M5A1 "Half-Track" - the American armored transporter

One of the most popular Allied armored transporters during World War II was the semi-tracked “Half-Track” armored transporter, which was used on almost all fronts of the war. These armored vehicles are produced in several versions - M2, M3, M5 and M9, and in many specialized versions, such as self-propelled guns, mortar trucks, sanitary-ambulatory armored cars. Almost 50 thousand were produced during the war. This type of armored car, that served almost all allied armies. After the war, they were still used in combat operations in Korea, Vietnam, Algeria and even Croatia. These vehicles have been in service for over 50 years. The main version for troop transport was the M3. This version is almost exclusively used by the US Army. In order to increase the volume of production in accordance with the "Lend-Lease" agreement, these transporters were started to be produced at the factories of the “International Harvester Company”. Licensed cars, produced at these factories, differed in detail from those produced at the “Autokar”, “White” and “Diamont” factories. The forged ¼ inch armor plate was changed to 5/16 rolled plate, welding was used instead of riveting, and the engine was changed to an IHC RED-450B. M3 equivalents from this factory are marked M5. In addition, the front fenders were stamped from sheet metal, and the rear corners of the cargo platform were rounded. In May 1943, the M5A1 version with the M 49 turret, on which mounted a 12.7 mm machine gun, began production. The main user of this version was Great Britain and part of it was transferred to the Soviet Union. The British also supplied these machines to Polish and Czech units in Western Europe.

A complex, medium-sized, well-detailed and well-designed model with full detailing of the engine compartment, cockpit, cargo platform, armament and chassis. The model is only for intermediate and experienced modelers, but without doing the cockpit equipment, engine detailing and simplifying the chassis, under the supervision of a more experienced colleague, this model can be glued together by a modeler with little experience. The model reproduces the machine, that was used by the soldiers of the Polish 1st Armored Division 11 Minesweeper Campaign in the battles in France, Holland and Germany in 1944-45 on the Western Front.