M4 HALF TRACK

The M4 Mortar Carrier was an American self-propelled mortar from the Second World War. The first prototypes of this car were made in 1941 and mass production started in the same year. About 570 vehicles of this type were built in its course. The car was powered by a single 148 hp engine. The total length of the vehicle was 6.01 meters with a width of 1.96 meters. The combat weight was up to 7.97 tons. The vehicle was armed with an 81 mm M1 mortar and a single 7.62 mm M19191A4 machine gun. The M4 Mortar Carrier was developed by the White Motor Company as a development version of the M2 half-track armored personnel carrier, thanks to which it was characterized by relatively high mechanical reliability and good off-road properties. It was designed to support one's own mechanized infantry with indirect fire. However, it turned out relatively quickly that in the original version of the vehicle, the mortar had to be removed from the vehicle in order to ensure the right angle of fire. Attempts were made to remedy this in the M4A1 version, but unfortunately without much success. Finally, the M4 was replaced by a more refined M21 self-propelled mortar based on the M3 half-track transporter. Despite the shortcomings, the M4 vehicles were used in combat, including in North-Western Europe in the period 1944-1945.