Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/72 Ground Power Series HG3801 US M8 Light Armored Car “A” Troop 25th Cavalry Recon. (Mechanized) Squadron 4th Armored Division

True 1/72 scale.

Professionally painted.

Great attention to detail.

All markings are Tampoed (pad applied).

Extremely heavy metal with a minimum of plastic.

Highly collectable.

THESE ARE PRE-PRODUCTION PICTURES NOT THE FINISHED MODEL

main recon vehicle used by the US military during WWII. The only positive thing the crews had to say about the vehicle was it was reliable and fast on roads. It performed poorly off road, was very lightly armored with only sheet metal for a floor. It had an open top with no periscopes and exposed the crew to weather and enemy fire. Over 8,500 were manufactured in 1942 - 1943.

The 4th Armored Division, usually referred to as the “Breakthrough” Division was composed of about 25 different types of units with the 25th Cavalry Recon. Squadron (Mechanized) being one of them. Mechanized cavalry squadrons were organized with three Cavalry Troops lettered A, B or C. Each troop had 13 M8 armored cars and jeeps. On the books the main assignments for the Cavalry groups was reconnaissance but in reality the crews were more often used for defensive operations, security or screening missions.

Specifications for the Ford M8 light armored car Crew - 4 Performance Engine - Hercules JXD 6-cylinder gasoline 110 hp (82Kw) Speed - 56mph (90km/h) Range - 349.8 miles (563km) Turn radius - 28ft (8.5m) Maximum grade - 60% Suspension - 6X6 wheel with leaf springs Dimensions Length - 16.4ft (5m) Width - 8.33ft (2.54m) Height - 7.38ft (2.25m)

Armor - maximum 0.75in (19mm)

Armament Primary - 37mm M6 gun Secondary - 1 X 0.30 caliber M1919A4 machine gun 1 X 0.50 caliber M2 machine gun