The M-7 snow tractor was developed in 1942 as a light utility
halftrack for use around air bases in snowy areas, To speed developent.
several components from the Willys Jeep (p.W106) were used and the M-7
entered service in the summer of 1943. However, the demand was less
than anticipated and less than 300 were built. The M-7 was removed from
service in 1945.
The M-7 was open topped, but came with s canvas top that fully
enclosed the crew and passenger areas. The two wheels could be replaced
with a pair of skis; the set not in ue was stowed on the sides of the
engine compartment. It could tow up to one ton in the M-19 trailer
(which weighed 0.3 tons empty), which also could switch between wheels
and skis.
The M-7 had a crew of one, driver. The passenger sits behind him. The M-7 used 1.8 gallons of fuel per hour at routine usage.
Subassemblies: Very Small Half-track chassis +2, two tracks
+1.
Powertrain: 40-kW gas engine with 40-kW half-tracked
transmission
and 10.5-gallon standard fuel tank; 4,000-kWs batteries
Occupancy: 1 XCS, 1 XPS. Cargo: 0.7
Armor
Body: 2/3
Tracks: 3/10
Wheels/Skis: 3/5
Statistics
| Size: 11'x5'x5' | Payload : 0.25 tons | Lwt: 1.52 tons |
| Volume: 14 |
Maint.: 282 hours | Price: $500 |
HT: 9
HP: 60 [body], 15 [each track]; 8 [each wheel or ski]
| gSpeed: 40 |
gAccel: 4 |
gDecel: 20 | gMR: 0.25 | gSR: 4 |
Design Notes
Loaded weight was increased by 12% and gSpeed was radically lowered
from the design speed of 62 mph.
The MVDS does not list HPs for the wheels or skis of halftracks. I
have arbitrarily set then at half track HP.
Variants
There were no historical variants.