M1 combat car

Light Tank, M1
Light Tank, M1
	M1 Combat Car
Type	Light tank
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1937–1943
Used by	United States
Production history
Manufacturer	Rock Island Arsenal
Produced	1935–?
No. built	113
Specifications (M1)
Mass	~10 short tons (9.1 t)
Length	4.14 m (13 ft 7 in)
Width	2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
Height	2.26 m (7 ft 5 in)
Crew	4
Armor	6–16 mm
Main; armament	.50 cal (12.7 mm) machine gun; .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine gun
Secondary; armament	.30 cal (7.62 mm) machine gun
Engine	Continental R-670 7-cylinder air-cooled radial gasoline; 250 hp (190 kW)
Suspension	Vertical volute spring
Operational; range	161 km (100 mi) on roads
Maximum speed	72 km/h (45 mph) on roads

The M1 combat car, officially Light Tank, M1, was a light tank used by the U.S. Cavalry in the late 1930s^[2] and developed at the same time as the US Army infantry branch's very similar Light Tank M2.

After the Spanish Civil War, most armies (including the U.S. Army), realized that they needed tanks armed with cannons, not merely vehicles armed with machine guns,^[3] and so the M1 became obsolete.

^ Yeide (2006), p. 31.
^ Ogorkiewicz, Richard (2015). Tanks: 100 Years of Evolution (General Military). Osprey Publishing. p. 84. ISBN 9781472806703.
^ Zaloga, Steven (10 October 2008). Armored Thunderbolt: The U.S. Army Sherman in World War II. pp. 4–5. ISBN 978-0811704243.

[1] Yeide (2006), p. 31.

[Ogorkiewicz2015-2] Ogorkiewicz, Richard (2015). Tanks: 100 Years of Evolution (General Military). Osprey Publishing. p. 84. ISBN 9781472806703.

[3] Zaloga, Steven (10 October 2008). Armored Thunderbolt: The U.S. Army Sherman in World War II. pp. 4–5. ISBN 978-0811704243.

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