M3 TCM-20: Israel's Half-track SPAAG

[OddPhenomena 1,015]

M3 TCM-20

 

Hello there! This is the suggestion post for the M3 TCM-20. In case you aren't 100% sure on what this is, I'll explain. The vehicle seen above is an Israeli M3 Half-track fitted with the TCM-20 turret. This turret is essentially two 20mm Hispano 404 autocannons on the American M45 mount, which originally used four 12.7mm Browning machine guns. Put simply, it would be like an M16 MGMC, but with two 20mm cannons instead of four 12.7mm machine guns. I think this would be an excellent SPAAG for the Israeli ground tree, and could be used with vehicles it served alongside in real life, like the M51 Sherman, Sho't Kal, Magach, and so on. Now for some brief history!

 

History

Spoiler

An American M3 Half-track.

 

Originally a conversion of the M2 Scout Car, the M3 Half-track quickly turned into the US Army's armored personnel carrier of choice for armored infantry regiments. Naturally, it was exported to the Allies too, and a number of other nations. But after the war ended, the single largest user of the M3 Half-track was Israel. Israeli agents secretly bought a number of half-tracks in Europe following the war, and shipped them to Israel. As a matter of fact, some of the very first armored vehicles Israel used were the M3 Half-tracks and its variants, mostly the M5 and M9. Painted red to disguise them as agricultural equipment, Israel often uparmored and upgunned these vehicles. Some fitted 20mm cannons in place of the 12.7mm M2 machine gun, others were fitted with 6-pounder anti-tank guns. In the initial fighting in 1948, about 20 were in service with the Haganah and then the Israeli Defense Forces.

 

The mentioned 6-pounder fitted M3 Half-track.
 

An M3 Half-track fitted with a Breda machine gun in a turret.

 

After Israel was established, Italy eventually sold Israel about 150 demilitarized half-tracks, including M4 mortar carriers, as well as M14 and M15 MGMCs. All of these would have rear doors added in order to make way for standardization. M3 and M5 half-tracks would be used as troop carriers, mortar carriers, and command carriers. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, Israel received from France and various European scrap dealers more half-tracks, in which two anti-tank variants were developed. One mounted a Belgian 90mm Mecar anti-tank gun, while the other had a closed top and was fitted with French Nord-Aviation SS.11 wire-guided anti-tank missiles. In the 1960s, General Avraham Adan tried to purchase M113 APCs to replace the aging half-tracks, but this was resisted by the famous General Israel Tal, then head of the armored forces, who felt the half-tracks to be adequate given Israel's limited budget. In the end though, General Adan won, and Israel would use M113 APCs in the 1973 war for its frontline units. Slowly over time, these would replace the half-tracks, although quite a few were kept for special purposes, including command vehicles, air defense, and for engineer and maintenance units.

 

The half-track mounting a Belgian 90mm gun.

 

Half-tracks mounting SS.11 ATGMs.

Around the late 1960s, Israel had begun to employ a modified version of the M55 Quadmount named the TCM-20, the former of which some of which came with half-tracks provided previously. This version featured two Hispano HS.404 autocannons. Previously, the Israeli Defense Force used the M55 Quadmount, which used 12.7mm M2 machine guns. But in this age of jets, dealing damage to a target and being able to reach it was important, which is why the switch to 20mm cannons was made. Each gun has a cyclic rate of 650-700 rounds per minute, and feeds from 60 round drums which can be replaced quickly. The horizontal and vertical guidance is electrically driven, powered by a 12-volt battery mounted at the rear of the bogie, which is recharged by an auxiliary motor. 

 

The TCM-20 mounted in a half-track.

