M15A1 AA Half-track

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The **M15A1 Half-track** is a dedicated anti-aircraft vehicle available the the American Expeditionary Forces. Armed with a 37mm autocannon and two M2HB .50 Cal HMGs in a rather unconventional setup, the M15A1 is capable of taking on a wide variety of targets.

## Overview

The M15A1 is one the primary AA vehicle available to the AEF. Due to its varied and powerful weaponry, it is capable of posing a major threat to many units with it powerful autocannon and suppressive HMGs. However, its powerful armament is offset by its abnormal weapon configuration that makes the vehicle much harder to properly position than comparable vehicles such as the Sdkfz 251/17 and M16 AA Half-track.

The biggest factor that one must work around when using the M15A1 is its rear-mounted turret. Due to the nature of the mounting, the M15 is incapable of engaging targets in a large cone in front of the vehicle. This makes it harder to push up into fights and means that the vehicle takes more micro to move in an effective manner than other light vehicles would. The vehicle also is incapable of firing its 37mm cannon while moving, making it difficult to pro-actively chase down light vehicles. Additionally, the vehicle AI often does strange things such as rotating the hull when manually targeting a position in a way that makes it impossible for the vehicle to actually fire on the target. As a result, proper use of the Handbrake and Reverse abilities is required to effectively maneuver the vehicle when in combat.

Fortunately, the vehicle has more than enough firepower to make up for its other deficiencies. Due to its mix of HMGs and a high-caliber autocannon, it is capable of posing a significant threat to enemy light armor and infantry units. Although it still struggles to actively hunt down light vehicles due to its inability to fire its autocannon on the move, it will deal a significant amount of damage to any vehicles pushing into it. The only light vehicles capable of consistently beating it in a straight fight are dedicated anti-vehicle units such as the Puma and Sdkfz 222, and even then it is only a narrow loss.

Its anti-infantry potential is also worth discussing. Although it doesn't deal as much raw damage a something like the M16, it is just as capable of pinning down squads at long ranges and opening up opportunities for friendly units to advance.

Overall, the M15A1 is a unique but powerful unit. Although it is somewhat difficult to use effectively and is a bit pricey for a light vehicle, it can be a very useful alternative to the munitions-intensive M16 AA Half-track or less potent vehicles such as the M5A1 or LVT-S.

## USMC Variant

The version of this vehicle that is available to the USMC Specialization comes with a specialized Vehicle Crew and has superior maneuverability and anti-aircraft performance.

## Pros-and-Cons

### Pros

* Great anti-infantry performance
* Decent against light armor
* Powerful AA capabilities

### Cons

* Poor survivability
* Difficult to use due to unconventional turret mounting

## Abilities

### Handbrake Mode

Toggle Ability; Engages the vehicles handbrake, preventing all movement in order to avoid unwanted vehicle rotation.

### Disembark Crew

The crew disembarks from the vehicle, abandoning it.

## Veterancy

**Veterancy One**

+15% acceleration

**Veterancy Two**

+ 20% maximum speed; +30% acceleration; +20% rotation speed

**Veterancy Three**

+30% penetration; +30% accuracy; +40 HP