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Hello, and welcome to my first War Thunder vehicle suggestion!
The Willys MB (M2HB) is a light American truck with a .50 cal (12.7mm) M2HB heavy machine gun. This is a vehicle that really needs no further introduction, but I will go over it in detail here. I believe that this would be a good candidate as a new low tier American SPAA. A big thanks to the =14AAG= RWR team for helping me with this project.
History:
Willys MB
Details
The Willys MB is a light truck designed for the United States Army. Its official military designation was “¼ ton, 4x4, Command Reconnaissance Truck” but it would come to be known as the “jeep”. The Willys MB and other versions of the truck would see service on all fronts during WWII.
In the post-war era, attempts were made to create light military vehicles to replace animals like horses and donkeys for troop transportation and logistical duties. The US War Department put out a contract for multiple companies to produce a quarter-ton truck to fill this role. Among these companies were American Bantam, Willys and Ford. The American Bantam company took the lead, completing the blueprints for their vehicle in just two days and delivering a prototype by late 1940.
Due to American Bantam’s relatively limited production capabilities, the US government decided to send the blueprints to Willys and Ford so that they could develop the vehicle simultaneously. This resulted in three vehicles based on the same design with slight differences between them: the American Bantam BRC 60, Willys Quad and Ford Pygmy. In order to simplify logistics, the Quartermaster Corps advised the companies to standardize their designs amongst each other.
In July of 1941 the War Department tasked Willys with further refining the truck models and helping to fulfill the production contract. The Willys “Quad” and Willys MA trucks were developed into the Willys MB, combining desirable design elements from the Bantam and Ford models. The Willys MB would go on to become the most iconic version of this vehicle and the template for the trucks to follow. In October of 1941, Willys was struggling to keep up with production and Ford was called upon to help build a part of the contract order. The trucks produced at Ford’s factories were called the Ford GPW.
Since the Quartermaster Corps demanded standardization, Willys MBs and Ford GPWs were produced as identically as possible, with only slight cosmetic differences between the two. Willys and Ford would continue to be the main producers of the truck during WWII. American Bantam would shift their focus from truck production to trailers, where they became the main manufacturer of ¼ ton trailers to be towed by the Willys MB.
The exact reason for why the Willys MB and its mechanical brethren became known as the “jeep” is debated. One explanation is that it came from a slurring of the truck’s designation of G.P. or General Purpose. Another explanation is that the name came from Eugene the Jeep, a cartoon creature that was “small and able to go anywhere”. Regardless of how it started, the name became synonymous with the little truck.
The jeep became one of the most important Allied vehicles of the war after the US entered the war in December of 1941. Around 650,000 jeeps were produced. Most were used by the US Army but a significant portion would serve with the other Allied powers such as Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. The jeeps would operate in every theater of WWII from North Africa, to Europe and to the Pacific. Their durability, versatility and sheer ubiquity made it a symbol of American and Allied presence.
So large was the small jeep’s impact that General Dwight D. Eisenhower lists it as one of the “four weapons that won the war”: the atomic bomb, the bazooka, the C-47, and the jeep.
M31 Gun Mount
Details
Although jeeps were designed without main weapons, they were often used in various roles such as reconnaissance and frontline infantry support where such firepower could be useful. A wide variety of guns and launchers were added to jeeps in the field during the war. A few rare modifications were done like mounting quadruple bazookas or a 37mm cannon, but the most common modification was a machine gun on a pedestal mount.
Among the first of these machine gun mounts was the single-braced prototype T47 mount tested in 1941 and the triple-braced production M31 mount in 1942. The M31 was followed by the improved M31C mount in 1945. All three were designed and manufactured by James Cunningham, Sons and Company with over 31,000 produced. The M31 series was able to mount either the .30 cal Browning M1919 or the .50 cal Browning M2HB.
Browning M2HB
Details
The Browning M2HB is a .50 caliber heavy machine gun developed during the interwar period by John Browning, a famed American weapons designer.
