My late father (2nd Lothians and Border Horse, B sqdn; N. Africa and Italy) had great praise for these utilitarian, rugged vehicles. Many thanks, again, David.
Sounds like an ideal vehicle for that sort of thing at the time. Now where I live they use Haggelund track vehicles for some of their "hard to reach" lines.
there were a few around in England used on farms I recall. I think the cost of fuel here, especially after the oil crisis of the 1970s caused their demise!
At 03:30 is my dad’s squad on the way to Rome, June 5, 1944; 19th Engineer Combat Regiment, “B” Company, 2nd Pltn, 4th Squad, US II Corps, under Major General Keyes. They are towing a 37mm gun. These men are featured in a documentary named, “The 19th Engineers No Longer Exist.” here on UA-cam.
Yeah and it got strafed and destroyed by one of their own fighter planes while they were resting on a hill top..but the real heroes of course were the Sherman tanks and 'Oddball' outwitting the Tigers
White Corp. Half-Track...My grandfather, Alexander Linke was a service man for White Steam Cars (same company) in Canada... and earlier had driven a steamer from Cleveland , Ohio to St, Louis, Missouri as a reliability test. As steam cars phased out White turned to trucks and buses (later Half -Tracks as well). Special note: IDF obtained a wide selection of these from salvage yards in Europe in the late 40's & early 50's. All were made operational, many can be seen in extensive use on all fronts in the Middle East.
I have seen a real on at the Cole land transportation museum in Bangor Maine, the founder of the museum Mr. Cole served in Europe during ww2 and while riding in a half track he had traded seats with another GI, after doing so an German 88mm shell hit the vehicle killing everyone but Mr. Cole. Had he not changed seats he would have been killed too. I heard that story from the man himself.
The last place you would want to be when being fired upon by anti-tank guns was in a half-track. The Lord was watching over him that day for sure. Purely luck that anyone survived that hit at all.
I'm going to have to take a trip to the Cole Land Transportation Museum some day. I've driven by it quite a few times. As an aside, just down Route 1-A from Bangor, in Hermon, is the Maine Military Supply store. In the back of their parking lot is a MIG 21 jet with Polish markings. They also have a Dodge WC 3/4 ton truck and a Daimler scout car.
My grandfather commanded a recon and repair unit from the .50 cal gunner's spot on a half track. 5th Armored. "Find em, fix em, fight!" was their motto. Thanks for this video, and good on ya, Brits!
There was an extremely popular and highly sought after Airfix M9 Half Track Kit back in the early 1970's. I made lots of these Models. Then Matchbox produced their Variant along with the Hanomag.. Suddenly Table-Top Wargames had a whole new level of realism. As a 10 year-old child, I thought this Vehicle was the Bees Knees. Obviously, I wanted a Real One! Having researched the M9, M16 and White Scout Vehicles since then; I think I will stick to my Trusty, Rusty old Jag, thank you very much.
@@strontiumstargazer103 You are correct. Thank you for correctly me. All I can tell is what I have read on Wikipedia, if that is even worth a damn. The M3 was an updated version of the M2. The M9 was an improved M5: Larger fuel capacity etc. Basically, they all look very similar (Except the M2 "Car"). Different Manufacturers were involved and this could account for minor differences. It has been 50 years since I was an enthusiastic Wargamer.
@@tomsenior7405 Thanks Tom. I had that model 45 years ago and loved it. I’m after the Tamiya 1/35 version but cannot find it. Maybe it needs another manufacturing run.
@@strontiumstargazer103 Happy Hunting. Rare, out of production Tamiya kits appear on eBay from time to time. I have had to wait 5 years in some instances. A quick glance shows several already built Tamiya US Half Tracks on eBay. If you are none too fussy, there are a few "Dragon" Kits as well. I have only ever built one Dragon kit and it was pretty good. No flashing, clean crisp mouldings and decent instructions. However, they are made in China.
@@tomsenior7405 I have been wondering who will bring to market first the Queen Elizebeth aircraft carrier, UK’s Airfix or China’s Dragon. My money is on the Chinese.
Every year for the Thanksgiving parade in Plymouth, Massachusetts, there's a guy who drives one of these as part of the parade. It has the quad gun mount, super impressive seeing and hearing it roll down the street.
It is an M16 halftrack. There’s also one in the American heritage museum in Hudson, Ma. Amazing tanks and vehicles there, if you haven’t been you should make the trip.
@@trailrunnah8886 That sounds like a fun time, I want to see that ship at some point in my life! They have a great UA-cam channel as well. I keep thinking about the tanks in the heritage museum, I might have to go today lol
As an aside, International Harvester did build 1000 anti-aircraft halftracks called M17s, mounting the same Maxon turret. These were all export to the Soviet Union and around 920 arrived there. The Red Army used these extensively for air defense in 1944-45. The quad-HMG variant of the post-war BTR-152 was based on the M17.
They were used by the 825th Tank Destroyer Battalion in North Africa quite well against the Africa Korp Panzer 4 Special that carried the 75mm long gun . There is a Video on it
My father recieved his second Purple Heart and a Silver Star in Tunisia, the first Purple Heart and a Bronze Star was during the landings in Morocco. They retired him, after he recovered enough, in 1944! He was fighting in the new mechanized units, halftracks.
Another great video, Mr. Fletcher! American troops, at least in North Africa, used to call this thing a Purple Heart Box because the armor protection was very thin.
@@kyle857 It wasn't enough to stop an 8mm MG round from coming in but it was(the armor) enough to stop the round from going out the other side, so it tended to ricochet about inside the troop compartment.
