Purchase these Items

Products mentioned in this Article

--None--
 

 

M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29)

M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29) M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29)
includes four plastic M3 / M5 half-tracks sprues, four Driver figures, & eight Seated passengers.

The M5 was created out of a need to produce more M3 half-tracks. White, Autocar, and Diamond T could not keep pace with the demand for half-track personnel carriers.

This model is no longer available for purchase...
M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29)
The International Harvester Company (IHC) was requested to also make the half-track, but because differing manufacturing equipment some changes had to be made to the design. These became the M5 and M5A1 half-tracks.
Below: The plastic M3/M5 half-track hull sprue.
M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29)
The essential features of the vehicles remained the same. The M5 differed in several respects from the M3. The armour was manufactured from 5/16 inch homogenous plate armoured rather than the ¼ inch face-hardened steel of the M3. This meant its armour was slightly less effective against small calibre armour piercing rounds. This also made the M5 heavier than the M3, though extra weight didn’t seem to affect its performance in the field.
Below: The plastic M3/M5 half-track accessory sprue.
M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29)

To make up for the added weight of the armour the M5 was fitted with heavier axles and its hull strengthened.

Physically the M5 had a couple of notable differences, half-track's fenders were flat in cross-section (rather than round), and it was never fitted with the large fender-mounted headlights. The use of rolled homogeneous steel armour by IHC on their vehicles allowed plates to be welded together, giving the M5 smoother appearance than the bolted M3 half-tracks.

The M5 Half-track
M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29) M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29)
The M5 Half-track in Flames Of War
      Armour
   
Vehicle
Mobility
Front
Side
Top
Equipment and Notes
M5 half-track Half-tracked 1 0 0 Optional Passenger-fired .50 cal AA MG.
M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29) M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29)

The M5 half-tracks featured rounded rear corners, which contrast to the right-angled corners on the M3.

Though the Homogeneous armour offered less protection from AP rounds it did lessen the chance of injury due to bullet splash and flying cap screws that could be dislodged when hit. 
M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29) M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29)
The M5A1 was fitted with the .50cal ring mount over the assistant driver's position, and a socket mount for the .30cal MG was attached on both sides and the rear of the passenger compartment. Despite these fittings most M5 halftrack used in British fighting units were not fitted with US .30cal and .50cal machine-guns.

Despite only have the two drawbacks compared to the M3 (weight and armour), the M5 was classified “limited standard” by the US authorities and relegated to the Lend-Lease program.
M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29) M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29)
Over half of M5 production (5238) was send to Britain where it was used by the Armoured Divisions for Motor Infantry transport, engineer vehicles, command vehicles and anti-tank gun tows. 420 went to the Soviet Union and the remainder were used for training in the United States.

Designed by Will Jayne
Painted by Aaron Mathie
M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29) M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29)
The M5 Half-track Transport Platoon On The Move
M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29)
The Contents of the M5 Half-track Transport Platoon Box Set
Contact the customer service team at [email protected] if you have any issues with any of the components.
M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29)
Description of Components
a. 4x Plastic M3/M5 half-track hull sprues.
M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29)
Description of Components
a. 5x Plastic M3/M5 half-track Accessory sprues.
Driver & Seated Passengers
Description of Components
a. 4x Driver figures.
b. 4x Seating passengers A.
c.
4x Seating passengers B.
M5 Half-track Transport Platoon (BBX29)

 

 


Last Updated On Wednesday, February 20, 2019