M8 Greyhound Armored Car
M20 greyhound Utility Car at the bottom of this page.
After two years of development, the M8 Greyhound entered production in 1943. It continued
until the end of the war, by which time some 11,000 had been constructed. It was
quickly gotten rid of by the Americans, who preferred tracked vehicles for recon
duties, such as the later M24 Chaffee and M41 Walker Bulldog.
It was the British who gave the M8 its name 'Greyhound', both for its high speed and for its thin armor. However, it proved to be a reliable vehicle with very good performance.
Although the 37mm cannon was outclassed as an anti-tank gun, it could easily deal with other armored cars of its day.
After WWII, it was exported to many Third World countries (especially in Africa and South America), where it proved useful in as an internal security vehicle. Many were still in use by the late 1980's, and perhaps still a handful even now, though it must be very difficult to keep the main gun stocked with ammo, as it has not been produced for years.
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Specifications |
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| Length: | 16' 5" |
| Width: | 8' 4" |
| Height: | 6' 6" |
| Weight: | 16500 lbs |
| Max Speed | 56 mph |
| Turning radius: | 28 ft |
| Max grade: | 60% |
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Armament |
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| Main: | 37 mm Gun |
| Secondary: |
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M20 Greyhound Utility Car
The M20 was basically a M8 with the turret removed. Often, a second open mount gun (usually this was a .30-cal) was added to a skate rail mounted atop what had been the turret ring, to compliment the .50-cal, which was retained
