M-8 Greyhound 6x6 Light Armored Car

The Car, Armored, Light, 6x6 M8 (called the Greyhound by the British) was equipped with a 37mm main gun plus two machine guns: one .30 cal. mounted coaxially with the main gun plus one .50 cal. anti-aircraft gun mounted on the turret. The M-8 Greyhound was produced in Ford's plant in St. Paul, MN from July 1943 to June 1945, with a production total of about 8,500 vehicles.

The side racks on the M8, between the front and rear wheels, originally held land mines, three on each side. The land mine racks were later replaced with enclosed storage boxes.

The M8 was closely related to the open-top M20 Armored Utility Car, also produced by Ford.

M-8 Greyhound 6x6 Light Armored Car
M-8 Greyhound 6x6 Light Armored Car

Today in WW II: 8 Jul 1940 Tea rationing begins in Britain.  More ↓
8 Jul 1941 Jews living under German occupation in Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania ordered to wear a Jewish Star.
8 Jul 1942 US Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Chester Nimitz orders invasion of Guadalcanal, Solomon islands, to seize a strategic Japanese airfield.
8 Jul 1944 US forces on Saipan mop up after surviving a 15-hour banzai charge, one of the largest ever, defesting over 3000 Japanese soldiers plus wounded and civilians who participated.
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M-8 Greyhound 6x6 Armored Car (G-136)

Crew 4
Weight 17,500 lbs.
Height 7 ft, 4.5 in. (including MG)
Width 8 ft, 4 in.
Length 16 ft, 5 in.
Engine Hercules JXD 6 cyl, gasoline
Horsepower 86
Transmission 4 fwd speeds, 1 rev
Transfer case 2 speed
Road Speed 56 mph.
Range 300–350 mi.
Fording depth 2 ft, 8 in.

Manuals for the M-8 Armored Car (and in common with the G-176 M20) include:

  • TM 9-743 Operation and Maintenance. Light Armored Car M8 (10 March 1943)
  • TM 9-1743 Power Train, Suspension, Hull, and Turret Rebuild and Overhaul (October 1943)
  • TM 9-1832A Hercules Engines, Series JX Models A, C, D, E-3, F
  • Preliminary Service Parts Catalog for Car, Armored, Light, M8 (June 1943)
  • ORD 7 SNL G-176 Organizational Maintenance Parts List (January 1952)
  • ORD 8 SNL G-136 Field / Depot Maintenance Allowances (Parts) for M8 (G-136) & M20 (G-176) (March 1952)
  • ORD 9 SNL G-136 Parts listing

Find additional photos and hi-res versions of the M-8 Greyhound 6x6 Armored Car at the Olive-Drab Military Mashup.

M-8 Greyhound 6x6 Armored Car Photo Gallery

M8 armored cars of the 28th Constabulary Squadron, Germany, February 1952
M8 armored cars of the 28th Constabulary Squadron, Germany, February 1952.

M-8 Armored Car. Photo: Courtesy of Douglas Greville
M-8 Armored Car. Photo: Courtesy of Douglas Greville.

M-8 Armored Car. Photo: Courtesy of John Buckley
M8 Armored Car. Photo: Courtesy of John Buckley.

Spc. Clinton Meek, Restoration Supervisor for the 3/3 ACR I Troop Cavalry Museum, checking out the engine of an M-8 Armored car on display at Ft. Carson, CO, 8 January 1998
Spc. Clinton Meek, Restoration Supervisor for the 3/3 ACR I Troop Cavalry Museum, checking out the engine of an M-8 Armored car on display at Ft. Carson, CO, 8 January 1998.