M8 LAC

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M8 LAC
us_m8_greyhound.png
M8 LAC
AB RB SB
1.0 1.0 1.0
Show in game
MARKET

Description


The Light Armored Car M8 is a gift rank I American light tank with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced during Update 1.73 "Vive la France" as part of a vehicle giveaway on War Thunder's 5th anniversary.

General info

Survivability and armour

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 also has hull-break, however, generally speaking, losing all your crew members is a greater concern especially given that most vehicles at its battle rating do not have very powerful cannons. 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 pass through without dealing 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 is lacking, where it shines is in its ability to hide and use its good top speed to get around quickly and avoid being hit.

Mobility

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

Armaments

Main armament

Main article: M6 (37 mm)
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° Vertical 19.0 __._ __._ __._ __._ 3.7 __.__ __.__ 2.9
Realistic 11.0 __._ __._ __._ 20.00

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
M51B1/B2 APCBC 87 84 73 60 50 41
M63 shell HE 3 3 3 3 3 3
M74B1 AP 78 76 65 54 45 37
Shell details
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Velocity
(m/s)
Projectile
Mass (kg)
Fuse delay
(m)
Fuse sensitivity
(mm)
Explosive Mass
(TNT equivalent) (g)
Normalisation at 30°
from horizontal
Ricochet
0% 50% 100%
M51B1/B2 APCBC 883 0.87 N/A N/A N/A +4.0° 48° 63° 71°
M63 shell HE 807 0.73 0.1 0.5 38 +0.0° 79° 80° 81°
M74B1 AP 883 0.87 N/A N/A N/A -1.0° 47° 60° 65°

Ammo racks

Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
4th
rack empty
5th
rack empty
6th
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
80 __ (+__) __ (+__) __ (+__) __ (+__) __ (+__) __ (+__) __

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB
Mount Capacity
(Belt capacity)
Fire rate
(shots/minute)
Vertical
guidance
Horizontal
guidance
Commander pintle 400 (200) 576 -10°/+40° ±180°
7.62 mm M1919A4
Mount Capacity
(Belt capacity)
Fire rate
(shots/minute)
Vertical
guidance
Horizontal
guidance
Coaxial 1,500 (250) 500 N/A N/A

Usage in battles

At the start of the match, the M8 is best used for a point-capping vehicle. Find a road connecting 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 capped quickly move away as there are likely to be artillery strikes which can critically damage the M8.

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

Another playstyle is the hit-n-run tactic, thanks to its great mobility and small profile. If careful enough, it is able to travel between points like a ghost without being noticed and flank the enemies. The stabiliser 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!

Modules

Tier Mobility Protection Firepower
I Tires Parts Horizontal Drive M51B1/B2
II Suspension Brake System FPE Adjustment of Fire
III Filters Crew Replenishment Elevation Mechanism
IV Transmission Engine Artillery Support
  • As a gift vehicle, the M8 Greyhound's modifications are automatically unlocked upon purchase of the vehicle.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Roof mounted .50 calibre machine gun can easily damage plenty of tanks at its tier and is useful against planes
  • Roof mounted machine gun can traverse 360 degrees, unlike most roof mounted MGs
  • Very fast on-road speed
  • Fast turret traverse speed
  • Fast reload speed
  • High penetration for its tier
  • Enemy rounds can over-penetrate without dealing much damage due to low armour

Cons:

  • No tracks, cannot turn in place
  • Lacklustre off-road mobility compared to tracked vehicles
  • Wide turning radius, can make manoeuvring difficult
  • Low armour and open turret roof
  • Crew and modules are packed close together from a front perspective

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 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

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

  • reference to the series of the vehicles;
  • links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

  • topic on the official game forum;
  • encyclopedia page on the tank;
  • other literature.


USA light tanks
LVT  LVT(A)(1) · ○LVT(A)(1) · LVT(A)(4)
M2  M2A2 · M2A4 · M2A4 (1st Arm.Div.)
M3/M5 Stuart  M3 Stuart · M3A1 Stuart · M3A1 (USMC) · M5A1 · M5A1 TD · ▃Stuart VI (5th CAD)
M22 Locust  M22
M24 Chaffee  M24 · M24 (TL)
M18 Hellcat  M18 GMC · M18 "Black Cat" · Super Hellcat
M41 Walker Bulldog  M41A1
M551 Sheridan  M551 · M551(76)
M3 Bradley  M3 Bradley · M3A3 Bradley
Wheeled  M8 LAC · T18E2 · M1128 · M1128 Wolfpack
Other  M8A1 GMC · T92 · T114 · HSTV-L · CCVL · XM8 · AGS

USA premium ground vehicles
Light tanks  LVT(A)(4) · M2A4 (1st Arm.Div.) · M3A1 (USMC) · ▃Stuart VI (5th CAD) · M8 LAC · M8A1 GMC
  M18 "Black Cat" · Super Hellcat · T18E2 · M551(76) · T114 · M1128 Wolfpack
Medium tanks  ▃Grant I · M4A5 · Calliope · T20 · M26 T99 · M26E1 · M46 "Tiger" · T54E1 · T54E2 · ▃Magach 3 (ERA) · M728 CEV
  XM1 (GM) · XM1 (Chrysler) · M1 KVT · M1A1 Click-Bait
Heavy tanks  T14 · Cobra King · M6A2E1 · T29 · T30
Tank destroyers  T28 · T55E1