 

The TCM-20 was put into service just before the "War of Attrition" in 1970, and in 10 battles is thought to have shot down 10 aircraft. In the Yom Kippur War, it is believed to be responsible for 60% of aircraft shot down by air defenses, as well as performing excellently at holding the bridges in the Suez Canal. Owing to its origins as a vehicle mount, the TCM-20 was easily mounted into various vehicles the IDF had, such as the BTR-40 and the M3 half-track. During the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, IDF TCM-20 crews not only shot down aircraft, but also found the dual guns useful for firing at ground targets. Eventually, it began to be sold for export, and is currently used by 6 countries. However, as time went by, the IDF switched over to the Hovet, the Israeli name for the M163 VADS. Currently, one example of an M3 Half-track with the TCM-20 exists at the Israeli Air Museum at Hatzerim Airbase.

An M3 Half-track fitted with the TCM-20 at Hatzerim Airbase.

 

Specifications

Spoiler

M3 Half-track Specifications

 

• Crew: 2 (Driver and Gunner), capacity of 12
• Length: 20 feet
• Width: 7 feet
• Maximum Speed: 45 miles per hour
• Engine: White 160AX, 6-cylinder, in-line
• Weight: 17,650 pounds (gross)

 

TCM-20 Specifications

 

• Caliber: 20 mm (0.78 in)
• Weight in action: 1350 kg (2976 lb)
• Gun length: 1.702 m (67 in)
• Elevation: -10° to 90°
• Traverse: 360°
• Rate of fire: 650 - 700 cyclic
• Shell type: HE/I
• Shell weight: 122 g (4.30 oz)
• Muzzle velocity: 844 m/s (2770 ft/s)
• Effective ceiling: 2000 m (6560 ft)

 

 

Sources

Spoiler

• Zaloga, Steven J. (1994). M3 Infantry Half-Track 1940–73. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing (Pages 23-24, 40, & 43)
• Hogg, Ian. (2001). Twentieth-Century Artillery 300 of the Worlds Greatest Artillery Pieces. Hoo, North Rochester: Grange Books (Page 96)
• Gannon, Tom. (2020). Israeli Half-Track-based Self-Propelled Weapons. Camberley. UK: Trackpad Publishing (Pages 133 & 144)
• https://weaponsystems.net/system/750-TCM-20
• https://bukvoed.livejournal.com/233644.html
• http://voenteh.com/boevye-mashiny/buksiruemye-zenitnye-ustanovki/20-mm-legkaya-zenitnaya-ustanovka-tsm-20.html
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVVQXfPlk30 (Walkaround of the TCM-20, taken at the Israeli Air Force Museum at Hatzerim Airbase in the Negev desert)

 

Relevant Pictures

 

From Zaloga, page 40, relevant text is underlined in red.

 

 

Front cover of Israeli Half-Track-based Self-Propelled Weapons.

 

Page 133 of Israeli Half-Track-based Self-Propelled Weapons.

 

Page 144 of Israeli Half-Track-based Self-Propelled Weapons.

 

 

Page 96 of Twentieth-Century Artillery: 300 of the Worlds Greatest Artillery Pieces.
 

 

Pictures

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That is it for the M3 TCM-20, if you have any other sources, information, or corrections, do let me know. Thank you for reading! I'll leave you with this very Israeli picture including the M3 TCM-20.

 

Edited March 31, 2022 by OddPhenomena
Replaced & removed dead images.

[leroyonly 4,310]

Open for discussion. 

[Yontzee 1,673]

Hope to see! +1

[yoyolast 1,708]

+1, it could be a great anti air for lower BRs.

Edited January 23, 2022 by yoyolast

[Milocat 4,848]

+1 for sure, this would be great.

[thethrill820@live 292]

+1, tried to but this up but it got rejected, also, it was also mounted on the BTR-152

[hienapunk 1,064]

Israel needed a tier 4 aa at launch and this should have been it.

[Zev_Winters 313]

This should have been the starter SPAA. Hopefully it gets into the game soon.

Edited May 18, 2022 by Zev_Winters

[Abaddon75 460]

+1 ofc this should have been here from the start

[hienapunk 1,064]

Also the more halftracks in this tree the better.

[leroyonly 4,310]

This suggestion has been passed to the developers for consideration . 

[leroyonly 4,310]

As the M3 with TCM-20 has been implemented as per Update 2.21 Fire and Ice,

 

Moved to Implemented Suggestions.