The M8 Light Armored Car was a 6x6 armored car produced by the Ford Motor Company during the Second World War. It was used by the U.S. and British troops in Europe and the Far East until the end of the war. The vehicle was widely exported and as of 2006 still remains in service in some third world countries. In British service the M8 was known as Greyhound.

In July 1941, the Ordnance department initiated a development of a new fast tank destroyer to replace the M6 37 mm Gun Motor Carriage, which was essentially a 3/4 ton truck with a 37 mm gun installed in the rear bed. The requirement was for a 6x4 wheeled vehicle armed with a 37 mm gun and a coaxial machine gun mounted in a turret. Its glacis armor was supposed to withstand a .50 cal. machine gun fire and side armor a .30 cal. machine gun fire. Prototypes were submitted by Studebaker (T21), Ford (T22) and Chrysler (T23), all of them similar in design and appearance. In April 1942 a modified version of the T22 was selected. By then it was clear that the 37 mm gun would not be effective against the front armour of German tanks so the new armored car, designated M8 Light Armored Car and named Greyhound by the British due to its high speed but thin armor, took on reconnaissance role instead. Contract issues and minor design improvements delayed serial production until March 1943. Production ended in June 1945. A total of 8,523 units were built, not including the M20 Armored Utility Car.

The M20 Armored Utility Car, also known as the M20 Scout Car, was a Greyhound with the turret removed. This was replaced with a low, armored open-topped superstructure and an AA ring mount for a .50 caliber M2 heavy machinegun AA. A bazooka was provided for the crew to compensate for its lack of anti-armor weaponry. The M20 was primarily used as a command vehicle and for forward reconnaissance, but many vehicles also served as APCs and cargo carriers. It offered high speed and excellent mobility, along with a degree of protection against small arms fire and shrapnel. When employed in the command and control role, the M20 was fitted with additional radio equipment. Originally designated the M10 Armored Utility Car, it was redesignated M20 to avoid confusion with the M10 Wolverine tank destroyer. 3,680 M20s were built by Ford during its two years in production (1943-1944).

Pictured here is a 1:43 scale replica of a US M20 light armored car armed with a Browning M2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun. Now in stock!

Dimensions:
Length: 4-inches
Width: 2-inches

Release Date: August 2023

Historical Account: "Hedgerows" - The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between Nazi Germany in Western Europe and the invading Allied forces as part of the larger conflict of World War II. Over sixty years later, the Normandy invasion, codenamed Operation Overlord, still remains the largest seaborne invasion in history, involving almost three million troops crossing the English Channel from England to Normandy in then German-occupied France. It is most commonly known by the name D-Day.

The primary Allied formations that saw combat in Normandy came from the United States of America, United Kingdom and Canada. Substantial Free French and Polish forces also participated in the battle after the assault phase, and there were also contingents from Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, the Netherlands, and Norway.

The Normandy invasion began with overnight parachute and glider landings, massive air attacks, naval bombardments, and an early morning amphibious phase began on June 6th. The 'D-Day' forces deployed from bases along the south coast of England, the most important of these being Portsmouth. The battle for Normandy continued for more than two months, with campaigns to establish, expand, and eventually break out of the Allied beachheads, and concluded with the liberation of Paris and the fall of the Falaise pocket in late August 1944.