So... I did some checking. The M19 never made it into WWII. Where that rumor came from, I don't know, but Wikipedia (a poor source to begin with) does say it went into service in the last days of WWII where it was effective in ground combat). I think they are confusing it with it's Korean War service. Other sources (Olive Drab, The History of War, and Military Factory) say a prototype was in testing in 1944, but was not accepted until June 14th 1944 by the Army, and production didn't begin until August 1944. These sources also state the projected production total was supposed to be 904 vehicles, but only 300 were scheduled for production by April 1945, but the war in Europe was just about over by then (May 7th 1945-- the end of hostilities in Europe) and production ceased in April 1945. According to the History of War, only 285 chassis were actually completed when the war ended, and they were not fitted with turrets. The History of War, Olive Drab and the Military Factory all state the M19 did not go into combat before the war ended. All of these websites cite credible references. Another problem with the info provided by Bronco is the statement the M19 turrets were "used on the M-42". Olive Drab enphatically states this is incorrect, giving credible photographic references, which show how the turret ring and race are not compatible between the two vehicles. The M42 was certainly the successor to the M19, but there is no evidence of a direct exchange of any turrets other than in the basic design. Based on this info, I'm reasonably sure none of the M19s ever made it into WWII combat. The March 1945 date on my manual is also significant, as it would have been produced just before the vehicle was issued.

One interesting aspect of the M19 iwas its ability to tow part of it's ammo load on a 1/2 or 3/4 ton trailer (nicknamed the Roman Chariot I think, because of the fenders on the outside of the trailer body). Italeri made this trailer frame for a WWII water trailer. I was all set to convert the AFV M42 "Duster", the Bronco Chaffee, and the Italeri trailer into this combination, but gave up on the idea because it was just too darn hard to build all those ammo boxes around the M19 turret. Now I don't have too! Thank you Bronco! The only thing that would make this release better is covers for the spare barrels and the addition of the ammo trailer! Next release maybe?
VR, Russ

Thanks all for confirming the non-WWII combat status.

There are some other fun applications. The Ohio National Guard had them on inventory into the early 1980s

Interesting. I may get one because it is a unique subject. It is disturbing that these were still in a TE&O into the MERDEC era.