The M16 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage, also known as the M16 half-track, was an American self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon built during World War II. It was equipped with four .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in an M45 Quadmount. 2,700 were produced by White Motor Company from May 1943 to March 1944, with 568 M13 MGMCs and 109 T10 half-tracks being converted into M16s as well.

The chassis was derived from the T1E2 chassis, an earlier version of the M13. Based on an M3 half-track chassis, it replaced the M13 MGMC half-track after early 1944. As aircraft became more advanced, the usefulness of the M16 was reduced. In the Korean War, it was relegated primarily to the ground-support role, being put out of service in the U.S. Army in 1954.

Nicknamed the "Meat Chopper", the M16 was famous for its effectiveness against low-flying aircraft and infantry, making it extremely popular with soldiers. It was used by the United States Army, the British Commonwealth, and South Korea. A similar version of the M16, the M17, was based on the M5 half-track and exported via Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union.

Pictured here is a 1:50 scale replica of a US M16 half-track with three figures which participated in Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France, during August 1944. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 5-inches
Width: 2-inches

Release Date: March 2007

Historical Account: "Betwixt and Between" - Because it fell both geographically and chronologically between two much larger Allied efforts in northern France and Italy, both the conduct and contributions of Operation DRAGOON have been largely ignored. Planned originally as a simultaneous complement to OVERLORD, the cross-Channel attack on Normandy, ANVIL actually took place over two months later, on August 15, 1944, making it appear almost an afterthought to the main Allied offensive in northern Europe. Yet the success of ANVIL and the ensuing capture of the great southern French ports of Toulon and Marseilles, together with the subsequent drive north up the Rhone River valley to Lyon and Dijon, were ultimately to provide critical support to the Normandy-based armies finally moving east toward the German border.