- Yes
- No
General info
The Story of the M8 Greyhound began during the second world war, the US Army in July 1941 had set out a couple requirements for a new light armored vehicle which would go on to replace the M6 vehicles that the US Army had been using. The requirement asked for a 6x6 with better off-road capabilities, entirely armored, and equipped with a US made 37mm gun, protected by a turret and also armed with a set of machine-guns. Many US military contractors would get involved, such as Ford and Chrysler. After heavy testing, and modifications along the development cycle of the vehicle, the M8 Greyhound (based on Ford’s design) would eventually emerge. They’d go on to serve during WW2 and even after it, mainly being given roles such as reconnaissance and tank destroyer. The M8 Greyhound would go on to be one of the most produced light vehicles in the entire world (8523 built in total), and would even go on to be exported to various different counties. Its main armament consisted of a 37mm M6 QF-AT cannon which would be able to fire quite a lot of different munitions, such as HE, Canister, AP-T and APCBC-T. Alongside the 37mm, the M8 Greyhound would also have access to 2 machine guns, x1 12.7mm and x1 7.62mm. In terms of mobility, the M8 Greyhound was able to reach speeds of up to 90km an hour, mainly thanks to it being a very light vehicle in nature and also because it was powered by a Hercules JXD 6-cyl gasoline engine which produced 110hp. The M8 Greyhound in its standard configuration had a range of 560km, which really solidified its role as a tactical reconnaissance vehicle, as it could travel far distances by itself without too much external input. In terms of survivalbility, sadly the M8 Greyhound had to trade that off for mobility as it only ever had up to 8 and 15 mm armor. The vehicle could only really be able to deflect very low caliber rounds, and even heavy machine guns would be able to at times pose a threat to the vehicle. Despite that it was still really liked by its users and stood the test of time as the vehicle would go on to be used in foreign armies well into the late stages of the cold war. In terms of the Italian usage of this vehicle, during the final stages of the second world war, Royalist Italy who still supported the king, which now opposed Mussolini would see themselves join the war effort on the side of the allies, at this moment of time the Co-Belligerent Armed forces would be formed, which would be heavily supported by the allies in fighting back Nazi Germany and the Fascist state known as the RSI. The Co-Belligerent Armed forces would be equipped and supplied with standard issue allied equipment, this included vehicles such as the M8 Greyhounds. Their use inside the Co-Belligerent army however is not very well documented, what was well documented was its usage post-war inside of the newly reformed Italian army. After the war was over America had a surplus of these M8 Greyhounds, so what better way to give them a use than to donate them to one of their allies that needed it the most. Italy put the M8 Greyhound in official service during the 1950s, in which then got withdrawn out of service in the late 1960’s without replacement. In Italian service, most of the M8 Greyhounds were used inside of post-war Italian armored divisions and also by ‘reparti esploranti’. This vehicle greatly helped Italy re-arm itself and still be a somewhat useful ally if the Soviet Union had ever decided to actually invade the rest of the west, which at the time was a very major concern for Europe and NATO member states. Most M8 Greyhounds in Italy have now become static displays inside of museums and around cities, however some still survive in working order by either priviate collectors or special organisations.
Armament+Equipment
x1 37/54 cannon
x1 12.7mm Machine guns
x1 7.62mm Machine gun
Specifications
Spoiler
Why it should be added
This could be a very nice premium or low tier vehicle added to Italy, its not too hard to implement and although i can see why people won’t like copy pasted vehicles inside of trees, Italy, especially at lower tier is a pain to grind through, so maybe adding something like the M8 greyhound that many players are already familiar with in terms of play-style could become beneficial in the long run. Although i myself don’t agree with the American greyhound being a premium/event vehicle (should be in the tech tree) i wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes an event vehicle in the future. The vehicle itself in my opinion would be a great addition inside of the Italian tech tree.
Sources
Spoiler
Instituto Luce
Autoveicoli del l’esericto Italiano
M8 Greyhound dell'Esercito Italiano - Flying Lions
http://www.esercito.difesa.it/en/history/pagine/m8-light-armored-vehicle-greyhound.aspx
vignocchi
https://targheitaliane.it/monografie/esercito_blindati_corazzati.pdf
M8 Greyhound - Wikipedia
M8 Greyhound light tank
M8 Greyhound light tank
M8 Greyhound (1942)
Photos
Spoiler
