Cars, Half-Tracks and Carriers: Armored Vehicles from the M2 to the Pbv 302

The M2 half-track car, introduced in 1941, was designed by Firestone and built by White and later Autocar. About 13,500 were produced, serving as both an artillery tractor and a reconnaissance vehicle, and roughly 800 went to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease.

The Humber armoured car, also recorded at 1941, was built by the Rootes Group and sold under the Humber name to avoid confusion with the tracked Universal Carrier. Roughly 5,400 were built, and the 11th Hussars used it in North Africa from late 1941.

The Sd.Kfz. 250 is the third 1941 vehicle: a light German half-track on a shorter chassis than the Sd.Kfz. 251. About 6,628 were built between 1941 and 1945, usually with one or two MG34 machine guns, for reconnaissance, command and fire support.

Introduced in 1950, the BTR-40 is a Soviet open-topped wheeled carrier built on the GAZ-63 truck chassis and designed by V. A. Dedkov. It carried up to eight soldiers, and the BTR-152 later replaced it as a carrier and the BRDM-1 as a scout car.

The Alvis Saracen, introduced in 1952, is a six-wheeled British carrier with 16 millimeters of rolled homogeneous armour. It took a driver, a commander and up to nine troops, and it is closely associated with Operation Banner in Northern Ireland.

The Swedish Pbv 301, recorded at 1961 and in use until 1971, was designed to carry a squad of eight fully armed soldiers and give them direct fire support. Its crew could fight from inside through roof hatches or dismount.

The M114, introduced in 1962, was a tracked American command and reconnaissance vehicle built by Cadillac Division. It was amphibious and could be parachuted like the M113, but it proved unsuited to the Vietnam War and served the U.S. Army only from 1962 to 1979.

The FV432, introduced in 1963, is a tracked British carrier built by GKN Sankey as part of the FV430 family. It became the most common variant, close to 2,500 were in use by the 1980s, and about 500 were upgraded, some as the Bulldog.

The Pbv 302 closes the trail at 1966. This Swedish infantry fighting vehicle was commissioned in 1961, produced from 1966 to 1971 and kept in service until 2014; in 2024 Sweden donated roughly 200 to Ukraine.