Noted author and defense consultant, Steven Zaloga, is well known to armor modelers the world over. He wrote this about the Ford M8 armored car,

The M8 light armored car is a 6×6 armored car produced by the Ford Motor Company during World War II. It was used from 1943 by United States and British forces in Europe and the Pacific until the end of the war. The vehicle was widely exported and as of 2006 still remained in service with some countries.

Author Didier Andres’ book “U.S. Army Ford M8 and M20 Armored Cars”, is a detailed, fascinating and photographic insight into the Ford M8 and M20 armored cars in the European Theater in WWII. The book is complete with extensive photographs, technical details and specifications, and detailed illustrations, composing the following five chapters:

• Chapter 1. The Genesis of Light Armored Cars

  • 1914-18

  • 1928-34

  • The M1, the First Standardized Light Armored Car

  • The Initial Projects, 1941-43

• Chapter 2. Car, Armored, Light, M8

  • The T22 Prototype

  • The T22E2 Pre-Series Vehicle

  • The First M8 Light Armored Cars

  • Early Production, Serial #10 in Detail

  • The M8s Come to Life

  • Mid-production, Serial #2940 in Detail

  • M8 Armament

  • Late Production, Serial #8325 in Detail

  • The T69 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage

• Chapter 3. Car, Armored, Utility, M20

  • The T26 Prototype

  • The First M20 Armored Utility Cars

  • Early Production, Serial #181 in Detail

  • Development of the M20

  • Late Production, Serial #3038 in Detail

• Chapter 4. Similarities

  • M8 and M20 Production

  • M8 and M20 Mechanicals

  • M8 and M20 Evolution

  • The Radios

  • The Deep Water Fording Kit

• Chapter 5. M8 and M20 in Europe

  • Primary Allocations in Europe

  • Arriving in England

  • The Italian Campaign

  • The French Campaign

  • Winter 1944-45

  • Germany: the Final Round

  • The Spoils of War

  • After 1945

• Appendix

• Bibliography

• Main Technical Handbooks

• Historical Documentation

• Reference Books

From the Casemate Publisher’s Website

Didier Andres, born in Verviers in Belgium, was passionate about military history and particularly about American vehicles of World War II. He had a large archive of documents and imagery, and contributed to books and magazines for over twenty years. He was the author of U.S. Army Chevrolet Trucks, U.S. Army Ambulances & Medical Vehicles, U.S. Army Signal Corps Vehicles, and U.S. Army Diamond T Vehicles.

This is the first book I have read from Didier Andres, and it won’t be my last. His masterful work proves he is more than just an author and this book is proof positive he loves his subjects with the level of detail modelers, and vehicle restorers, can truly appreciate. This book will be a boon for modelers, vignette, and diorama builders. The table of contents outlines the level of detail found within the sub-chapters’ pages. The photographs are worth the price of the book alone.

I have both a M8 and M20 in my stash and I use this book at my bench to build both; one of which (or both) will make it to Madison, Wisconsin next year for the D-Day Group Build.

Profuse thanks to Casemate and IPMS/USA for providing the review sample.