During WWI, machine guns found widespread use as anti-infantry and anti-aircraft weapons. Although machine guns of the era were very effective at anti-infantry, newer developments such as armored ground vehicles and armored aircraft began to challenge the effectiveness of these weapons. As a result, General John Pershing requested the Armament Ordinance Department to design a machine gun with a .50 caliber (12.7mm) round. The .50 cal was larger and more powerful than previous machine gun rounds which were often the same size as the rounds used in regular service rifles.
The initial prototype, a scaled-up version of the .30 cal Browning M1917, was completed and tested in 1918 but tests were unsuccessful and the prototype did not meet expectations. Browning and a few other engineers began work on improving the design of the gun while Winchester worked on the .50 caliber cartridge to increase its armor penetration and muzzle velocity.
Eventually, the machine gun was developed into the water-cooled M1921 which had two different versions, one for anti-infantry use and the other for anti-aircraft use. Although John Moses Browning died in 1926, development of the weapon’s design continued and produced an improved version. Colt spearheaded the large-scale manufacture of this version, designated M2. The M2 included the ability to swap out parts to create sub-variants that could work in various different roles. One of the main variants of the M2 was the ground-based M2HB, the designation “HB” standing for “Heavy Barrel”. This design was air-cooled to cut out the weight and complexity of the water-cooling system, and was heavier than aircraft-mounted versions.
During WWII, the M2 Browning would find itself in all theaters of the war and develop a fearsome reputation amongst Axis troops. Significantly more powerful than the preceding .30 cal machine guns, the M2 had the ability to easily defeat infantry, ground vehicles, and aircraft. In the anti-tank role, it was shown that the M2HB had the ability to punch through lightly armored cars and even the sides of early Panzer tanks. Because of its power and reliability, it would become an essential weapon for American and Allied forces. The M2HB would be mounted to almost every vehicle that could carry it such as light trucks, heavy trucks, tractors and tanks.
Specifications:
Specifications breakdown
Details
Armament
Weapon: M2HB
Armor Penetration: 30/27/19 mm
at distances: 10/100/500 m
Ammo: 400 rounds
Vertical guidance: -25° / +85°
Horizontal guidance: 360°
Survivability and Armor
Crew: 2 (Driver, Gunner)
Armor (mm) Front / Sides / Back:
Hull Armor: 0/0/0
Turret Armor: 0/0/0
Armor Type: Structural Steel
Mobility
Max Speed (mph): 65 fwd / 33 rev
Max Speed (km/h): 104 fwd / 53 rev
Engine Power: 54 hp at 4,000 rpm
Mass: 1.6 ton
Dimensions
Length: 132.25 in (3.35 m)
Width: 62 in (1.57 m)
Height: 32 in (0.81 m)
Specifications notes
Details
Weapon Traverse
- Weapon Mounts for Secondary Armament by G.O. Noville states two different gun depression values listed for the M31C gun mount. Page 484 specifies that the mount is capable of -20 degrees of depression while Page 486 states that the mount is capable of -25 degrees. I did not find any gun traverse values in Technical Manual 9-224 so the higher value listed was used since Pg.486 specifies that the mount has an M2HB attached.
- Gun depression may be dependent on if there is a third crewmember in the passenger seat and if the front windshield is raised or not. For cinematic reasons, this windshield could be implemented as a modification to be put up or down, similar to armor skirts present on vehicles like the VFW.
- The horizontal guidance for the M31 and most other gun mounts is 360 degrees, however the gunner is likely unable to physically rotate the gun in a complete circle while in a standing position in the bed, due to the mount’s placement on the vehicle. Horizontal gun traverse would likely be limited to somewhere between -90° / +60° and -120° / +120° in that case.
Ammunition
- Slide 25 of the Jeep Training Film states: “300 Rounds of Caliber .50 Ammo”, however I do not know if jeep ammunition count was standardized.
- Presumably, a Willys MB would be able to carry three or more ammunition cans in the bed and passenger seat floor, with one more already loaded on the mounted gun.
Crew
- I did not find any sources that gave a standardized crew count for jeeps with M2HBs mounted. Most photos show 2-3 crewmembers per vehicle. At minimum, this vehicle would require 2 crewmembers to operate. (Driver, Gunner)
- A third crewmember (Commander) could be seated in the passenger seat, however this may or may not affect the traverse angles of the M2HB.
