Manufacturer catalog

International Harvester

International Harvester was a Chicago-based American industrial manufacturer best known for agricultural machinery, trucks, construction equipment, and wartime vehicle production. Its defense relevance in this catalog comes from M1 Garand rifle production and International Harvester-built half-tracks.

2 weapons

International Harvester was incorporated in 1902 through the merger of McCormick Harvesting Machine Company with four smaller machinery makers. It grew into a major Chicago industrial concern with deep roots in farm machinery, trucks, and construction equipment before the remaining business was renamed Navistar International Corporation in 1986.

International Harvester's defense work drew on a broad industrial base rather than a single weapons plant. U.S. National Park Service rifle-production material places the company among postwar M1 Garand producers, while U.S. armored-vehicle development records and wartime production summaries document International Harvester manufacture of M5/M5A1 half-tracks and related variants.

Agricultural machineryTruck manufacturingConstruction equipmentIndustrial manufacturingMilitary rifle productionMilitary vehicle production

Notable Systems

M1 Garand, Semi-automatic battle rifle, Infantry Weapons

M1 Garand

Semi-automatic battle rifle

The U.S. National Park Service lists International Harvester among the companies that produced M1 rifles and provides the serial-number blocks assigned to the firm.

Sources: NPS M1 Garand production, Britannica company history
M5 half-track, Half-track armored personnel carrier, Armored Vehicles

M5 half-track

Half-track armored personnel carrier

U.S. armored-vehicle development records identify International Harvester as the manufacturer of M5 and M5A1 half-track personnel carriers, and wartime production summaries list the company's accepted M5/M5A1 totals.

Sources: Development of Armored Vehicles Volume II, International Harvester World War II production

Manufacturer History

  1. International Harvester is formed

    Britannica says International Harvester was incorporated in 1902 through a merger of McCormick Harvesting Machine Company with four smaller machinery makers.

    Sources: Britannica company history

  2. IH half-track production documented

    A World War II production summary lists 13,622 International Harvester half-tracks accepted by Detroit Ordnance, including M5, M5A1, M9, M9A1, M14, and M17 types.

    Sources: International Harvester World War II production

  3. Army contracts IH for M1 rifle production

    The U.S. National Park Service notes that International Harvester was one of the later M1 contractors and assigns the company its production serial-number ranges.

    Sources: NPS M1 Garand production

  4. Company renamed Navistar

    Britannica says the remaining truck and engine business changed its name to Navistar International Corporation in 1986 after the farm-equipment sale.

    Sources: Britannica company history

Predecessors
McCormick Harvesting Machine CompanyDeering Harvester CompanyMilwaukee Harvesting Machine CompanyPlano Manufacturing CompanyWarder, Bushnell and Glessner Company
Successors
Navistar International Corporation
Website links
Encyclopedia of ChicagoBritannica company historyNPS M1 Garand productionDevelopment of Armored Vehicles Volume IIInternational Harvester World War II production

International Harvester is a defunct historical manufacturer; legacy IH and IHC naming is reconciled through historical reference sources, government production material, and successor-company context.

Manufacturer Sources

  • Britannica company historyPublisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica | Note: Supports International Harvester's 1902 incorporation, Chicago headquarters, major truck and construction-equipment background, and the 1986 rename to Navistar International Corporation. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • NPS M1 Garand productionPublisher: U.S. National Park Service | Note: Supports International Harvester as one of the companies that produced M1 rifles and documents the serial-number ranges assigned to the firm. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • International Harvester logo.png on Wikimedia CommonsPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports the reusable manufacturer logo image; the file page identifies the logo as a public-domain text logo and provides the image provenance context. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • Development of Armored Vehicles Volume IIPublisher: U.S. Armored Forces Board No. 2 | Note: Supports International Harvester manufacture of M5/M5A1 half-track personnel carriers and related half-track variants. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • International Harvester World War II productionPublisher: The American Automobile Industry in World War Two | Note: Supports International Harvester wartime industrial production context, Springfield half-track production, and Detroit Ordnance acceptance totals. | Accessed: 2026-07-11

Produced weapons

Category

Armored Vehicles

Troop carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, and protected mobility.

1/1
M5 half-track, Half-track armored personnel carrier, Armored VehiclesSecond World WarM5 half-trackHalf-track armored personnel carrierBuilt in: United StatesThe M5 half-track was an International Harvester-built U.S. armored personnel carrier family developed as a production counterpart to the M3 half-track for Allied wartime supply. War Department Lend-Lease shipment tables list M5-series personnel half-tracks furnished to Allied recipients during the Second World War, while U.S. armored-vehicle development records and production summaries identify International Harvester as the maker of the M5 and M5A1 personnel carriers.

Category

Infantry Weapons

Portable weapons used by soldiers and small units.

1/1
M1 Garand, Semi-automatic battle rifle, Infantry Weapons2017 Battle of Marawi, 1969 Communist Insurgency in the PhilippinesM1 GarandSemi-automatic battle rifleBuilt in: United StatesThe M1 Garand is a U.S.-origin .30-06 semi-automatic service rifle designed by John C. Garand and mass-produced for World War II and Korean War service. Modern catalog relevance comes from documented legacy circulation: captured examples appeared with IS-aligned militants in Marawi, while Philippine reporting later tied Garand rifles to New People's Army holdings in the ongoing communist insurgency.