T28E1 37mm AAA Platoon

The T28E1 CGMC (Combination Gun Motor Carriage) was an experimental design to give the armored divisions mobile anti-aircraft support. It featured a 37mm M1 anti-aircraft gun and two Browning .50-calibre machine guns, on a rotating platform, mounted on an M3 half-track chassis. As well as giving armored units their own self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery (AAA or triple-A), the T28E1 can also provide additional infantry support, mowing down soft ground targets.

The Allies have the fascists on the run in North Africa, but the fight is not over yet. The United States is the newest army to enter the war. They boast some of the best tanks in the world, backed up by well-equipped infantry, either marching to battle on foot or riding in half-tracks, and the latest deadly tank destroyers. Their troops are inexperienced, but they have trained hard and are eager to prove themselves. They will need to learn quickly, as they face a cunning and battle-hardened enemy.

Originally the water-cooled .50 cal machine-guns were intended to be used to fire tracer while tracking the aircraft through the air before opening up with the 37mm cannon, but field use soon found that crews were firing all three weapons together. The resulting wall of lead proved very successful in knocking down and chasing off enemy planes in North Africa.

The guns of the T28E1 could rotate 360 degrees, and fire through an elevation of –5 to 85 degrees. The T28E1 had no armoured protection for its gun, so the crew were totally exposed when firing the weapon. The success of the T28E1 in Africa led to further evaluation of the design back in the US.