British M5/M9 pack

[Mickel]

Gentlemen

I'm in the process of assembling my M-5/M-9 half tracks, complete with the seated infantry but I'm having a few dramas making it all fit. So I'm after some advice from anyone who has put these together?

Queries are:
Should all of the vehicles have the MG ring? I don't think the M-9s do, because they have the pintle mounts on either side, and a man to attach to it in the squadie pack. The reason I ask about the others is because if all of the lads in the back are seated then the ring doesn't fit. Simple fix is to chop of the guys off.

Should I be cutting out the floor mount for the 50 cal? I have to to have people sitting, but I could leave some there and have a single man in the back with the MG. In this case it would not make sense to have the MG ring fitted, because I don't imagine there would be two mounts.

The photo here isn't much help. I'm not even sure that's an M-5/9. It certainly isn't the same vehicle I've got here. Sadly, there isn't one of the lads in place.

Mike

[jb]

Gentlemen

I'm in the process of assembling my M-5/M-9 half tracks, complete with the seated infantry but I'm having a few dramas making it all fit. So I'm after some advice from anyone who has put these together?

Queries are:
Should all of the vehicles have the MG ring? I don't think the M-9s do, because they have the pintle mounts on either side, and a man to attach to it in the squadie pack. The reason I ask about the others is because if all of the lads in the back are seated then the ring doesn't fit. Simple fix is to chop of the guys off.

Should I be cutting out the floor mount for the 50 cal? I have to to have people sitting, but I could leave some there and have a single man in the back with the MG. In this case it would not make sense to have the MG ring fitted, because I don't imagine there would be two mounts.

The photo here isn't much help. I'm not even sure that's an M-5/9. It certainly isn't the same vehicle I've got here. Sadly, there isn't one of the lads in place.

Mike

Mickel ,
I've used thosed seated guys quite often. As a matter of fact I use them for just about everything except what tyhey were designed for.
I found out that you can take an xacto type knife and cut any number of them off. Just lay the whole squad(fireteam) on its back,lay the knife blade right wheree you want it,CAREFULLY place a finger on either side of that and press.
I've used the single fellows for crew members on 25lb guns,2lb ATGs,88mmAA/AT. They all seem to sit on the gunners seat real nice...
As for the MGs,I've never bought any UK 1/2 tracks yet(I will,I need to do the Polish 2d armored someday ),but if you have the tracks with the rail slide mounts you should be able to glue that gunner with the gun anywhere on the rail. As for the .50 cal question I don't fully understand what needs to be done-I'm sure Mk1 will pop along and set you straight..

[Mk 1]

jb said:
As for the MGs ... if you have the tracks with the rail slide mounts you should be able to glue that gunner with the gun anywhere on the rail. As for the .50 cal question I don't fully understand what needs to be done-I'm sure Mk1 will pop along and set you straight..

To hear is to command, oh painter of micros!

I can't claim to be an authoritative source on M5/M9 halftracks, but here is as much as I do know...

The skate rail can indeed move a .30cal MG around the entire troop compartment ... on US M2 halftracks and M3 Scout Cars. But I do not know if there was any such rail on the M5/M9 halftracks.

I believe the .30cals were mounted on pedestals at the corners. I will check further with some of my source materials, and let you know if I find otherwise.

The .50cal was mounted on a thick pedestal behind the driving compartment along the centerline.

Only the M5A1 and M9A1 models had the .50cal in the armored ring. As with the M3 vs. M3A1 halftracks, the majority were not A1s, and had pedestal mounted guns without the ring.

Here are a couple photos of the only M5 I've had the chance to see upclose.


This particular M5 had been modified by the Israeli Army. They put an armored cover over the front radiator grill, added the ball-mounted MG under armor at the co-driver's spot, and also added several more .50cal MGs in the troop compartment.


This is the best shot. You can see the handle of one of the corner .30cal MGs in the foreground. You can tell it is a .30cal by the pistol grip. The centerline pedestal .50cal MG is original, and shows pretty well in this pic. The two wing .50cals are Isreali add-ons.

For the wargamers out there, a little known item of trivia is that the M5 and M9 halftracks were not bullet-proof! That is one of the main reasons that the US Army rejected them, and so why they wound up lend-leased off to our British and Soviet allies.

The armor, which was only about 1/4 inch thick, was particularly soft. German 7.9mm Mauser bullets could pass through at a reasonable range and angle. German MG42s were particularly feared by halftrack crews. Not exactly what you might want for an APC.

However... they turned out to be reasonably popular, because the softer armor (compared to the U.S. M2 and M3 halftracks) did not tend to shatter from near-impacts of medium HE rounds. So they in fact offered better protection than the U.S. halftracks for the most common killer/wounder on the battlefield.


BTW, they make a great SUV for family fun and weekend outings. I recommend them highly.

Hope that helps.

[Mickel]

So there is probably nothing stopping me having a pedestal mounted 50cal without the ring on some and some having a ring with the 50cal. The M-9 models have a mount for the 30cal on the side. Excellent. The vehicles are all primed. Now have to finish prepping the lads, which is a more tedious task, but one that has to be done I guess! I'll probably get side tracked painting tanks and the recce sqn...