M8 Light Armored Car

A mobile command center, the M20 Utility Car was the brains of the U.S.’s armored force in the Second World War. The development of the M20 has its origins in the Tank Destroyer (T.D.) Force. T.D. wanted a command vehicle based on the same body and chassis as the new 37mm Gun Motor Carriage T22, eventually adopted for service as the Light Armored Car M8. While the M8 was dropped by T.D. due to a lack of need, testing of the Armored Command Car T26 continued.

It was adopted for service in April 1943 as the Armored Utility Car M10. Almost immediately, this designation was changed to M20 in order to avoid confusion between the new vehicle and the 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M10. Unlike the M8, the M20 lacked the rotating turret and 37mm Gun M6, and instead utilized a single .50 M2 for self-defense purposes.

Though it was designed as a command vehicle for the Tank Destroyer Force, it soon saw use throughout the U.S. Army, primarily with Armored forces. Most famously General George S. Patton used a modified M20 as his personal command vehicle during his command of Third Army in Northwest Europe.

Most famously General George S. Patton used a modified M20 as his personal command vehicle during his command of Third Army in
Northwest Europe.

 

The Museum of American Armor’s M20 continues to act as a command vehicle during our Armor Experience events, coordinating and organizing our armor column as they forge their way through enemy territory.