M1 Garand

Vehicles used by the army consisted of many tanks, trucks, cars, and believe it or not we even had bicycles. A popular tank used was the M22 “Locust” Light Airborne Tank, which was one of the smallest tanks created by the U.S. to handle airborne operations during WWII. During May of 1941 the development of the M22 Locust began at the Marmon-Herrington Company. “In April of 1943 production began and in February 1944 it ended with a total production of 830 tanks.”1(Kirk, John Grayson. Great Weapons of World War II. Copyright: 1961) Although light in weight it was able to deliver the extra firepower needed to assist the airborne forces. The tank was designated to support the airborne infantry until the reinforcements from the main force arrived. Another key characteristic in the weight of the tank was that it could easily be transported by the airborn

Throughout this report I have gained much knowledge on what I wanted to research and now have a better understanding on the weaponry used by the U.S. Army during WWII. There were many different weapons used and each needed a specifically trained man to do it. We have come a long way throughout the years of technology and the development of weapons.

The vehicles that interested me most throughout my research were known as the coal and wood burning vehicles of WWII. Severe shortages of gasoline led to the conversion of vehicles to be able to run on the gases given off by coal or wood. The gases would be condensed into a liquid form and then fed to the carburetor. The condensed liquid produced hydrocarbons that had a high enough volatility that they were able to run the gasoline engines. If you refer to the attached appendix I gave two different examples of the vehicles that were used.

e unit. The M22 Locust was constructed of steel plate which we used welding opposed top standard riveting technology. The armored front was about 1 inch thick and the sides were approximately a ½ plate. The sloped front end allowed for oncoming projectiles to be deflected upward adding additional protection. Designing the armor was limited because of the weight requirements limiting the tank to less than 16,000 pounds. “It was well equipped with a 37mm main gun and a 30 caliber coaxial machine gun.” 2(Kirk, John Grayson. Great Weapons of World War II. Copyright: 1961) The tank was also equipped with M6 periscopes on the driver’s hatch, which allowed for the driver to look above the tank while in motion. The tank measured a total of 12ft. 11in. in length, 7ft 3.75in. in width, and had a height of 5ft. 8in. A Lycoming O-435-T six cylinder air-cooled engine creating 162 hp at 2800 rpm, and a maximum torque of 332 ft.lbs powered the vehicle. at 2100 rpm. It was capable of traveling 110 miles on a full tank of gasoline, which was 57 gallons working out to be less than 2 miles per gallon. Because of the poor delivery system and lack of performance by the vehicle, the Ordinance Department became less active in developing the tank any further. However the British stayed interested in the vehicle and 260 tanks were delivered to them. The British advanced the tank with an extruder adapter (squeeze-bore) that reduced the projectile from 37mm to 30mm allowing it to travel at a faster rate of 4000 ft. per second. The British used this tank in the crossing of the Rhine River and each Locust tank was credited with killing over 100 enemy soldiers.

Developed during the same period of time the M8 Light Armored Car “Greyhound” was introduced. The Army was not too pleased in developing an armored car since there were so many tanks available which were capable of doing a better job. After many attempts and failur

Some topics in this essay:
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