T9 Armoured Utility Vehicle

The T9 Armoured Utility Vehicle was an experimental design for a light-weight utility vehicle. Two T9s were authorised on 21 July 1944. The T9 was intended to serve as a prime mover for the T9E1 90mm gun carriage, and was also to be considered as an armoured personnel carrier.

The T9 was largely based on the M18 Hellcat, which itself formed the basis of the M39 Armoured Utility Vehicle, but it also had elements taken from the M22 Light Tank (Airborne) or Locust. The T9 had one less bogie wheel per side than the M18, giving it four road wheels per side. It weighed 9.5 short tons (19,000lb), half the weight of the M18. It had a box-like hull with an open top and a rear door. The vehicle had three compartments - the driving compartment in the front, then the engine department in and finally the open personnel compartment. It was powered by a 165hp air-cooled Lycoming O-435-TA engine. In its normal condition the T9 could ford water that was 41in deep, but exhaust stacks could be installed to allow it to wade through much deeper water.

One T9 was completed by Chevrolet. It could carry a crew of two and ten passengers, although this would have been very crowded. The sole prototype underwent tests at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, where a number of mechanical problems were uncovered. The biggest problem was the combination of thin armour and no over-head protection, which would have left any troops in the back very vulnerable. The project was cancelled on 11 April 1946.

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How to cite this article: Rickard, J (pending), T9 Armoured Utility Vehicle , http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_T9_armoured_utility_vehicle.html

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