| Light Tank, M2 | |
|---|---|
 M2A4 light tank in British service, 11 March 1942 | |
| Type | Light tank |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Rock Island Arsenal |
| Manufacturer | Rock Island Arsenal (M2-M2A3), American Car & Foundry Company (M2A4) |
| Unit cost | $25,000 (M2A4, 1939 estimate)[1] |
| Produced | 1935–42 |
| No. built | 698 |
| Specifications (M2A4) | |
| Mass | 11.6 t (26,000 lb) |
| Length | 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) |
| Width | 8 ft 1 in (2.46 m) |
| Height | 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) |
| Crew | 4 (Commander/loader, gunner, driver, co-driver) |
| Armor | 6–25 mm (0.24–0.98 in) |
Main armament | 37 mm gun M5 103 rounds |
Secondary armament | 5x .30-06 (7.62 mm) Browning M1919A4 machine guns 8,470 rounds |
| Engine | Continental R-670-9A, 7-cylinder, radial gasoline 250 hp (190 kW) |
| Suspension | Vertical volute spring suspension |
Operational range | 200 mi (320 km) |
| Maximum speed | 36 mph (58 km/h) |
The M2 light tank, officially Light Tank, M2, was an American light tank of the interwar period which saw limited service during World War II. The most common model, the M2A4, was equipped with one 37 mm (1.5 in) M5 gun and five .30 cal M1919 Browning machine guns.
It was originally developed from the prototype T2 light tank built by the Rock Island Arsenal, which had a Vickers-type leaf spring suspension. The suspension was replaced by the superior vertical volute system in the T2E1 series of 1935. This was put into production with minor modifications as the M2A1 in 1936, with ten produced. The main pre-war version was the M2A2, with 239 produced, becoming the main tank of the United States Army during the interwar period. The Spanish Civil War showed that tanks armed only with machine guns were ineffective. This led to the M2A4 with a 37 mm gun as the main armament. A total of 375 were delivered, the last ten as late as April 1942.
The tank's only combat service was with the United States Marine Corps' 1st Tank Battalion in 1942 during the Pacific War. While some sources claim that the M2A4 saw action with British Army tank units in the Burma campaign against the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces, historian Mike Green states that the tanks were never issued to combat units.[2][3][4] The M2A4 light tank led to the development of the M3 Stuart light tank and the M4 tractor artillery prime mover, the former of which saw widespread use throughout World War II.
- ^ "Third Deficiency Appropriation Bill for 1939: Hearings Before the Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Seventy-sixth Congress, First Session on the Third Deficiency Appropriation Bill for 1939". 1939.
- ^ Hunnicutt (1992), p. 396
- ^ Zaloga (1999), p. 14
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Green131was invoked but never defined (see the help page).