M1 Combat Car

Not to be confused with the turn of the 20th–21st century M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank.

M1 Combat Car Light Tank M1
M1 Combat Car
Type	Light tank
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1937–1943
Used by	United States
Production history
Manufacturer	Rock Island Arsenal
Produced	1935–?
Number built	113
Specifications (M1)
Weight	~10 short tons (9.1 t)^[1]
Length	4.14 m (13 ft 7 in)
Width	2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
Height	2.26 m (7 ft 5 in)
Crew	4

Armor	6–16 mm
Main armament	.50 cal (12.7 mm) machine gun .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine gun
Secondary armament	.30 cal (7.62 mm) machine gun
Engine	Continental R-670 7-cylinder air-cooled radial gasoline 250 hp (190 kW)
Suspension	Vertical volute spring
Operational range	161 km (100 mi) on roads
Speed	72 km/h (45 mph) on roads

The M1 Combat Car was a light tank used by the U.S. Cavalry in the late 1930s^[2] and developed at the same time as the infantry's very similar M2 light tank. After the Spanish Civil War, most armies, including the U.S. Army, realized that they needed tanks armed with cannons, not merely vehicles armed with machine guns,^[3] and so the M1 became obsolete.

History and development

The National Defense Act of 1920 set tanks as the responsibility of the infantry and the General Staff defined the purpose of tanks as the support of infantry units.^[4] Light tanks were defined as weight 5 tons or less – so they could be carried by truck – and medium tanks no greater than 15 tons to meet bridge weight limits. With very tight restrictions on spending, tank development in the US was limited to a couple of test vehicles a year. The mechanization of the army was promoted by General Douglas MacArthur (Chief of Staff of the US Army) who believed that the cavalry should have tanks for an exploiting role rather than act in support of the infantry. ^[4] To allow U.S. Army cavalry units to be equipped with armored fighting vehicles, the tanks developed for the cavalry were designated "combat cars".^{[note 1]}

In the mid 1930s, the Rock Island Arsenal built three experimental T2 light tanks inspired by the British Vickers 6-Ton tank. At the same time they built a light tank similar to the T2 for the cavalry – the T5 Combat Car. The only major difference between the two was that the T5 used vertical volute suspension while the T2 had leaf springs as on the Vickers. The T5 was developed further and the T5E2 was accepted for production as the M1 Combat Car.^[4]

The M1 entered service in 1937. A change to the suspension so that the idler wheel rested on the ground ("trailing") increased the length of track in contact with the ground and improved the ride. Together with a different engine and improved turret, this gave the M2 Combat Car.^[4] In 1940, the distinction between infantry and cavalry tank units disappeared with the establishment of the Armored Force to manage all tanks in the US Army. The 'Combat Car' name was superfluous, and the cavalry unit tanks redesignated: M1 Combat Car as the Light Tank M1A1 and M2 Combat Car as Light Tank M1A2.^[5]^[4]

Service

The M1 and M2 Combat Cars were not used in combat by the US Army during World War II; some were used for training purposes.^[4]

Variants

M1 – The original variant. 89 built.^[2]
M1E2 – prototype for M1A1
M1A1 – New octagonal turret instead of a D-shaped one; increased distance between the wheel bogies. Constant mesh gears. 17 built in 1938.^[4]
M1A1E1 – Prototype of M2 Combat Car. Engine was replaced by Guiberson T-1020 diesel.^[4]
M2 – New Guiberson diesel engine and trailing idler. 34 built.^[6]

References

Notes

↑ The same legal sleight of hand was used for Japan's Type 92 Heavy Armoured Car, a light tank for the cavalry.

Citations

↑ Yeide (2006), p. 31.
1 2 Ogorkiewicz (2015), p. 84
↑ Zaloga (2008), pp. 4–5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Chamberlain & Ellis (1969), p. 84.
↑ "Combat Car M1", AFV Database, 24 November 2002
↑ Chamberlain & Ellis (1969), p. 85.

Bibliography

Chamberlain, Peter; Ellis, Chris (1969). British and American Tanks of World War II. New York: Arco Publishing Inc. ISBN 0-668-01867-4.
Hunnicutt, R.P. (1992). Stuart, A History of the American Light Tank. Volume 1. Novato, CA: Presidio Press. ISBN 978-0-8914-1462-9.
Ogorkiewicz, Richard (2015). Tanks: 100 Years of Evolution. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781472806703.
Yeide, Harry (2006). Weapons of the Tankers: American Armor in World War II. Zenith Press: St Paul, MN. ISBN 9781610607780.
Zaloga, Steven (2008). Armored Thunderbolt. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-0424-3.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to M1 Combat Car.

