The Weasel M29, a WWII all-terrain vehicle

by | 9 Aug 21 | Vehicles

(written by Aurélien Baudouin, trainee and seasonal worker)

The Normandy Victory Museum presents in its permanent exhibition a rather atypical US army vehicle. It is the Weasel, also called “M29 Weasel Tracked Cargo Carrier”. We suggest you get to know better this Swiss Army knife-like vehicle which found its place during the Battle of Normandy.

The Weasel M29, a WWII all-terrain vehicle

If we find in this tracked vehicle certain aspects of other vehicles such as the Renault UE tracker of the French or the British Universal Carrier, its missions are totally different.

In the spring of 1942, the US Army sought an all-terrain vehicle to allow the deployment of its troops in special operations in a snowy environment, particularly in Greenland. In addition, the army is already imagining the plans to assault from Great Britain on the fortress of the Third Reich towards the Norwegian coast. This vehicle had to be able to operate in extreme conditions, be air transportable, withstand parachute drops and transport equipment. It is the Weasel M29 produced by Studebaker which will best meet these requirements, in particular thanks to its wide tracks. Shortly after, the manufacturer will deliver the Weasel M29C, an amphibious model whose propulsion is carried out using tracks.

The Weasel will ultimately not be used in Norway, but it can be found in all theaters of operations alongside the U.S. Army, U.S.M.C and U.S. Navy.

The Weasel M29 in Europe and Normandy, the Swiss army knife of the Allies

M-29___Weasel__St_Lo_special

During the Second World War, nearly 15,892 Cargo Carrier M29 Weasels were produced until the end of the fighting in Europe.

In Normandy, the Weasel M29 is mainly assigned missions of transport, reconnaissance and connections in muddy environment. It is a versatile machine which, sometimes an ambulance, sometimes a supply vehicle, will be a real Swiss army knife for the Allied troops. Equipped with unwinders, it is used to tension communication lines. Thanks to these tracks, it becomes the relay for wheeled vehicles when they can no longer access land. Its weight distribution allows it, in addition to not triggering anti-tank mines and crossing muddy terrain.

The M29 Weasels were also assigned to several companies such as Company D, of the 1st Battalion of the 120th Infantry Regiment of the 30th Infantry Division and from the Heavy Weapons Company, a company equipped with 81mm heavy mortars and M1917A1 machine guns. During Operation Cobra, the Weasel takes on the missions of a mule by providing ammunition to units on the front lines.

In Europe the Weasel is used at all times and in all places. It will be deployed in mountainous environments in Italy, in the muddy terrain of Normandy or in snowy environments during the winter of 1944. Its amphibious version will be used to cross the Ruhr and the Rhine in 1945.

The Weasel M29 after WWII.

After the conflict, 8,000 Weasels were produced to meet the orders of the allied armies. Very soon after the Second World War, the French army was mobilized in the wars of decolonization and in Indochina, the Weasel M29C, renamed “Crab”, was assigned to the troops. The vehicle allows French soldiers to navigate the marshy environment of this region of the former colonial empire.

The M29s will also be used in the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Several times the Weasel had to be replaced, notably by the Amphibious Cargo Carrier M76 Otter, but it will remain in service. It was reformed at the very end of the 1950s in the armies of the United States and during the 1970s for France.

Features still used today

The technical characteristics of the Weasel are still found in modern armies. Indeed, the Bandvagn tracks from the Swedish manufacturer Hägglunds succeed the Weasel. We find the wide tracks and all-terrain capabilities of the Weasel. This vehicle is assigned to both military and civilian missions and is found in the fire services or during French expeditions in the polar regions. In the French army, this new generation machine is called the High Mobility Vehicle (VHM) or the Tracked Articulated Vehicle (VAC) depending on its versions. This track is also found in the US military in the mountain troops or in the US. Marine Corps.

