M8 LAC

This page is about the American gift light tank M8 LAC. For other versions, see M8 Greyhound (Family). For other uses, see M8 (Disambiguation).

M8 LAC

M8 LAC

USA

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Light tank

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

MARKET

Description

Developed in 1941 as a candidate for the role of a mobile tank destroyer vehicle, the M8 was found to be more ideal in the reconnaissance role for the US armored force, cavalry, and tank destroyer branches. Initially designated as the T22, the car was accepted into service on June 22, 1942 as the "Light Armored Car, M8", and would have the nickname "Greyhound" from the British. It would begin production in March 1943 that would continue until June 1945, with more than 8,000 M8 light armored cars produced. It would see combat in World War II in the Mediterranean, European, and Pacific Theater of Operations. After World War II, the M8 continued its service in the US Army in the Korean War. Though it was retired soon after the Korean War, the M8 continued seeing use by foreign operators as a military aid item.

The Light Armored Car M8 was introduced in Update 1.73 "Vive la France" as part of War Thunder's 5th anniversary event. It was also a reward of the "10 rare vehicles" event during War Thunder's 10th Anniversary in 2022. It is one of the few armoured cars available in the early ranks of the United States tech tree. Despite that, it is one of the more capable armoured cars, possessing a 37 mm cannon that is competitive against its opponents as well as a .50 cal machine gun on top that can be effectively used against low-flying aircraft and even the thinner armor of light tanks. The armor of the M8 is less thin than the M2A4 but is still thick enough to provide a small chance of resisting autocannon-caliber shells and the occasional cannon shots at ideal ricochet angles. Finally, the wheel chassis provides the M8 armored car great mobility on solid grounds like roads, though this makes the M8's mobility poorer on rougher cross-country terrain.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull19 / 9 / 5

Turret19 / 19 / 19

Crew4 people

Visibility80 %

The M8 Greyhound has next to no armour protection. Its armour can stop rifle-calibre machine gun fire, but nothing more. Even then, the vehicle's turret has an open roof and very thin armour on the sides and the rear, so it is still possible for a few unlucky machine gun bullets to find their way inside. The Greyhound is also vulnerable to overpressure. In addition, the modules are lined up and the crew is close together when looking straight at the front of the vehicle. From the side, however, this is not the case - there is a small area behind the two crew members in the turret but in front of the fuel tank with no modules in it and an even larger area of empty space between the turret crew and the driver/machine gunner.

Thanks to the thin armour, it is very possible for rounds to over-penetrate and passes through without dealing any significant damage. The vehicles size, or lack thereof, should also be taken into account. The M8 Greyhound is very small and short, making it easy to exploit hiding spots and hills for protection. It can stay out of sight and use stealth to its advantage with little trouble. The .50 calibre machine gun on the roof is raised up, but there are no critical modules surrounding it and it is relatively small so it can be used to shoot over obstacles without risking damage to the armoured car. While the raw armour and protection on the M8 Greyhound are lacking, where it shines is in its ability to hide and use its good top speed to get around quickly and avoid being hit.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull)
• Cast homogeneous armour (turret, gun mantlet)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	12.7 mm (59°) Upper Glacis 15.9 mm (29°) Lower Glacis 19.1 mm (44°) Upper Plate	9.5 mm	5 - 9.5 mm	6.35 mm
Turret	19.1 mm Turret front 25.4 mm Gun mantlet 19 mm (Additional to mantlet) Gun Aperture	19.1 mm	19.1 mm	6.35

Notes:

• The turret is mostly open-topped, but the very front portion is covered by 6.35 mm
• Wheels - 10 mm
• Suspension - 5 mm
• 4 mm fenders cover most of the hull sides in addition to the base 9.5 mm

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB101 / 15 km/h

RB and SB91 / 13 km/h

Number of gears8 forward

2 back

Weight7.9 t

Engine power

AB210 hp

RB and SB110 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB26.6 hp/t

RB and SB13.9 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	101	15	7.9	129	210	16.33	26.58
Realistic	91	13		97	110	12.28	13.92

While it has poor armour and survivability, the M8 LAC excels in terms of mobility. As a wheeled vehicle it reaches 60 km/h on road in arcade with stock modules and 40 km/h off road. In realistic it reaches 38 km/h off road, and 55 km/h on road with 7 gears, it also has -12 km/h reverse speed on two reverse gears.

