Halftrack M5 Personnel Carrier M5-1563-ORD-12318 ‘Carmen’
Very early model; built by International Harvester Company (IHC). The Superb Halftrack in WW-II!
https://auction.tracksandtrade.com/auction/1943-halftrack-m5-carmen-lot-0104#tab-description
This M5-1563-ORD-12318 was built by International Harvester Corporation early 1943 and rolled off the production line as a M5 halftrack with Tulsa winch unit at the front on March 19th 1943. It was definitely in service for the Allied troops liberating Europe!
From the Ordnance Department (ORD) it received US ID; USA 4030296-S however it saw never active service in the US Army because it was supplied to allied to be active on the Western Front.
It’s wartime history remains unknown, most likely it served in the British or Canadian Army in the liberation of Europe. If the halftrack could speak its stories will be overwhelming as it has been in service in as well the UK, France, most probably Belgium and The Netherlands and of course Germany.
After the war most military armored equipment were collected in dump yards in Belgium from where they were destined to be destroyed.
Large batches of armored vehicles escaped destruction because they could be sold or donated to countries to build/support their military strength.
In 1946 a large quantity of halftracks (over 500) was shipped to Argentina to support the Peron regime, among which the subject vehicle.
Approx. 450 units were actually deployed in the Argentinian army and remained in service until 2006.
M-5-1563-ORD-12318 served under number EA 07712, most likely as a mortar carrier: The support for the mortar is still mounted in the vehicle.
In the 1980’s these halftracks were upgraded with a Fiat CP3 Diesel engine bolted to the original drive train with air assisted brake-booster to replace the original Hydovac booster. The compressor for the brake air is directly connected to the Fiat engine and an air tank mounted under the passenger seat.
After being retired in 2006 from the Argentinian Army the vehicle was sold to a collector in the UK, as part of a batch of two, and remained in storage in the UK in unrestored condition for a period.
The vehicle was largely complete with original accessories and with original untouched armor!!!
Due to good maintenance and preservation the vehicle suffered very little corrosion damage over time: Most original manufacturing markings re-appeared after removal of the old paint.
In March 2017 the vehicle was exported from the UK to The Netherlands by BAIV and sold to the current owner, who restored the vehicle to its current state.
The Fiat engine remained in the vehicle as it was still in good running condition. The over-pressure brake booster system was removed and replaced by the original Hydovac system with completely new brake tubing and overhauled brake cylinders.
Vacuum is taken from the inlet of the brake compressor mounted to the Fiat engine.
The tracks were in bad condition and were removed at the start of the restauration to give better access for the restauration activities.
The current owner spent some two years for the restauration with the aim to get it ready for participation in the 75-year D-Day Commemoration in Normandy, June 2019.
During the restauration new-old-stock (NOS) running gear and new tracks were installed under the vehicle. Both petrol-tanks showed pinholes after grid-blasting. One new HDPE tank was installed while the other was placed back as a dummy.
The current markings on the vehicle are from the Canadian army, as a tribute to the Canadian liberation efforts in The Netherlands.
Further the vehicle was named “Carmen” linking back to the Argentinian period, which has a nice background story.
During the disassembly of the petrol tanks for the restauration a document was found behind one of the tanks together with a one-peso coin from 1959!
The document in Spanish was in very bad state and only partly readable. From what could be read it proved to be a formal document for some kind of transfer of ownership, it remained unreadable what was subject to this transfer. The selling party’s name could be partly identified as a lady with first name Carmen, which triggered the current owner to give this name to the vehicle.
