Hi guys,

I may be able to buy myself an old Nitto/Bluetank M8a1 tractor.
Does anyone know untill when these vehicles were used by the US Army ?
And if so, which unit did use them ?
Were they ever used by the US National Guard/Reserve ?


TIA,

Gé

Artillery units like the the 17th Field Artillery Regiment used these tractors in the 60's :

Camp Hiday, 1962-1963, South Korea, 1/17, Battery B :



Here are a few in Germany :





(from this thread )

IIRC they were also used by AA units to tow the Skysweeper 75mm Anti-aircraft gun deployed in the early 50's...

Some related threads :

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/57307&page=1

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/60199


H.P.

According to US Military Tracked Vehicles by Fred W. Crismon
M8A1 and M8A2 were built between 1950 and 1955. the photo in the book shows one equipped with the Body Kit T48 which was installed when used to tow the T69 75mm antiaircraft gun (Skysweeper) There were 480 M8A1's and 480 M8A2's built.



Per Wikipedia The were also used for towing cargo trailers, and the M59 155mm gun (Long Tom)

Hi guys,

Thanks for your fast replies !

HP: i've seen this pictures on the web also.

But i was wondering if these vehicles were used in the seventies in the National Guard or Reserve units.
It is hard to believe that all of them were scrapped.

Gé

Bump !

Anyone has any ideas ??

Gé

I've got a few photos of them in use with AAA units in the 50s, but I haven't heard of any in use as late as the 1970s.

We have a built model in our props collection here at the ADA Museum and I've been contemplating stripping and rebuilding it with modern tracks, details, etc. It is pretty accurate, but has molded on spare tracks, pioneering tools, etc.

As for survivors, there are a few of them out there.

neat photo shwing the engine slid out. I thought it might have had a tilt cab like a semi-tractor truck.

Reminds me of the M18 Hellcat :

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/27666849@N04/3586845879/

H.P.

This is from the ADA Museum Collection, c.1954

One of the coolest features on this kit is the spring-loaded torsion bars on the suspension!

According to the information you can find here :

http://sill-www.army.mil/firesbulletin/archives/1968/MAY_1968/MAY_1968_FULL_EDITION.pdf

the M8 tractor was still used by the 15th Field Artillery Regiment in Alaska in 1968 (see page 14)....

H.P.

Here's mine:

I had one of these decades ago and recall it was an awful model; never built it. I would like to know what you think of the model. So far it looks OK.

BTW, here's the M8E1: http://armorama.kitmaker.net/review/7822

To be honest, I didn't build this one, but will strip it and rebuild. The overall shape is right, but the drive sprockets are awful and there are a lot of molded on details that neede to. Be removed. Also, there are a lot of sharp angles on the suspension that need to be sanded down. However, I think I may grab a Tamiya M41and grab the suspension.

With all this talk on the M-8, I had to dig mine out. I hope to make this my first build for the Engineering the Future Campaign should it take off. This had been on the shelf for a long time. Anyone interested in these types of vehicles ought to go over to the Campaigns page and let's get the ball rolling. Don M.

Hi guys,

Sorry for not answering rightaway !
Just bought myself that Nitto M8a1 tractor.
I think i will give it the markings of the 15th FA in Alaska ( 171st brigade ) as shown in the post of Henry.
Give it some wintercamo of 1968 !
Gé