"US M3A4 Hand Cart" Topic
7 Posts
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Wolfhag  | 17 Jun 2026 2:37 p.m. PST |
One of the most popular small US Army 'vehicles' of WW2 is without doubt the M3A4 Hand Cart. A general misconception is that this was an Airborne item and only used by paratroops. In fact the Cart was a standard Ordnance item used by every branch of the US Army to haul ammunition and equipment. Two carts could be transported in the back of the 2 1/2 Ton Trucks on the floor of the bed between the rows of seated troops. Furthermore these hand carts had been in use for many years before the Cushman scooter was put into production and there are no WW2 pictures showing this practice around… link Not the sexiest piece of equipment but I bet it's better than carrying the baseplate of an 81mm mortar. Does anyone use these in games? They can carry WIAs too. Wolfhag |
| Eumelus | 17 Jun 2026 11:10 p.m. PST |
What a great piece of kit! Wish we'd had these when I was serving. Looks like Warlord has them in 28mm: link Although they're described as "Airborne hand carts", the OP's link makes it clear that they could be part of any US loadout. |
 deadhead | 18 Jun 2026 1:18 a.m. PST |
What a simple but totally inspired piece of work. US nomenclature is so confusing though. If I asked for a couple of M3A4s, I would not be too surprised if a couple of Half Tracks, Stuarts or Lee tanks rolled up. Mind you, then they can carry the stuff! |
| Hornswoggler | 18 Jun 2026 3:35 a.m. PST |
When, in everyday life, would you go around referring to something only by its version number without mentioning the thing itself? US military nomenclature is a thing of logic and beauty that unfortunately got corrupted by compromises like skipping from M3 series light tank to M5 series because apparently people were too lazy (or dim) to realise that an M4 medium tank is a medium tank and that an M4 light tank would be something different. |
| Red Jacket | 18 Jun 2026 4:30 a.m. PST |
Without it the Duke would never have made it to the battle on D-Day! |
| Eleve de Vauban | 22 Jun 2026 8:16 a.m. PST |
Wolfhag – very good – I really enjoyed that – thanks for sharing. |
| Wolfhag | 22 Jun 2026 8:59 a.m. PST |
welcome. I don't know if it showed it but I have seen pictures of an M1917 Browning mounted on the cart ready for firing. The D-Day movie gives you a good idea of it. Wolfhag |
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paints a machinegun emplacement, and realizes he needs more...
