On 7 March 1945, men of the 9th Armored Division's 27th Armored Infantry Battalion — the unit marked on this half-track — reached the Rhine at Remagen and found the Ludendorff railway bridge still standing. German engineers had wired it to blow; the charges misfired or fell short, and the Americans rushed across under fire to seize the first intact bridge over the Rhine. Half-tracks like this one carried the armored infantry who made such dashes possible, riding alongside the tanks so the foot soldiers could keep pace with the armor. Open-topped and thinly plated, it was a workhorse rather than a fighting vehicle — but it put infantry exactly where the tanks needed them.

The model carries the later M49 ring mount and M2HB .50 caliber machine gun, radio antennas, and seven separate stowage pieces for a lived-in look, in the white-star and 9th Armored / 27th Infantry markings of B Company. Load it for a combined-arms diorama: mount the Armored Infantry Officer with M1 Carbine and the Armored Infantryman Advancing as its passengers, rolling beside the M4A3 Sherman.

W. Britain model 25132. 1/30 scale, matte finish. Multi-piece limited edition — one M3A1 half-track with M49 ring mount and M2HB .50 cal machine gun plus seven separate stowage pieces (13 pieces in all), with a numbered certificate of authenticity in an edition of 200. Boxed.