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Foreign Armour Overview
All drawings © o5m6 2004. All rights reserved.
No publication in any form without the author's written permission.

Last Updated: December 21, 2004


Maxson M45 quad turret with four Browning cal.50 M2 HB machineguns
Front view



M17 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage
Among the weapons the Red Army lacked the most during the war were armoured anti-aircraft vehicles.
Once again the »arsenal of democracy« could be helpful as the American industry had successfully combined the halftrack with the half-inch Browning M2 Heavy Barrel.
This combination existed in two main flavours, with a twin-gun Maxson M33 turret and, better known, with a quad-gun Maxson M45 turret.
The latter was usually mounted on a M3 chassis and became the M16.
1000 samples, however, were installed on the International Harvester built M5 from December 1943 to March 1944 and subsequently delivered to the Russian ally.
There, the M17 proved extremely effective against low flying and soft ground targets and soon earned its nickname »meat chopper«.

Special thanks to Mr. Michael Franz, Germany, for providing precious informations.


Rear view Side view