Armament
- Additionally, there were options to attach a light machine gun to the Willys MB such as the .30-06 M1918 BAR or .30 cal M1919 on an M48 bracket mount. This gun would be operated by a third crewmember in the passenger seat and would have very limited fields of fire. It would be interesting to have but I do not have any photos of such mounts being used in tandem with the T47 or M31 series pintle mounts.
The Willys MB (M2HB) in War Thunder:
Details
There are many reasons why the Willys MB (M2HB) should be added to War Thunder, including it being a perfect counterpart to vehicles already in game in other tech trees, offering familiar weapons but a different playstyle to existing American SPAAs, and being a very desirable and iconic vehicle for a game with a focus on historical vehicles.
There were over 648,000 jeeps produced during WWII, with around 363,000 of those produced by Willys. If the jeep was added to War Thunder, it would be the second-most produced vehicle of any type in the game, falling only behind the Ford-designed GAZ-AA. Speaking of the GAZ, the Willys MB (M2HB) would be a perfect analogue to the GAZ-AAA (DShK) located in the Soviet tech tree. Both of these vehicles are light trucks with a bed-mounted 12.7mm heavy machine gun.
In the US tech tree, a likely placement for the Willys MB (M2HB) would be in the SPAA line before the M13 MGMC. The M13 MGMC has more armor than the jeep and has two guns but is larger and slower. The Willys MB (M2HB) can use its small size and agility to more easily rush capture points and perform hit-and-run attacks well behind enemy lines. Both the Willys MB (M2HB) and M13 MGMC use the .50 cal (12.7mm) M2HB heavy machine gun. As proven on many vehicles with this gun, the M2HB can do significant damage against biplanes and also easily damage heavier aircraft like bombers. In an anti-tank role, this heavy machine gun can punch through many lightly armored vehicles situated around the early ranks. Having an M2HB will allow new players to gain experience using it before they progress further up the ranks.
Currently the M13 MGMC sits at a Battle Rating of (1.7) and can complement the US ground lineup at (2.0). However, the M13 MGMC being at that Battle Rating means that the US (1.0) Reserve and (1.3) lineups don’t have access to a dedicated anti-aircraft vehicle. If the Willys MB (M2HB) was placed around a Battle Rating of (1.0) like the GAZ-AA (DshK), it would be able to fill this role, allowing brand new players to have an SPAA without having to uptier their Reserve lineup.
The Willys MB in theory would be very easy to add, being a vehicle already modeled in-game as map setpieces and even as a naval decorator. Introducing the Willys MB chassis could be the stepping stone for adding more vehicles like it in the future, for many different nations. Some of these include the Willys MB SAS, M38A1C (M40), Type 73P (106), M201 (ENTAC), M151 (TOW) and many more, which would certainly be appreciated by those nations’ players.
From a historical standpoint, the jeep’s impact on WWII is undeniable and its name is so ubiquitous that it is still used today. War Thunder is all about giving people the opportunity to experience using important and iconic historical vehicles to participate in simulated battles. Of all of the vehicles that have yet to be added to the game, there is perhaps no vehicle that fits this concept more perfectly than the little olive drab quarter-ton doorless 4x4 with a vertical grille, round headlights, and five-point white star.
The Willys MB (M2HB): an all-American icon.
Photos:
Details
Willys MB (M2HB)
Bantam BRC (M2HB)
Willys MB (M1919)
Sources:
Details
Willys MB
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TM 9-803: Jeep Willys MB a Ford GPW (1944) - Manual.pdf - Google Drive
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Willys Jeep® MB | 1940s Military Army Jeep History & Old Jeeps
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Willys Jeep - About Willys MB Jeep Specs and History | Kaiser Willys
Gun Mounts
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https://www.militarytrader.com/military-vehicles/mg-mounts-for-jeeps
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http://jeepdraw.com/images/jeepdraw/ADOBE_ACROBAT_FILES/TM_9-224-MG-mounts-for-trucks.pdf
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Noville, G. O. (2016, March 23). Weapon Mounts for Secondary Armament.
M2HB
End
Spoiler
Thank you so much for reading! - LightningFerret
