M4 Tractor

The M4 High-Speed Tractor was an artillery tractor used by the US Army from 1943.

Design and development
The M4 was based on the chassis and drive train of the obsolescent M2 Light Tank. This common practice of re-using old vehicles simplified design, allowed for easy production, and made maintenance in the field easier.

One variant was designed to tow anti-aircraft guns and another for howitzers. The rear compartment carried the gun crew and other equipment and some later variants included a crane to assist with heavier projectiles.

History


The M4 was manufactured by Allis-Chalmers of Milwaukee, starting in 1942 and was in U.S. military service until approximately 1960. Under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program, the M4 was supplied to Greece, The Netherlands, Japan, Brazil, Yugoslavia and Pakistan after World War II ended. In the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 the Pakistani Army used the M-4 Tractor to haul M115 Howitzers to the battlefield of Chamb and then to the Lahore front.

Variants

 * M4, base model
 * M4C, The "C" designation indicates spare ammunition racks configured in the crew compartment.
 * M4A1, The "A1" modification designates the wider suspension used for the "duck bill" tracks mirroring the E9 modification on Sherman tanks. these were used post war as a prime mover for the M23 ammunition trailer in M40 Gun Motor Carriage sections.
 * two types of ammunition boxes were used on all models. a 90-MM box with side "tailgates" to access 90-MM shells pigeon-holed in the sides, and a combination box for 155-MM / 8 inch Gun M1 / 240-MM with a rear tailgate, and hoist.

Post-War Use
After the war many types of these tractors were stripped of their military components and used for log skidders, and power line construction. Many were used as carriers for rock drills, used in logging road construction in British Columbia. The first prototype was designed in the early 1960's by G.M. Philpott Ltd. of Vancouver, BC, and Scott-Douglas Industries, who supplied the M4 Carrier. It was used by MacMillan, Bloedel,and Powell River Company at their Juskatla, BC logging operation. Many improvements were made and when Finning Tractor later bought G.M. Philpott, the machine became the Finning Tank Drill. At least 500 were built, many of which are still in service. The original Finning Tank Drill was replaced by the M32F and M40F Tank Drills which used larger Sherman tank carriers.

Surviving Vehicles

 * one M4A1 at Fort Sill Museum
 * one M4A1 at Maaldrift, The Netherlands.
 * one M4A1 in a private collection in Colorado
 * one M4 at the Marshall Museum
 * one M4 at Grand Prairie, Texas
 * one M4 at the Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles.
 * one M4 at the Batey ha-Osef Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel.
 * one M4 at Armed Forces Military Museum, Largo Florida,
 * one M4 at Armourgeddon Tank Paintball, Leicestershire UK

One restored and was shown fully operational at War And Peace show in the UK 21 July 2012