As already mentioned above, M5 personnel carriers used by the Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade Group were the Lend-Lease equivalent of the M3 half-track, but with a different powerplant, the IHC RED-450-B engine, different tyres and changes in suspension and transmission systems. 7,641 vehicles designated M5 and M5A1 (fitted with the M49 machine gun mounting) were eventually built during World War II. M5 half-tracks were issued primarily to the Motor Battalion as armoured personnel carriers. The use of them as first-line armoured infantry carriers was not wide-spread within the British Army, as the Universal Carrier was used in this role.


Universal Carrier

A handy, light, very agile vehicle based on the chassis of the Vickers Light tank, the Universal Carrier became the symbol of British infantry mobility. Its roles were varied and its renown well-deserved, despite many shortcomings inevitable with such a smallish vehicle. Popularly known as the BREN Carrier after the BREN machine gun, it would eventually carry a wide range of weapons, including the Boys anti-tank rifle, mortars and even anti-tank guns.
Tracked Armoured Vehicles (Armoured Personnel Carriers)
Jan Hyrman

It would perhaps be worth noting here that the two vehicles which we are about to profile below demonstrate two branches of development of tracked armoured personnel carriers and reconnaissance vehicles, both highly successful.

The first branch is the British one, relying solely on tracks. This could be illustrated on several reasonably successful tracked personnel carriers used by the British Army during the Second World War, such as the Universal Carrier, Carden-Loyd or Windsor Carriers. They were employed in a multitude of roles, but retained the role of armoured personnel carriers throughout the war, never allowing in roomier and better-protected American designs.

And it was the Americans who, for the Allied part, developed the second branch of personnel-carrying and reconnaissance vehicle development. The American M2/M3 Infantry Half-Track combined a front wheel assembly and a driven front axle similar to a truck with the advantage of better cross-country mobility of tracks. Towards the end of the war even the U.S. Army recognized the advantage of fully tracked vehicles, however, the half-track remained in service till the end of war and beyond, appearing in many other conflicts worldwide after being sold as surplus to several countries of South America and Southeast Asia.

As with the wheeled armoured vehicles, we will concentrate mainly on vehicles and variants used by the Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade Group after its founding on 1st September 1943.


M5 Infantry Half-Track

The M2/M3 Infantry Half-track was the true workhorse of many U.S. Army units throughout the Second World War, giving its armoured infantry and reconnaissance outfits the speed and protection they needed to put the mechanized warfare into practice.

Developed shortly before the war in Europe started, the prototype was based on the M3 Scout Car chassis and the rear bogie assembly from a T9 half-track truck of 1935-36. It proved to be an idea good enough for further development and in 1940 the Ordnance Department was able to give the Autocar, Diamond T and White motor companies a contract to build the first M2 half-tracks for the U.S. Army. M3 half-tracks with a longer body appeared later and an array of variants followed, including the M5, eventually earmarked for Lend-Lease to Allied armies.
A Universal Carrier under fire in north African desert.
The first design was put forward in 1934, gearing up from the prototype to production stage two years later. It was powered by the British Ford V-8 engine rated at 85 H.P., while the Windsor Carrier and the American-built Ford T-16 Universal Carriers had the same 95 H.P. Ford engine used in the Canadian Military Pattern trucks. All variants weighed about 5 tons, had a top speed of about 30 miles or 48 kilometres per hour and would carry a standard crew of three including the driver, although in actual practice the carriers often had to carry many more.

Definetely its greatest advantage was its high mobility, low weight and its versatility in comparison with its size, however, the size of the vehicle and the limits of its suspension often worked against it. The thin floor of the vehicle made it vulnerable to mine blasts, the open-top body with very low sides provided little protection to its crew and even less to troops carried, while offering no protection from the weather. Due to the vehicle's low weight, it also had a very unpleasant habit of flipping over and sudden turns if driven too fast over bumpy terrain.

The roles assigned to this vehicle, only 3.66 metres long, 2.06 metres wide and 1.57 metres high, were wide ranging. While some were assigned the tasks of prime movers, mortar carriers or even self-propelled guns, other variants included scout carriers, armoured observation posts, flame-thrower and medium machine gun carriers or anti-aircraft vehicles. Special designs like the Conger, an hose thrown across a minefield, filled with explosive and blown up to clear the mines, were also built in the latter part of the war.
The legendary American Half-Track
During the war, the half-track was given an incredible variety of roles at all theatres of operations, being modified for use as radio vehicles, armoured personnel carriers, artillery prime movers, gun motor carriages carrying 37mm, 57mm or 75mm guns, air defence vehicles with several different mountings, armoured ambulances or reconnaissance cars.

The M3, the U.S. equivalent of the M5 Half-Track, could carry altogether 13 men including the driver. Weighing about 10 tons, it could travel at the maximum speed of 47 miles or 75 kilometres per hour. Its mobility, particularly its top speed and driven front axle, were its greatest advantage against its German counterparts. The main drawbacks were the lack of floor armour, increasing the danger of mine blasts to the crew, and its higher ground pressure, decreasing its cross-country performance on soft ground.
Universal Carrier at the War & Peace Show near Beltring, U.K.
Here you can see just about how much armour protection was provided to the crew..