(TM 9-710, February 1944)

M4A1 81mm Mortar Carrier (TM 9-710, February 1944)

The M3 halftrack was used as a command and control vehicle by headquarters staff elements in the 781st, and a modified version served as the basis for the self-propelled 81mm mortars used by the Mortar Platoon in Headquarters Company. Although fast and relatively mobile, the main drawback of the lightly armored half tracks were their open tops, which made them vulnerable to shrapnel pelting downward from artillery, rocket, or mortar projectiles which may have detonated above the vehicle. In the heavily-wooded Vosges Mountains, where the tall trees frequently caused such projectiles to detonate before they hit the ground, this was an especial weakness for the design.