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T23 Armored Car Series


Specifications

Country of Origin/Used by: USA
First Produced/Service Dates: 1942
Manufactured by: Chrysler Corporation (Fargo Division)
Crew: 4?
Armament: Main: 37mm cannon; Co-Axial: .30 caliber Machine Gun; Anti-Aircraft: .50 cal Heavy MG
Engine: 6 Cylinder Gasoline (Dodge)
Miscellaneous Info: Development of the M8 Greyhound Armored Car and M20 Armored Utility Car started in 1941 with the US Army’s Tank Destroyer Command requesting a new wheeled Gun Motor Carriage (GMC) be developed. That request was quickly expanded by the US Army into the creation of a vehicle which could also perform other roles.  Those roles included cargo carrier, mortar carrier, multiple gun motor carriage and reconnaissance vehicle. Ford Motor Company and Chrysler Corporation were asked to produce two (2) pilot models for evaluation; one being 4x4 drive and the other 6x6. Studebaker Corporation became involved later. Chrysler’s 6x6 offering was referred to as the T23 GMC and its 4x4 vehicle, the T23E1 GMC. In March 1942, the vehicle designations above were changed to T23 and T23E1 Armored Cars, respectively.

The Ford T22 Armored Car was evaluated first as it was submitted before the Chrysler and Studebaker T21 Armored Cars.  The evaluation was so successful, that the US Army concluded that with some minor modifications and upgrades, the T22 should be selected for production (ultimately becoming the M8 and M20).  As a result, the T22E1, T23 and T23E1 programs were terminated, although the pilot models already started could be completed. Also, after a subsequent Army evaluation, the Studebaker T21 Armored Car program was also terminated.
Data Sheet Available:   None Available

Photos

Reference Source/Provider
    T23 Armored Car Photos U.S. Army via the David Haugh Collection
  T23E1 (4x4) Armored Car Photo U.S. Army via the David Haugh Collection

References Available

Online

Reference Source/Provider
   

Printed

Reference Author
American Armored Cars (Grenadier Books) A.J. Clemens
A Photo History of Armoured Cars In Two World Wars George Forty
Armored Car - A History of American Wheeled Combat Vehicles R. P. Hunnicutt
Encyclopedia of Armoured Cars Duncan Crow and Robert J. Icks
Ford M8 and M20: The US Army’s Standard Armored Car of WWII (David Doyle Books) David Doyle
M8 Greyhound Armored Car: 1941-1991 (Osprey Publications) Steven J. Zaloga
Searching for Perfection: An Encyclopedia of U.S. Army T-Series Vehicle Development (1925-1958)

Review by Peter Brown via Missing-Lynx

David R. Haugh
U.S. Military Wheeled Vehicles Fred W. Crismon

Hobby Modeling

Kits and Accessories

Model Kit Manufacturer Scale Other Information
       

Model Photos

Reference Source/Provider