The M39 Armored Utility Vehicle (T41) was an American armored vehicle designed during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, which saw service in that conflict and in the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. Like a number of vehicles of this type, it was built using an existing chassis, that of the
M18 Hellcat
The M18 Hellcat (officially designated the 76 mm Gun Motor Carriage M18 or M18 GMC) is a tank destroyer that was used by the United States Army in World War II and the Korean War. A top speed of up to was attained by keeping armor to a minim ...
.
History
Development and World War II
In March 1944, the
United States Army Ordnance Department
The United States Army Ordnance Corps, formerly the United States Army Ordnance Department, is a sustainment branch of the United States Army, headquartered at Fort Lee, Virginia. The broad mission of the Ordnance Corps is to supply Army comb ...
authorized the conversion of two M18 tank destroyers as prime movers for the
3-inch Gun M5 on Carriage M6, a towed antitank gun used by tank destroyer battalions, and armored command and reconnaissance vehicles. The vehicles were respectively designated the T41 and T41E1. Tests were "highly successful," but the Ordnance Department decided that the configuration of the T41E1, which allowed for easy conversion between a prime mover or command vehicle, would suit the needs of the program, so work on the T41 was stopped; when equipped as a prime mover or command vehicle, the vehicles would still respectively be referred to as T41 or T41E1, however.
The T41 was equipped with an SCR-610 radio and stowage space for 42 rounds of 3-inch ammunition. It had a crew of two, and could seat up to eight passengers. The T41E1 had an SCR-506 or SCR-608 radio in addition to the SCR-610, with an auxiliary generator. It could carry up to seven passengers. A
bazooka
Bazooka () is the common name for a Man-portable anti-tank systems, man-portable recoilless Anti-tank warfare, anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the ...
and three antitank mines were provided for self-defense in the reconnaissance role. On 26 June 1944, the Ordnance Committee approved the production of 650 T41 prime movers from early M18 Hellcat tank destroyers that had been returned under Ordnance directive to the Buick factory that March to fix problems with their transmission gear ratios, as well as incorporate the latest modifications. In November 1944, the number of T41s to be produced was reduced to 640 and the design was standardized as the Armored Utility Vehicle M39. Ten additional T41s were converted to T41E1 configuration for testing at the request of the European Theater, but the T41E1 was never standardized. Both variants saw limited service beginning in April 1945, immediately before the and of World War II in Europe, in particular because the 3-inch gun had begun to be phased out of service in early 1945 in favor of self-propelled tank destroyers. In March 1945, reports from Europe indicated it would be desirable to develop an armored roof for the open-topped M39.
Korean War
The M39 was more widely used during the Korean War, where they were employed in variety of roles, including as troop transports, armored ambulances, and ammunition carriers for
155mm M41 Gorilla self-propelled howitzers. M39s played a vital role in supplying and ferrying troops to isolated outposts during the later defensive phase of the Korean War, though their thin armor and open tops meant the crews were vulnerable to enemy fire, and the fully enclosed
M75 armored personnel carrier
The M75 Armored Infantry Vehicle is an American armored personnel carrier that was produced between December 1952 and February 1954, and saw service in the Korean War. It was replaced in U.S. service by the smaller, cheaper, amphibious M59 armored ...
eventually replaced it in this role.
Ambush in the Battle of Imjin River
M39s were employed as ammunition carriers in the African American
999th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, which fought in the
Battle of the Imjin River
The Battle of the Imjin River ( fil, Labanan sa Ilog Imjin), also known as the Battle of Solma-ri ( ko, 설마리 전투) or Battle of Gloster Hill () in South Korea, or as Battle of Xuemali () in China, took place 22–25 April 1951 during t ...
, where it provided artillery support for the
1st Republic of Korea Infantry Division. During the battle, Battery B was forced to evacuate its position after neighboring units withdrew. Because the M39s carriers had
.50 caliber machine guns, unlike the unit's M41 self-propelled howitzers, they led the retreating column. During the retreat, it was ambushed by Chinese forces; in the battle, the unit lost seven killed in action, two M39 Armored Utility Vehicles, and had two M41s damaged and 31 wounded. However, the unit broke through the ambush, inflicting an estimated 100 casualties on the ambushing forces, and promptly resumed providing artillery support afterwards.
The M39 was declared obsolete in U.S. service in 1957.
Cold War
Use in the ''Bundeswehr''
In 1956, the United States offered 100 M39s to the
West German
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
''
Bundeswehr
The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...
''. Only 32 were put into service, and they were assigned to the ''Panzergrenadier-Lehrbataillon'' in
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
. After four years of service, they were replaced in 1960 by the
Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30
Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30, formally ''Schützenpanzer, lang, Typ 12-3'', or ''SPz lg 12-3'' for short ( German for "Infantry-tank, long, Type 12-3"), was a West German infantry fighting vehicle developed from 1956 to 1958. It was a Swiss His ...
due to a shortage of spare parts.
Gallery
File:Medical-corpsmen-korea.jpg, Medical corpsmen assist in helping wounded infantrymen down from an M39 Armored Utility Vehicle
File:M39-Armored-Utility-Vehicle-1.jpg, M39 Armored Utility Vehicle
File:Korea_M39.JPEG, A U.S. Army M39 assists U.S. Marines
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...
picking up casualties on 25 July 1953 during an attack against Hill 111, also known as "Boulder City", during the Battle of the Samichon River
The Battle of the Samichon River (24–26 July 1953) was fought during the final days of the Korean War between United Nations (UN) forces—primarily Australian and American—and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA). The fighting took pla ...
during the Korean War.
File:3-inch_Gun_M6.jpg, An M5 3-inch antitank gun
See also
*
List of U.S. military vehicles by model number
The following is a (partial) listing of vehicle model numbers or M-numbers assigned by the United States Army. Some of these designations are also used by other agencies, services, and nationalities, although these various end users usually assig ...
*
List of U.S. military vehicles by supply catalog designation
This is the Group G series List of the United States military vehicles by (Ordnance) supply catalog designation, — ''one'' of the alpha-numeric "Standard Nomenclature Lists" (SNL) that were part of the overall List of the United States Army w ...
*
List of U.S. Army weapons by supply catalog designation
This is a historic (index) list of United States Army weapons and materiel, by their Standard Nomenclature List (SNL) group and individual designations — an alpha-numeric nomenclature system used in the United States Army Ordnance Corps Supply ...
*
3 inch Gun M5
References
External links
*http://www.olive-drab.com/idphoto/id_photos_m39auv.php
*http://www.toadmanstankpictures.com/m39.htm
Armored Utility Vehicle M391-4 specifications – American Fighting Vehicle Database
{{WWIIAmericanAFVs
World War II armored fighting vehicles of the United States
Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944
Cold War armored fighting vehicles of the United States
Armoured personnel carriers of the Cold War