The Unloved Scott
By Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.
July 2008

The Panzer Grenadier series has delivered game pieces for dozens of different armored fighting vehicles, from the famous (the German Panther) to the not-so-famous (India’s ACW wheeled armored personnel carrier). Some fans have written in asking when their favorite tank might appear in the series (the German Royal Tiger, the American M26 Pershing), or perhaps a tank we’ve already presented but in another country’s color scheme.

The M8 Scott really existed. Yes, really.

But by far the oddest such are the three or four responses we’ve received regarding one vehicle that appears in Battle of the Bulge: the American M8 Scott howitzer motor carriage. Most of them hint, and one guy claims outright, that no such vehicle ever existed and we must have invented it in an alcohol-induced stupor.

The stupor part may be accurate, but the Scott is no more a myth than the marathon Avalanche Press playtest sessions. In 1939, the U.S. Army requested a lightweight assault gun based on the M3 Stuart light tank (then also in the design stage) to give fire support to reconnaissance units. The Cadillac entry, known as the T47 or the T17E1, featured all-round traverse but little protection for the crew. Its chief competitor, Firestone’s T18, followed German practice with a built-up gun compartment on top of the tank hull. This gave much better coverage to the crew, but reduced visibility and took away the full traverse.

Firestone’s version, the T18.

After a lengthy decision process, the Army chose the Cadillac vehicle. As it made fewer changes to the basic Stuart chassis, it would also be easier to produce. The Scott (named for Winfield Scott, successful commander in the War of 1812 and Mexican-American Wars and architect of the Union strategy that won the Civil War) mounted an M2 or M3 75mm howitzer in a new open-topped turret made of rolled steel (essentially unarmored). The short-barreled howitzer had a large flash suppressor that contributed greatly to the vehicle’s ugliness, and an armored mantlet underneath it. The Scott carried 46 rounds for its main weapon. A .50 caliber machine gun on a ring mount completed the armament.

A late-model M8.

At 17 tons, the Scott had performance not far below that of its light tank predecessor. However, the lengthy development period meant it was somewhat outdated by the time it first rolled off Cadillac’s lines in September 1942. Cadillac built 1,778 of them for the Army; another 22 were rejected. The last unit completed in January 1944.

The Scott’s crews rarely used its official name, but we did to avoid confusion with the M8 armored car. In addition to American units, Free French armored units also used the M8 Scott.

This piece originally appeared in October 2005.

See if you love the Scott any better—order Elsenborn Ridge today!