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The Ordnance Department experimented with many different configurations of antiaircraft motor carriages that were never standardized. Most never made it past construction of a single prototype. However, two significant non-standard AA halftrack variants did see combat with Army Antiaircraft Artillery during World War II.
Among the various permutations of mobile antiaircraft carriages designed by the Ordnance Department was the T28, which mated a 37mm AA gun and two water-cooled .50 caliber machine guns to an M2 halftrack. Like many experimental carriages, the design was austere, sporting neither protective armor nor frills that would impede the free movement of the gun mount. Enthusiasm for the T28 model became sparse at the Coast Artillery Board as the 40mm Bofors gained favor, so the T28 project became just one of the many undertaken by Ordnance.
However, the impending invasion of North Africa revitalized work on the T28 during the summer of 1942. General George Patton was adamant on his requirement for some form of mobile antiaircraft protection for the invasion forces participating in Operation Torch. Since a workable 40mm halftrack design was not forthcoming, an updated T28 built on the M3 halftrack chassis promised to meet this need. Only eighty of these T28E1 halftracks were produced. All but two were allocated to the 443d Coast Artillery Bn (AA) (AW), which was rapidly reorganized from a semimobile battalion into a self-propelled (originally termed "mobile") unit.
The soldiers of the 443d and their singular halftracks performed impressively against enemy aircraft, light armor and ground troops during the North African campaigns. An officer observing the Allied operations in Africa was impressed by the experimental halftrack's performance, lauding the T28E1 as "devastatingly effective against low-flying aircraft." Even as the capabilities of this new carriage were being proven, the T28E1 had already evolved into the standardized M15 and the upgraded M15A1 Combination Gun Motor Carriage design. Following the lead of the 443d, many antiaircraft battalions were redesignated as self-propelled organizations to take advantage of the weapon. The combat experiences of the 443d proved invaluable in the training and development of this type of unit.
The T28E1 would remain unique to the 443d AAA AW Bn throughout the war, except for eight tracks reallocated to Free French forces in North Africa. Twenty-six T28E1 carriages were still in service with the 443d at the end of hostilities in Europe. The T28E1's original telescopic sights were replaced in-field with ring-type sights after early experience revealed the susceptibility of the optics to fogging due to environmental conditions.
"The mobile AA AW Battalion has proven to be very efficient. It is especially suitable as support for mobile units. The 443rd AA AW Battalion (M) attached to the 1st Armored Division claims 68 planes shot down at the cost of only one gun lost to air action." Colonel Henry V. Dexter, II Armored Corps, North Africa, 1943 (commenting on the period from 18 February - 18 April 1943)
"The self-propelled anti-tank, antiaircraft weapon, eighty of which you had constructed for me, functioned splendidly. I personally saw one of them bring down an enemy bomber, and General Harmon at Safi observed another successful operation." Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., Seventh Army, North Africa, 1943
(M15 Special)
Beginning in 1942, the Ordnance Department developed several test configurations of a 40mm Bofors carriage utilizing the M3 halftrack. The projects were designated T54, T54E1, T59, T59E1, T60 and T60E1. In all cases it was felt that the halftrack chassis did not provide a stable enough platform for rapid sustained antiaircraft fire of the Bofors. Outriggers were fitted to the T59 design in an attempt to alleviate this problem, but the issue persisted.
The project was eventually abandoned in the United States and tasked to the Coopers Plains 99th Ordnance Depot outside Brisbane, Australia for further development. The 99th modified several M3 halftracks by mounting a 40mm gun in an armored bucket reminiscent of those used on the M15 Combination Gun Motor Carriage. Although these halftracks were not rebuilt M15s, they were often referred to as M15 Specials. A group of these Australian-made 40mm halftracks were utilized by the 209th AAA AW Bn in New Guinea and the Philippines. Although the 99th's design and implementation did not eliminate the stability issues, the 209th AAA AW Bn successfully used the carriages in secondary missions against ground targets, especially on Luzon.
"For patrol work, you can't beat it. Our procedure was to report where we were going before we left the lines, then keeping in touch with the gun sections by radio. When we ran into machine gun nests, we pulled back, ordered fire, and then those forties would plaster the hell out of them. I give the Bofors credit for knocking many of them out. Besides this, for morale purposes it is absolutely invaluable in support. The crews were well-trained and placed the fire just where we wanted it." Lt. William B. Crabbe, I&R Platoon, HQ Co., 127th Infantry, 32d Infantry Division, Luzon
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