M8 Howitzer Motor Carriage

[RockinRecon]

thanks kubel for posting thos pics. I think i have one or two more pics here in the house somewhere of my Grandfather with the M8 HMC and may post them when i come across them. I heard my Grandfather brought a German pistol and some daggers home, probably the P-38 and dagger in the pic above but one of the children stole them and pawned them. I have the rest of my Grandfather's WWII stuff in a safe though and it's a pretty good bit of stuff.

 

Take Care

[RockinRecon]

one more pic i found, i think he's wearing tankers overalls in this pic and also looks like some field gear is out behind him. a lot of these original pics i have are very small, like 2 by 3 inches or so and of course are very old and are bent and have cracks and such in them. If anyone has any info, let me know the best way to preserve these old original pictures i have, i would appreciate it very much.

[RockinRecon]

Here is a nice model of a M8 HMC with a snowy look as if it were in the Battle of the Bulge. I have 2 of these models myself, one is built and one is still sealed in the box.

 

 

 

And here is a real one in action.

 

[freedomhistory]

My father-in-law commanded an assault gun troop of M8 HMCs in a cav recon squadron. I have read most everything published and also posted on the internet on the armored vehicle. I understand the direct and indirect fire capabilities, etc, etc. The 50-mm machine gun could wreak havoc on German infantry advancing. The 75-mm howitzer was a powerful weapon for indirect fire on German defensive positions.

 

I am interested in gaining any insight (and, especially, first-hand experience) which anyone would care to share about the direct-fire capability of the 75-mm howitzer on the M8 HMC.

 

I do know that the 75-mm was incapable of penetrating the frontal armor of a Panther V tank.

I believe the 75-mm could disable a Panther with a side or rear shot, just as Sherman tanks often did. Is there any disagreement with that?

I believe an M8 HMC with its 75-mm also could finish off a Panther, as Sherman tanks did. Is that correct?

 

What about Panzer IV tanks? Could an M8 HMC with its 75-mm gun go head-to-head with a Panzer IV tank?

In other words, penetrate the frontal armor of a Panzer IV?

 

Some of the gentlemen in the posting seemed to have first-hand experience on an M8 HMC. I would be very interested in anything they or anyone else care to offer.

 

Thanks

Steve

www.freedomhistory.com

[Terry K.]

Hey Steve,

 

First off, welcome!

 

Second,

I know what any M-8 man would have done if they ran into a German tank, turn around and get the hell out of there. Mostly used for recon, the main thing that kept those men alive was the speed that they could get out of trouble as fast as they got into it.

 

Terry

[patches]

Question, what Branch were the crews of the HOWITZER MOTOR CARRIAGE M8 be of? this AFV served in an array of units in the so designated Assault Gun Platoons and or Companies (Troops), these being Armored Infantry, Tank Battalions and Tank Destroyer Battalions and Cavalry Reconnaissance Groups.

[nebelwerfer]

This M8 can be seen at le grande Blockhouse in Batz sur Mere near St Nazaire in France.

 

Picture can also be found on my instagram account westrich_wilderness_by_cd

 

 

[patches]

A rare occurrence and sight we should think, a destroyed M8 Motor Carriage of an unknown unit., somewhere in France, summer of 44, Normandy, Northern France, maybe even Southern France. Seeing that this vehicle was not the type to engage in direct front line combat actions like a Tank or a Tank Destroyer, this vehicle probably came to grief either from a enemy land mine or artillery, possibly a preregistered artillery barrage, a favorite tactic of the Germans.

[tredhed2]

On 4/19/2023 at 11:00 PM, patches said:

Question, what Branch were the crews of the HOWITZER MOTOR CARRIAGE M8 be of? this AFV served in an array of units in the so designated Assault Gun Platoons and or Companies (Troops), these being Armored Infantry, Tank Battalions and Tank Destroyer Battalions and Cavalry Reconnaissance Groups.

Tank Bns used Assault Gun Plts for sure, I know a living vet who served in the ETO in one w/ the 740th Tk Bn.

 

.  

[patches]

28 minutes ago, tredhed2 said:

Tank Bns used Assault Gun Plts for sure, I know a living vet who served in the ETO in one w/ the 740th Tk Bn.

 

.  

Tanks tred.

 

Would you know what Branch they were the crews of these? Field Artillery Branch Trained in example?

[tredhed2]

12 hours ago, patches said:

Tanks tred.

 

Would you know what Branch they were the crews of these? Field Artillery Branch Trained in example?

My bud was Armor branch. 

[JimmCapp]

Here’s an interesting story about how the 3rd Armored Division got its Distinguished Unit Citation, thanks to an M8 HMC versus a Panther:

 

By September 1944, German forces were retreating in disarray while Allied forces were trying to block or eliminate them before they could reach the Siegfried Line and Germany.

To that end, the U.S. 3rd Armored Division was deployed around Mons, Belgium, where the 32nd Armored Regiment was guarding key junctions west of town.

On the morning of Sept. 4th, a German heavy tank was heard approaching as it led 150-200 foot soldiers. Vastly outgunned, American armored reconnaissance cars held their fire and were not detected.

An M8 HMC also observed the Panther, yet it too escaped notice. The M8’s stubby 75mm howitzer could provide fire support — but it was no antitank weapon. Still, the American commander decided to attack before being discovered by a tank that could single-handedly decimate his entire company. He ordered an HE-FRAG round, and from about 150 yards the gunner succeeded in blowing off the tank’s right track. At such close range, the report of the gun and the shell were virtually simultaneous and provided no direction.

The German commander stopped and swung his turret from side to side, looking for the unseen assailant. The German troops had gone to the ground and, likewise, saw nothing. After a few tense minutes, the tank commander ordered the loader to get out and check the damage, probably figuring they had struck a mine. The loader opened the rear hatch of the turret to avoid silhouetting himself against the skyline. Incredulous, the American commander ordered his gunner to put an HE-FRAG round through the open hatch.

That he did, and the Panther blew sky-high. The Germans behind the tank panicked and ran back down the road through a gantlet of small-arms fire from American reconnaissance elements.

The U.S. National Archives holds a lot of information on the 3rd Armored, but usually it is for the combat elements — and the heavier the action, the briefer the reports from the combatants. However, this action was typed up for a Distinguished Unit Citation (now Presidential Unit Citation), which troops display as a blue ribbon with gold surround on the right breast. It was awarded to them in July 1945.

Recent information has filled in some of the blanks. The heavy tank was not a Tiger as initially reported (many Americans called all German tanks Tigers), but a PzKpfw V Panther, apparently from Panzer Abteilung 2105, Panzer Brigade 105, 9th Panzer Division. The troops behind it were a mixed bag of paratroopers from the 6th Fallschirmjäger Division, Panzergrenadiers, and regular infantry. They were most likely captured and tallied as the 3rd Armored took 2,432 prisoners, killed or wounded another 227, and destroyed or captured 67 vehicles from various German formations.

[patches]

 

 

Another destroyed M8, by the looks of it, it ran over a land mine, blast flipped it to the side and set it's road wheels and rubber pads of the tread on fire. No idea if GI standing posing it front of it is a crew member or not, kinda odd photo no, he seems to be smiling and doesn't seem to be concerned at all at the vehicle that's starting to burn up right behind him, nor if there are other land mines in the immediate vicinity that he could step on, ditto the person who's taking this photo. Don't know where this is or the unit, or what happened to the crew.