The M-38 was designed as a replacement for the M-8 Greyhound (p.W:MP43). While the M-8 was generally successful, its layout of wheels were less than optimal for off-road performance. By March 1945, prototypes of the M-38 were ready. Like the M-8, it was a lightly armed and armored (by 1945 standards) 6x6 armored car, but with the wheels evenly spaced to enhance cross-country performance and a fully-enclosed turret. However, with the end of the war came end of the interest in the M-38 and it never entered production.
The M-38 had a crew of four: driver, commander, gunner and loader. The armored car uses 4.95 gallons of fuel per hour at routine usage.
Subassemblies: Small Wheeled chassis with mild slope
+3, full rotation Medium AFV turret with mild slope +2, four off-road
wheels +1.
Powertrain: 110-kW gas engine with 110-kW all-wheel-drive
transmission
and 60-gallon standard fuel tank; 4,000-kWs batteries
Occupancy: 1 CS Body, 3 CS both. Cargo:
4.5 Turret, 1.5 Body.
| Armor | F | RL | B | T | U |
| Body | 5/40 | 4/25 | 4/15 | 4/15 | 4/15 |
| Turret |
5/40 |
4/25 |
4/25 |
4/15 |
0/0 |
| Wheels | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
Armament
37mm AT gun/M-6 [Tur:F] (93}.
Ground LMG/M-1919A4 [Tur:F] (2,000).
Equipment
Body: Medium radio transmitter and receiver.
Statistics
| Size: 17’¥8’¥7’ | Payload: 0.73 tons | Lwt: 7.57 tons |
| Volume: 56 | Maint.: 109 hours | Price: $3,650 |
HT: 11.
HP: 500 Body, 200 Turret, 60 each Wheel
| gSpeed: 60 |
gAccel: 3 |
gDecel: 10 | gMR: 0.75 | gSR: 4 | GP: High (1/4) |
Design Notes
The design gSpeed was 43 mph The historical value has been
substituted.
Weight was increased by 17%. to match the historical weight Turret
armor is expensive.
The M-38 could carry a universal pintle-mounted machinegun on the
turret roof. This was either another M-1919A4 with 500 rounds or a
M-2HB (Very Long Ground HMG) with 400 rounds.
Variants
One prototype fitted the turret of the M-24
Chaffee light tank. It is likely that, had the M-38 ever been built in
numbers, this version would have entered production, at least as a
"close support" version.