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB409

RB214

SB144

Crew training450

Experts3 000

Aces45

Research Aces220 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 20 / 20 / 20 %

2 × 100 / 100 / 100 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tires Suspension Brake System Filters Transmission Engine	Improved Parts Improved FPE Crew Replenishment	Horizontal Drive 37mm_usa_m3_APC_ammo_pack Adjustment of Fire Elevation Mechanism Artillery Support

Armaments

Main armament

37 mm M6 cannon

Ammunition80 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

4.6 → 3.5 s

Vertical guidance-10° / 20°

The M8 LAC is armed with an 37 mm M6 cannon as its main armament. This is a small calibre fast-firing gun with a maximum penetration of 84 mm at 100 m (M51B1 shell), being able to penetrate almost all the opponents it will ever face. While it lacks the post-penetration damage to knock out most enemy vehicles with a single shot, it can quickly finish them off with its fast reload. The penetration and trajectory drop significantly beyond 500 m. Note that the gun has a vertical stabiliser, giving the player a huge advantage in some cases, but keep in mind that the stabiliser only works when the tank is slower than 10 km/h.

37 mm M6					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	80	-10°/+20°	±180°	-	19.0	26.4	32.0	35.4	37.6	4.55	4.03	3.71	3.50
Realistic					11.9	14.0	17.0	18.8	20.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
M74B1	AP	79	76	65	54	45	37
M51B1	APCBC	87	84	73	60	50	41

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
M74B1	AP	883	0.87	-	-	-	47°	60°	65°
M51B1	APCBC	883	0.87	-	-	-	48°	63°	71°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the M8 LAC

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
80	73 (+7)	65 (+15)	33 (+47)	1 (+79)	No

Notes:

• As they are modeled by rows of 4, shells disappear from the rack only after you've fired all shells in the row.
• Turret empty of shells (racks 1 & 2 emptied): 65 (+15) shells.
• Right side empty: 33 (+47) shells.

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB machine gun

Ammunition400 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate575 shots/min

Vertical guidance-10° / 40°

7.62 mm M1919A4 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition1 500 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

The two machine guns on the M8 LAC are the good old .50 cal M2HB and the 7.62 mm M1919A4. The roof-mounted .50 cal can traverse 360 degrees and has great depression & elevation, posting a big threat to any plane that is flying too close to the M8. It has an unbelievable penetration of 31mm at 10m, meaning it can easily penetrate plenty of lightly armoured vehicles and even the side of some medium tanks. The 7.62 mm, on the other hand, can only efficiently damage exposed crews due to its low penetration.

12.7 mm M2HB
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Commander pintle	400 (200)	575	-10°/+40°	±180°

7.62 mm M1919A4
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	1,500 (250)	500	-	-

Usage in battles

When using this vehicle keep in mind that you are virtually naked to every main gun, that means you should not expose yourself unnecessarily and not give the opponents a chance to shoot at you, coupled with the fact that the main gun can penetrate every other vehicle in its rank. Its excellent mobility gives this vehicle a very viable hit-and-run tactic. Ambush your opponent on your terms. After you destroy him, change your position again, find concealment or cover, use your fast reverse speed to your advantage, avoid one on one fights, and fair fights.

At the start of the match, the M8 is best used as a point-capturing vehicle. Find a road connecting to a point to unleash its scary 90 km/h on-road top speed, and it is likely to get to the point before the enemy can. Once the point is captured, quickly move away as there are likely to be artillery strikes, which can critically damage the M8.

