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M38 Wolfhound

1944 WORLD WAR 2 X-TANK

History of the M38 Wolfhound

The M38 was designed to replace the ubiquitous M8 Greyhound series of armoured reconnaissance vehicles that served the Allied forces in excellent service during World War II. They are lightly armored machines with equally light weapons, allowing them to cover areas ahead of the main force to explore and use their speed to escape difficulties.

These vehicles are armed with small-caliber machine guns and even cannons to deal with minor threats, but direct contact with enemy forces is often not in the crew's best interests. The M38 was created in 1944 to enhance the greyhound's intrinsic qualities and modernize the breed based on battlefield experience. The idea was to produce the final product Scout car with great off-road and on-road capability by using six powered wheels and excellent range.

Armaments will again be of a more defensive nature for the simple purpose of self-preservation.

The design of the M38 is traditional, and its most notable design feature is the three pairs of large rubber wheels on one side of the fuselage. The chassis is mounted high off the ground for maximum ground clearance on rough terrain. Each wheel rests on the fenders to control mud spread. The front fenders are well angled, and the front of the vehicle has a sharp point to help with basic ballistic deflection. A turret was added on top of the center of the fuselage to allow for unrestricted 360-degree traversal when attacking a target.

Like other vehicles of this type, the M38's armor is relatively thin, in the 6mm to 12mm range, enough to provide some protection from small arms fire and explosive projectiles from nearby battlefield "sprays". The driver sits in the forward position on the left side of the fuselage.

The entire operating crew consists of four employees, including the driver, commander, gunner and loader. The operating weight is nearly 7 tons, the barrel length is 5.11 meters, the width is 2.44 meters, and the total height is 1.98 meters.

The weapon is in a lateral turret position and is primarily operated by the gunner/squad and commander. The primary weapon is a 37mm M6 gun capable of penetrating lightly armored targets and firing armor-piercing and high-explosive rounds. Armor-piercing rounds are naturally used against armor-protected targets requiring penetration, while high-explosive rounds are used against "soft" targets and infantry concentrations. Secondary armament is a Browning M1919A4 30 caliber general purpose machine gun coaxially mounted next to the main gun, also controlled by the gunner. That . The 30 caliber machine gun is suitable for anti-infantry use when the 37mm main gun is considered too powerful.

The commander administered a .50 caliber Browning M2 heavy machine gun to engage lightly armored land targets and low-flying enemy attack aircraft. Smoke grenade launchers are installed to allow the M38 to generate its own smoke screen. The 93 x 37mm projectile was dragged, as was the 440 rounds. 50 caliber ammunition, 1,750 rounds.

30 caliber ammo and up to 18 smoke grenades.

Power is provided by a Cadillac Series 42 liquid-cooled V8 gasoline engine producing up to 110 hp. This gives the platform a top speed of 60 mph and a range of nearly 300 miles. Of course, these numbers drop significantly off-road (35 mph), as rough terrain is expected to adversely affect the vehicle.

This engine is used with a Hydra-Matic drivetrain. All wheels in the 6x6 wheel assembly are suspended on independent swing arm suspension fittings and are evenly positioned for excellent off-road capability, with displacement evenly distributed across six ground points.

The two front axles control the steering of the vehicle.

The M38 originally existed in pilot (prototype) form as "T38". In March 1945, the M38 Wolfhound was officially chosen to replace the M8 Greyhound series. The Chevrolet division of General Motors was used in production.

However, the war in Europe was slowly coming to an end at the time, and in May 1945 Germany formally surrendered after Adolf Hitler's suicide and mounting casualties on both sides of the East and West. As a result, production of the M38 was largely limited to a handful of pilot vehicles rather than production form. The Wolfhound program, which was designed to provide products no longer needed by the U.S.

Army, has ceased entirely as the outcome of the war is now tightly controlled. Essentially, as America's war machine settled, it suffered the fate of many late-stage development projects.

The M38 underwent a number of modifications during its development, a notable result being the mounting of the M24 Chaffee light tank's turret to the M38's chassis, resulting in a powerful 75mm M6 L/39 armored Scout Main Gun - A huge improvement over the original 37mm weapon. In addition, the M38's reputation is very small, and most of it falls on the pages of military history.