ZSU M17 MGMC

Among the weapons the Red Army lacked the most during the war were armored anti-aircraft vehicles to protect their tanks from the Luftwaffe.

However, the Lend-lease program supplied them with the solution in the form of the M17 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage (MGMC). This design successfully combined the half-track with the .50cal Browning M2 Heavy Barrel machine-gun. This combination existed in two types, one with a twin-gun Maxson M33 turret and, better known, with a quad-gun Maxson M45 turret.

The latter was usually mounted on a M3 chassis and became the M16. However, 1000 vehicles were installed on the International Harvester built M5 half-track from December 1943 to March 1944 and subsequently delivered to the Soviet Union as the M17.

There, the M17 proved extremely effective against low flying and soft ground targets and soon earned the nickname “meat chopper”. It was designated the ZSU M17 MGMC and became the most common self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle after the humble truck mounting an AA MG on the back.

In Flames Of War

The ZSU M17 MGMC can support all the Tankovy Battalions, Motostrelkovy Battalion and Rota Razvedki in Hammer and Sickle as well as the Tankovy Battalion and Motostrekovy Battalion in Fortress Europe. They are purchased with the Battalion HQ.

The ZSU M17 MGMC (quad .50 cal) half-track is lightly armored with Front 1, Side 0 and Top 0. The M45 quad .50 cal MG has a range of 16”/40cm, ROF 6, Anti-tank 4 and Firepower 5+.