Interwar tanks

List Category

Tankettes	L3/33 L3/35 Carden Loyd Morris-Martel T-27 TKS Type 92 tankette Type 94 tankette Type 97 Te-Ke Tančík vz. 33 AH-IV

Light	H35 R35 Fiat 3000 Leichttraktor Light Tanks Mk I–V Light Tank Mk VI Light Tank Mk VII M1 Combat Car M2 Light Tank Panzer I Panzer II LT vz. 34 LT vz. 35 LT vz. 38 T1 Light Tank T7 Combat Car T-18 T-19 T-26 T-37 T-38 7TP Type 95 Ha-Go Vickers 6-Ton Vickers-Carden-Loyd Light Amphibious Tank

Medium	Char D1 Char D2 Grosstraktor Medium Mk I Medium Mk II Medium Mk III Panzer III T-24 T-28 Type 97 Chi-Ha Type 97 Chi-Ni Type 98 Chi-Ho

Cavalry, Cruiser or Fast	AMC 34 AMC 35 AMR 33 AMR 35 BT tank Cruiser Mk I Cruiser Mk II Cruiser Mk III SOMUA S35

Infantry	FCM 36 Infantry Mk I, Matilda Renault R35 T-26 Type 89 I-Go

Heavy	Char B1 Neubaufahrzeug SMK T-35 T-100 Type 95 Heavy Tank Vickers A1E1 Independent

Super-heavy	FCM F1 Char 2C T-42

Armoured Carriers	UE Chenillette Bren Gun Carrier

History WWI Interwar WWII Cold War Tank

Tanks in the United States

World War I	Tank Mark VIII Ford 3-Ton M1918 Holt gas electric tank Six Ton Tank M1917 Renault FT

Interwar	T1 Light Tank M1 Combat Car M2 Light Tank Christie M1931

World War II	M2 Medium Tank M3/M5 Light Tank M3 Lee M4 Sherman M22 Locust M24 Chaffee Marmon-Herrington CTLS M26 Pershing

Cold War	M41 Walker Bulldog M46 Patton M103 heavy tank M47 Patton M48 Patton T95 M60 Patton T92 Light Tank M551 Sheridan MBT-70 XM803 Expeditionary tank M1 Abrams M8 Armored Gun System

American armored fighting vehicles of World War II

Light tanks	M1 Combat Car M2 Light Tank M3/M5 Light Tank (Stuart) M22 Light Tank (Locust) M24 Light Tank (Chaffee) Marmon-Herrington CTLS

Medium / heavy tanks	M2 Medium Tank M3 Medium Tank (Lee) M4 Medium Tank (Sherman) M26 Heavy Tank (Pershing)

Self-propelled artillery	M4 Mortar Carrier M21 Mortar Motor Carriage T30 Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 Howitzer Motor Carriage (Priest) M8 Howitzer Motor carriage M12 Gun Motor Carriage M40 Gun Motor Carriage M3 Gun Motor Carriage M43 Howitzer Motor Carriage T34 Rocket Launcher T40 Whizbang

Tank destroyers	T48 Gun Motor Carriage M3 Gun Motor Carriage M6 Gun Motor Carriage M10 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M18 Gun Motor Carriage (Hellcat) M36 Gun Motor Carriage

Armored half-tracks	M2 Half Track Car M3 Half Track Personnel Carrier M5 Half-track M9 Half-track

Amphibious vehicles	Ford GPA DUKW M29C Weasel Landing Vehicle Tracked

Armored cars	M3 Scout Car M8 Light Armored Car (Greyhound) M20 Armored Utility Car T17 Armored Car T18 Armored Car

Self-propelled anti-aircraft guns	M13 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage M14 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage M15 Combination Gun Motor Carriage M16 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage M17 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage M19 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage

Experimental and short production run vehicles	M38 Wolfhound Heavy Tank T1/M6 Super Heavy Tank T28 (T95 GMC) Assault Tank T14 Heavy Tank T29 (T34 HT) Heavy Tank T30 Heavy Tank T32 Medium Tank T20 T3 Half Track T27 Armored Car T54 Gun Motor Carriage T40/M9 Tank Destroyer T19 Howitzer Motor Carriage 8 in Howitzer Motor Carriage T84 T92/T93 Gun Motor Carriage T55E1 Motor Carriage Light Tank T7/Medium Tank M7 T88 Gun Motor Carriage T18 Howitzer Motor Carriage

Lend-lease production	T16

American armored fighting vehicle production during World War II

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