The technical sheet of the Weasel M29

Weasel photography

Equipments

  • Bantam ¼ Ton Trailer
  • Machine guns
  • Radio
  • M29C conversion equipment

Characteristics

  • Length: 3.18 m
  • Width: 1.71 m
  • Height: 1.81 m
  • Empty weight: 1860 t
  • Loaded weight: 2400 t
  • Theoretical crew: 4 (The driver of the Weasel is seated in the front left, next to the engine compartment. The three passengers are seated in the rear)

The engine

  • Engine: Studebaker G170 – 6 cylinders
  • Fuel: Gasoline
  • Power: 75 Horses
  • Speed: 50 Km / h
  • Consumption: 40 L / 100 Km
  • Tank: 130 L
  • Range: 310 Km
  • Electricity: 12 Volt

Learn more about the Weasel M29 and M29C

  • « Le Weasel, la chenillette passe-partout » Special magazine N ° 4 of Military Vehicles Magazine available on our museum shop (french edition – please call for stock availability)

Push the door of the Normandy Victory Museum

To discover these treasures of our heritage, the exceptional lives of these famous or unknown heroes and heroines. To pass on to your children… push the door of the Normandy Victory Museum. And so you don’t have to wait, reserve your skip-the-line tickets now (undated tickets – cancellation possible at any time).

Discover other posts

An authentic Bailey bridge for the museum

Take a look at the installation of a real Bailey Bridge in the museum. This was in the autumn of 2019

At Omaha Beach, Florent Plana pays tribute to the Bedford Boys. Behind the scenes of the shoot

Florent Plana is a tour guide with a passion for the Second World War and is known for his interviews with veterans. He has a special connection with Omaha Beach, where several scenes from the film “They Won’t Die Twice” were filmed

“Women in war” Thematic exhibition

In 1939, when men were mobilized, women were on all fronts. They are found in domestic tasks as usual but also in the production of weapons, mechanics, fields, in hospitals, in the resistance and in battles. This exhibition pays tribute to them and highlights their sometimes overlooked actions.

A newcomer to the “Poche de Roncey” scene (Pocket of Roncey)

Enter the scene of the Poche de Roncey and discover a newcomer who moved in with the officers of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6 in March 2021.

The battle of the hedges, one of the Greatest Battles in History

The summer of 1944 witnessed terrible confrontations between the American and German armies in Normandy. For 11 weeks, in the Cotentin and then in the centre and south of La Manche, the American army, led by General Eisenhower, fought hard against the Reich troops. It was the battle of the hedges.

Lee Miller, the model, the woman and the war

A muse to the greatest artists of her time, Lee Miller embodied the feminine ideal of the 1930s. During the war, she proved to be an outstanding reporter at the time of the liberation of the camps. Photographing the enemy seemed liberating for this wounded woman whose life and work would remain intimately linked.

Sophie Scholl and the “White Rose”, a female symbol of German resistance

On February 22, 1943, three German students from the University of Munich were executed. They are accused of acts of high treason and subversive propaganda for repeatedly distributing leaflets. Among them, Sophie Scholl, a young woman barely 20, became a symbol of resistance and courage against Hitler’s murderous madness.

The PTT jacket of René Duclos, resistance fighter of the Centurie-OCM network in the 1940s, enters the museum.

Another piece of history enters the museum. René Duclos’s jacket will be on display in a few weeks with its history. So that we never forget the sacrifice of these men, for our Freedom.

Behind the barrels of a cellar, three helmets found bear witness to the horror of the fighting

Discovered under a barrel, still covered in dust, these three helmets are riddled with impacts from the fighting. A camouflaged German helmet from a Heer unit, an SS helmet with remnants of camouflage and a heavily damaged American light helmet can be seen.

The A10 Airfield at Carentan, an American airfield in 1944

Did you know? The Normandy Victory Museum is located on a historically famous former American military airfield: the A10 Airfield. It is still in operation and small aircraft can still use its shortened 400 metre long runway.

Let’s discover the Resistance in the Manche through some objects of the museum.

This small wooden coffin was sent in 1944 to a shopkeeper in the Saint-Lô area, a notorious economic collaborator, along with a letter full of “recommendations” for the years to come and how to behave… It reveals a strong spirit of resistance.

June 17, 1940, in La Manche…

As the German 7th Division under Rommel advanced inexorably towards Cherbourg and the war drew closer to La Manche, a handful of die-hards clung to the defensive lines in the Cotentin region and tried to halt the enemy’s meteoric advance.

Food rationing in La Manche during the Second World War

Because of its agricultural situation and a certain self-sufficiency in food, La Manche, even if it suffers, seems to be somewhat spared from the shortage, at least as far as food is concerned.