| In 1941 the US Army began development of the high-speed tractor for towing artillery pieces. The result of this development was the T21, utilising
components of the M3 light tank, which was placed into production as the M5 HST [Lit; High Speed Tractor]
Production of the M5 HST was undertaken by International Harvester with 973 built in 1943, 3,503 in 1944 and 1,402 in 1945. In all 5,880 of all variants
were manufactured.
The M5 HST carried a gun crew of eight plus the driver. It could also carry a limited ammunition supply for the gun which was stowed in the compartment
in the centre of the crew compartment. While the vehicle was capable of towing the 105mm howitzer or the 3-inch anti-tank gun it was mainly used to tow
the M1 155mmm howitzer.
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VARIANTS OF THE SERIES
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M5 HST - Tractor, full-track, high-speed, 13-ton.
M5 HST [Ring Mount] - Production vehicles fitted with M49C ring mount.
M5A1 HST - Tractor, full-track, high-speed, 13-ton.
M5A2 HST - Tractor, full-track, high-speed, 13-ton.
M5A3 HST - Tractor, full-track, high-speed, 13-ton.
M5A4 HST - Tractor, full-track, high-speed, 13-ton.
T21 - Prototype for the M5 HST.
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GENERAL RECOGNITION POINTS
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- Two suspension units each side.
- Prominent bar along suspension and idler mounts.
- Sprocket front, trailing idler rear.
- Flat front to vehicle with prominent angular nose above winch.
- Vertical sides to vehicle.
- Vertical rear with prominent mesh cover to engine cooling fan.
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WEBSITES
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| DOCUMENTS |
- Military Modelling, Volume 31 No 6, 25th May - 14th June 2001, Fast track [Steve Zaloga]
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