1942 White M16 Half-Track Multiple Gun Motor Carriage

Registration No: OSU 898
Chassis No: 294417
MOT: Exempt

• Subjected to a comprehensive restoration in the previous ownership
• Benefitting from significant improvement during the current ownership, including a new clutch recently
• Much equipment including Maxson M45 Quadmount anti-aircraft gun with four Browning .50 calibre M2 machine guns
• One of just c.3,550 examples produced
• Presents excellently, and ran and drove very well during the photography session

It was a Frenchman, Adolphe Kégresse, who gave rise to the U.S. Army half-tracks of the Second World War. Kégresse went to work in Russia, where in 1905 he was placed in charge of the imperial garage of Czar Nicholas II. The Czar was frustrated by his cars’ inability to cope with the harsh Russian winters, leading the young Adolphe to develop the Kégresse tracked system to allow them to traverse heavy snow. Returning to France to escape Russia’s impending revolution, Kégresse went to work for Citroën, and in 1925 his Citroën-Kégresses became famous for completing the first successful north-south motor crossing of the African continent, from Colomb-Béchar to Cape Town. After Citroën went bankrupt in 1934, Kégresse commenced work with American clients, and so the U.S. Army half-tracks came into being.

Quite a bewildering array of M-series and T-series half-tracks were produced for the U.S. Army in the 1940s, with orders being fulfilled by the biggest truck-makers such as White, Diamond T, and International Harvester. They satisfied a wide number of rôles, including artillery transport, reconnaissance and infantry support.

Based on the large M3 model, the M16 Multiple-Gun Motor Carriage came ready-equipped with four .50 calibre Browning M2 machine guns in an M45 quad mount, a product of the W. L. Maxson Corporation. At 21ft. 4in. long and 7ft. 1in. wide, it weighed 9-10 tons and was powered by a six-cylinder petrol engine said to produce 128 horsepower, giving a claimed top speed of 42 miles per hour. Built during 1943 and 1944, it is reckoned 2,877 M16s were built by the White Motor Company, though many more were converted from pre-existing M13 and T10 models, bringing total production to an estimated 3,550. The M16 played a part in many of the Allies’ successful campaigns in the later years of the war, including the Liberation of Italy, Operation Overlord and the Ardennes Offensive, with a small number supplied under the Lend-Lease agreement to the British and French armies. Post-war, the M16 served with American and South Korean forces in the Korean War, but was gradually withdrawn from service after 1951 as the M19 superseded it, and it was officially classified as obsolete in 1958.

In more recent times, M-type half-tracks have become tremendously popular with military enthusiasts and re-enactors, and many have been sought by production companies for filming work. M16s notably had starring rôles in the 1966-68 American television series The Rat Patrol, about Allied forces fighting Rommel during the North African campaign, and the 1983 Chuck Norris-David Carradine action picture Lone Wolf McQuade.

Our example was first registered with the D.V.L.A. in 1987 and is now with its seventh British keeper, following a notable period of long-term ownership from 1999 to 2018, during which it was comprehensively restored. It has benefitted from much maintenance and improvement in the hands of the present keeper, who has owned it since 2020 and describes it as “A very nice, well-maintained example that starts and drives well.” The recent work has included an engine overhaul with new crankshaft main bearings, a new oil pump and a new old-stock water pump; and a brake overhaul with a recommissioned master cylinder, new hoses, relined shoes, and wheel cylinders honed and equipped with new seals. New hub seals and gaiters have been fitted, the wheel bearings have been inspected and repacked, and the Hydrovac, carburettor and distributor have all been rebuilt. The tracks were removed and the suspension dismantled so any worn parts could be replaced, and new drive sprockets and return idlers were fitted. The half-track was then repainted and further refurbished with new canvas and seat covers. The Maxson turret is said to work as it should, and the guns are very accurate reproductions. Discreet indicators have been fitted for road use, and included in the sale are radio antennae, service history, invoices and maintenance manuals, plus spares such as spark plugs, points and condensers. Presents excellently, and both running and driving very well during the recent photography session, this M16 is ready for appearances at a host of events next year!

For more information, please contact:
Paul Cheetham
paul.cheetham@handh.co.uk
07538 667452