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TL;DR: An early prototype of the M15 CGMC without the twin 12.7mm HMGs.
History:
In the 1940s, the US had just begun to really get down to business with making dedicated mobile anti-aircraft vehicles and several projects were getting underway. One of these projects was to mount the newly developed 37mm M1A2 automatic anti-aircraft onto a mobile platform. The chosen platform was the M2 half-track with its side and rear armor removed to make way for a weapons platform. Previous testing with the M1A2 showed that shooting aircraft down with it alone was not effective and unnecessarily costly, however, when paired with a smaller caliber automatic weapon, hits on target became much more frequent. As such, it was decided that the new half-track-based AA would have its M1A2 accompanied by two water-cooled M2 Brownings that would act as both boosts to AA ability and spotting weapons for the M1. Four pilot vehicles would be built and sent over to Aberdeen Proving Ground for testing. Here they would receive the designation of T28 CGMC. The serial numbers and configurations of the four pilots were as follows:
Serial No. 1875 with rotating platform
Serial No. 1862 with rotating platform and gunshield
Serial No. 1858 and 1874 without rotating platform
Of course before any real testing could truly get underway, engineers needed to find out if mounting the M1A2 by itself onto the M2 half-track was even possible before they could consider adding the dual Brownings. No. 1875 and No. 1862 would be fitted and tested solely with the M1 to gauge its effects on the chassis. These tests would yield satisfactory results and all four pilots would then be fitted with their dual Brownings and retested. Again, Aberdeen found the results to be satisfactory, citing good stability, dispersion, and tracking capability. That being said, they also recommended the system be rebuilt on the larger M3 half-track as space on the smaller M2 half-track was noted as a limiting factor. Unfortunately, the Coast Artillery Board did not agree with Aberdeen’s findings, asserting that the system was unstable and inaccurate. Proceeding instead with a quad-M2 Browning system that would become M16 MGMC. This would lead to the close of the T28 CGMC project in April of 1942. However, as fate would have it, a request for a dual-purpose anti-tank/anti-aircraft vehicle came in from American observers stationed with the British Eighth Army. To Ordinance, this seemed like the perfect job for the canceled Aberdeen-recommended improved T28 CGMC. Sure enough, on the 9th of July, 1942, an order came for 80 of such systems. The improved T28 would be designated T28E1, undergo trials, pass trials, and promptly be sent off to war in North Africa with the 443rd Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion while still retaining their T28E1 designation. The vehicle would perform well enough to be recommended for proper serialization, eventually leading to the M15 CGMC.
Place In War Thunder:
Low-tier autocannon carriers have always been a fun subclass in War Thunder. Their powerful automatic weapons combined with decent speeds make for incredibly dangerous and effective vehicles. Unfortunately, the US doesn’t have all that many options when it comes to this subclass. T28 GMC (No. 1862) is one of the few. Not many players know it but the 37mm on the M15 CGMC is actually incredibly powerful, hampered only by its poor position and higher BR of 2.3. The T28 GMC (No. 1862), equipped only with the 37mm, on the other hand, could be placed at a lower BR as a pseudo-equivalent to the German autocannon cars. Playstyle would be pretty similar to the aforementioned autocannon cars with the caveat of not being able to shoot forward. Your mobility is still relatively good, however, so getting into a position mitigating this drawback wouldn’t be difficult. Pair this with a hard hitting automatic 37mm and you have something capable of shredding the sides of pretty much anything you come up against. Since this vehicle was a prototype that only existed in this configuration for a short amount of time, placement would likely not be in the tech tree. The T28 GMC (No. 1862) would be a fantastic reward vehicle for a small US-based event.
Specifications:
Armament: 37mm M1A2 autocannon
Dimensions: 6.17m, 2.24m, 2.39m (L,W,H)
Weight: 9072~kg
Armor: Same as M15 CGMC in-game
Crew: 7
Ammunition: Same as M15 CGMC in-game
Speed: 76kph
Horsepower: 148hp
Pictures:
T28 No. 1875:
T28 No. 1875 Fitted With Dual Brownings:
Sources:
M15 half-track - Wikipedia
MGMC T28E1
WORLD WAR II: M2 Half Track Car
Combination Gun Motor Carriage M15 and M15A1 - Tank Encyclopedia
Halftrack Combination Gun Motor CarriagesHalf-Track: A History of American Semi-Tracked Vehicles by R.P. Hunnicutt