M422 Mighty Mite
M422 ' Mighty Mite '
The M422 ' Mighty Mite ' was a particularly lightweight, military off-road vehicle, which was especially designed for the air Confidence Tung. It was produced from 1959 to 1962 by the American Motors Corporation (AMC ) especially for the United States Marine Corps.
Description
Although from the outset it was clear that the vehicle should be used only by the United States Marine Corps, and thus only relatively small quantities were needed, the M422 has about very technical design features and is equipped with many innovations.
The M422 has an upwardly open doorless aluminum body, and the first U.S. off-road vehicle with an independent suspension ( trailing arms with leaf spring suspension ) on both axes. The windshield can be folded forward. Other design features include the inside of the differentials mounted drum brakes, and developed by American Motors air-cooled 1.8-liter V4 petrol engine with aluminum block and an output of 39 kW (53 hp) and a maximum torque of 122 Nm. Thus, the M422 had a top speed of 108 km / h Similar to the M151 MUTT, the synchronized transfer case is only used for switching on and off of the front axle, which is possible even while driving. Fully fitted and without driver weighs the M422 770 kg, and is still the lightest U.S. SUV. However, its weight is 160 kg higher than that of, bucket car 'VW Type 82 of the Wehrmacht.
The M422 is used by default as a two -seater. Thanks to two integrated in the tailgate folding seats and two additional folding seats on the rear fenders can be transported up to six people. The vehicle is designed for transporting a load of 390 kg in the area, 30 kg more than in any other standard -0 ,25 -ton vehicles in the United States (even the M151 MUTT ). Additional loads could be transported with a special pendant of this SUV.
As with all other vehicles, the USMC a Tiefwat equipment is mounted in the M422 from the factory.
History
The development history of the Mighty Mite dates back to 1946 when it was begun planning a new SUV for the U.S. military after the war. In the 1950 years built a working group, which also included four Bantam engineers on these plans, and further developed the vehicle. The draft, which was named MARCO MM- 100 was equipped with an air-cooled Porsche engine and independent suspension.
The competitive company Willys -Overland, filed with the " Bobcat" or "Aero Jeep " is a prototype, which was characterized by a large number of identical parts with the M38 and M38A1 jeeps and would thus cut costs and logistics costs. This prototype but was rejected in favor of the more technically demanding M422.
1958 were seven prototypes grueling tests and the first 250 vehicles were American Motors (AMC ) produced. After the start of mass production in 1960 turned to 1962 AMC 3922 Mighty Mites ago for the USMC. Over time, the vehicle in the versions M422, M422A1 was built and M422A2.
With a price of about U.S. $ 5,000 of the M422 was a relatively expensive vehicle and to the production was in full swing, the military helicopter had become so powerful that the vehicle was quickly obsolete. Thus, the Marine Corps helicopter Sikorsky H-19 was replaced with its payload of 1200 kg by the known from the Vietnam War, the UH- 1 " Huey " helicopter that could carry 1.5 times weight. This also explains the low quantity and the short production time of M422 Mighty Mite.