 4 forward, 1 reverse (two gear ratios)
- Wheelbase: 3444 mm
- Length: 6151 mm
- Width: 2212 mm
- Height: 2313 mm
- Weight: 7000 kg
- Armament: ring mounted machine gun
- Crew: 13
Bibliography
- Hunnicutt, R. P.: Half-Track: A History of American Semi-Tracked Vehicles
Historical Employment
- British Army, 1943–1945
- Canadian Army, 1943–1945
- Soviet Army, 1943–1945
- Israel Defence Force, 1948–
- Armée du Liban-Sud (ALS), 1982–1984
Related Films
- A Bridge Too Far, directed by Richard Attenborough, starring Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Elliott Gould, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Hardy Krüger, Ryan O’Neal, Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, Maximilian Schell, Liv Ullmann, Denholm Elliott and many others. M5 Half-Track personnel carriers of the 1st (Motor) Battalion, Grenadier Guards, 5th Guards Armoured Brigade can be seen in several scenes showing the advance of the 30th Corps towards Arnhem.
Possible Conversions
- M5 Half-Track
- M5A1 Half-Track with ring mount
- M14 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage with Quad .50 AA
M5 and M5A1 Half-Tracks produced by International Harvester Co. of Chicago, Illinois, were supplied to Britain, Canada, the Soviet Union and other allied nations under Lend-Lease.