After capturing a point, there are two good options (just examples, the player is free to play in their way). One is to hide at the side of the point, waiting for the enemy to recapture it. Use its small profile to set up a good ambush, and flank the enemy unexpectedly. The fast-firing gun will genuinely shine when attacking several enemies from the side or rear, allowing the player to knock out a surprising amount of enemies. Once the enemies are wiped out, quickly retake the point and ambush again. Note that the player might want to change their position as some enemies might try and revenge.

Another playstyle is the hit-n-run tactic, thanks to its great mobility and small profile. If careful enough, it can travel between points like a ghost without being noticed and flank the enemies. The stabilizer will help a lot as it gives the player the ability to fire first. If the first shell missed or didn't penetrate, it can even finish off the enemy with the .50 cal alone!

Enemies worth noting:

LVT (Family) - These amphibious tanks are well known for their huge hull size. Indeed, there is a huge space between the driving compartment and the fighting compartment that will absorb almost any incoming shells, and unfortunately, the M8's solid AP can't cope with this. If an M8 doesn't know where are the crew is located on an LVT, they will die due to not being able to knock out the crew effectively. Remember their crew location, and the M8 can easily take them out.

The driver is at the foremost part of the hull. Behind him, there is absolutely nothing, so you must avoid shooting there. Behind the empty space, the turret houses 2-3 crew. Shoot there to disable its gun. And don't forget, at the very rear of the LVT, the two exposed machine gunners can be taken out with the .50 cal. Memorize those three main locations of the crew, and you can effectively destroy any LVT out there with your rapid reload. Also, if the angle isn't too large, the .50 can penetrate the LVT's weak armour.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• The M51 shell has enough power to penetrate common opponents like the Pz.II, Pz.III B or Ha-Go, and the fast reload helps to precisely knock out the crew one by one
• Pintle-mounted heavy machine gun is very lethal against other similarly armoured vehicles (e.g. AS 42, L3/33 CC) and slow biplanes
• One of the fastest vehicles on road with a max speed of 90 km/h allows it to get to positions quickly
• Reverse speed allows it to retreat from danger quickly
• Small profile makes ambushing/hiding easy

Cons:

• Wheeled vehicle, performs poorly off-road and cannot turn in place, and especially slow in desert maps like Sinai and snowy maps like Frozen Pass
• Virtually no armour, tight crew and open top make this vehicle very vulnerable to rapid-firing tanks like the Pz.II, M13 or strafing planes
• M6 cannon requires precision shots, as post-penetration effects are weak especially against the LVT(A) series which are super spacious
• Turret traverse is rather sluggish, might not get the gun on target sometimes
• Looks very similar to the Chinese M8 LAC, the lighter coloured camouflage can be hard to distinguish in Simulator Battles
• The open-topped design makes it vulnerable to overpressure from explosive shells

History

The M8 replaced the M3A1 Scout Car and M2 Halftrack as the main armoured vehicle of the US mechanized cavalry starting in late 1943. 8,500 were built. The vehicle's lightweight and 6x6 drive gave it the excellent speed and cross-country mobility. It was well-liked by the crews but was still thin-skinned and under-gunned when compared to the opposition.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the M8 LAC from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

Best armoured cars discusses the M8 LAC at 0:32 - War Thunder Official Channel

M8 Light Armoured Car "Greyhound", American Tier-1, Armoured Car / Light Tank - Angry Nerd Gaming

See also

Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

• Daimler Mk II
• AB 41
• AMD.35

External links

• [Development] M8 Light Armoured Car: Long Legged Canine
• [Wikipedia] M8 Greyhound
• [Military Factory] M8 Greyhound (Light Armored Car M8)

Ford Motor Company
Armoured cars	M8 Greyhound
SPAAGs	M247 Sergeant York
Export	␗M8 LAC