M5 Tractor

M5 High-Speed Tractor
300px M5 tractor in Fort Lewis Museum
Type	Artillery tractor
Place of origin	United States
Service history
Used by	US Army & Belgian army
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designed	1942
Manufacturer	International Harvester
Variants	5
Specifications
Weight	13.791 t
Length	5.03 m (16 ft 6 in)
Width	2.54 m (8 ft 4 in)
Height	2.69 m (8 ft 10 in)
Crew	1 + 10
Armor	none
Main armament	1 x M2 Browning machine gun
Engine	Continental R6572 six-cylinder petrol engine 207 hp (154 kW)
Power/weight	15.0 hp/t
Operational range	290 km (180 mi)
Speed	48 km/h (30 mph)

The M5 High-Speed Tractor is an artillery tractor that was used by the US Army from 1942.

Construction

The M5 is a fully track vehicle designed to tow the 105 mm Howitzer M2, and the 155 mm Long Tom field artillery, and carry the gun crew and ammunition. A winch and roller system allows the M5 to pull vehicles to the front or rear. Armament is a single anti-aircraft M2 Browning machine gun.

History

The M5 was standardized in October 1942 from the T21, a vehicle based on the tracks and suspension of the Stuart tank. International Harvester started production in 1942. The M5 did not serve in US Army for long after World War II, but Japan, Austria, Yugoslavia, Lebanon and Pakistan continued to use it.

Variants

• M5 soft top, center driver, Vertical Volute Spring
• M5A1 hard top, left driver, Vertical Volute Spring
• M5A2 soft top, center driver, Horizontal Volute Spring
• M5A3 hard top, left driver, Horizontal Volute Spring
• M5A4 Half top, center driver, side ammo boxes, Horizontal Volute Spring

Surviving artifacts

• Marshall Museum [1]
• 1 at 45th ID Museum [2]
• Museum of the American G.I., College Station, TX (unit is fully functional) [3]
• 1 M5A2 at Armourgeddon Tank Driving, Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, UK Armourgeddon
• 1 M5 at the Kansas Museum of Military History in Augusta, Kansas, USA unit is fully functional [4]
• 1 M5 at the Arkansas National Guard Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA [5]

Many M5 Tractors were used in British Columbia, Canada, as carriers for rock drills. The Chapman "Drilmobile", manufactured by Chapman Motor & Machine Shop of Delta, BC was designed specifically for logging road construction, and was quite popular.

See also

• List of U.S. military vehicles by supply catalog designation
• List of U.S. military vehicles by model number
• M4 Tractor

References

File:Artillery-prime-movers-korea.jpg

M5 tractor in Korea.

• TM 9-2800 OCTOBER 1947, page 170: http://www.scribd.com/doc/188375301/TM-9-2800-1947
• TM 9-2800-1 February 1953: http://www.scribd.com/doc/183017787/TM-9-2800-1-1953-INCLUDING-C1-EN-C2-pdf
• TM 9-786 Operating and Maintenance Instructions, 13-Ton, High Speed Tractor M5
• TM 9-1786A Ordnance Maintenance for power train, tracks, 13-Ton, High Speed Tractor M5 (1944)
• TM 9-1786B Ordnance Maintenance for engine, 13-Ton, High Speed Tractor M5 (1944)
• TM 9-8627 Electrical equipment, Delco-Remy. 1953. Generators, regulators, distributors, starters, etc.
• TM 9-1829A Speedometers, tachometers, recorders [6]
• TM 9-2430-201
• SNL G162

Further reading

• Samer Kassis, Véhicules Militaires au Liban/Military Vehicles in Lebanon 1975-1981, Trebia Publishing, Chyah 2012. ISBN 978-9953-0-2372-4

External links

• http://www.o5m6.de/m5_hst.html