@@shanepatrick4534 I see you get your information from old movies (Patton). The 1/4 armor plate used on the half track could stop 7.92 ball ammo (8mm Mauser). Germany used the same cartridge in both machines guns and infantry rifles. They DID have AP rounds though. Don't know if they were loaded in MG belt like in the US though
In the earliest days of tracked vehicles they came up with the notion of steering the things with wheels, before they worked out track steering. There was an agricultural machine called the Gyrotiller which had a large iron wheel on the front to guide it. That's why WWI tanks were fitted with a pair of wheels behind, as steerage. They soon found they were superfluous but the idea hung around.
White created 2 versions of the half-track: M2 & M3. The M2 was shorter, carried 6-8 men and was generally used to pull light artillery or anti-tank guns. The M-3 was, I believe, a foot longer and could carry 13 men. 12 was the size of an American infantry squad, the 13th man being the driver. You're M9 might be an International copy M3A1, although A1's usually had the bustle for a .50 cal Ma Deuce. There were a few minor upgrades on the A-1's, but the bustle was the big one.
Fort Lewis in the US state of Washington has a military museum. One of the objects on display was a truck, with a sign advising that the soldiers frequently mounted "wenches" on the front bumper. I don't dispute that description of GI behavior, but in a visitor comment card I noted that "winches" were also mounted on the bumper, for more official military purposes. Yes vowels are important. Nitpicking museums and postings is one of my hobbies, but I don't do it orally.
I still have about the 1/72 Hasegawa M3 half tracks where I shaved of the mud guards, filed the back corner edges and scrapped our some of the rivets on the side. Rather than looking like an M5/M9 they look like, ‘what the heck happened here?’😂
From what I understand the TD versions of these weren't entirely useless. There were a couple of instances where they were used as intended and did well.
@@lamwen03 They used an older version of the 75mm, with slower operation, but otherwise was pretty similar. Plenty good enough to destroy any tank in the German inventory at the time.
If I could have a wartime vehicle, but have to maintain it on my own budget, it would be one of these halftracks. I think they've always looked cool as it is.
The version I always liked was the motor howitzer one. These trucks lead to the armored deuce and a half gun trucks of Viet Nam era and the current armored fighting vehicles used by the military.
There is the NDQSA, National Dusters Quads Searchlights Association which is about the Air Defense Artillery units deployed to and in Vietnam. Also includes the Vulcan minigun system and Hawk missile batteries. Extensive material about the M42 Duster and the M55 Quad 50 which was often in a Gun truck configuration on 2 1/2 tons, M35s ( Deuce and a Half) and later 5 ton trucks M54s. The Quad 50 half track also saw extensive service in the Korean War. When the Quad 50 was paired with the twin 40mm of the tracked Duster, it was a formidable system of complimentary interlocking fire.
Had a squadron of M9s for my backyard army. Always won every battle against neighbor kids' forces they went charging into (helped along be several M26 Pershing tanks and my awseome ATOMIC CANNON, of course!). 💥
"It's only a small detail; hardly worth bothering with really..." - This has now been identified by NASA as the moment when global weather patterns changed significantly, due to thousands of model-makers simultaneously taking a sharp intake of breath and then reaching for their keyboards in unison...
''White trucks you don't stear, you aim! was the slogan i think? Was able to ride in one a while ago. Thanks for the vid, appreciate it a lot! Greets from the Netherlands 🌷, T.
My uncle had one of these on his ranch in Oklahoma. We painted white crosses on the side and used it for target practice. We were surprised when my dad's new 220 swift punched a neat little hole through the side.
@@kenbrown2808 I love them I feel like vehicles like this do not get the recognition in history they deserve. Much like a dagger when compared to a sword.
A few months ago took a ride in Glaciers National Park on a 1936 White open topped tour bus. (It had been rebuilt, of course.) I told the tour guide that White also built scout cars and half tracks in WWII and she seemed delighted to know that.
7:19 one of the main advantages of half-tracks is that they require much less training than a full-track vehicle. This is a big plus for nations who have conscription. Half-tracks fall out of favour as nations more to professional armies, but some countries don't
@@Dutch_Uncle From the instructors point of view it probably did. But he doesn't have the wider perspective of training times and costs, and factory costs (half tracks are much cheaper than tracked vehicles). Think of it like all those german tanks. Sure, each individual one was a brilliant vehicle, but there are wider problems in a war.
Germany had a "almost 500.000 guys" conscript army till 1990 but only used the M16A1 half track for a very short time. So there must be more to the switch
To whomever decided upon the much louder adverts in the middle of the video, jarringly louder and much more frenetic than David Fletcher's presentation, I lay the following curse upon thee: *I hope you are assigned to drive an A38 Valiant for the rest of your days*
I saw one of these for sale on eBay some years ago that somebody had replaced the original cab and bonnet with that of a regular pick up truck. Kind of nifty!
The Wright Museum of WWII in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire has a White Scout Car, an M9A1 and an M16. Check it out if you are nearby. US tank destroyer personnel wear a half track with a 75mm gun as a collar device.
Nice! Half-tracks are very cool looking. Hopefully we'll see more soon, like the Hanomag (or one of the German's at least). I suddenly forgot if other nations manufactured / designed their own.
Many of these flooded the local US Government scene after WW2. The Philadelphia ,PA fire dept converted one as a fire engine.I guess for winter work. Parts availability and maintenance costs doomed most to the scrap yard in civilian use.
Tanks taking out half tracks as a past time. Classic Fletcher. First time I saw one of these I had to do a doubletake on the tracks as I had not realised they were rubber. I have thought they would have been like those on a tank. But then thinking about it I could see why rubber would have been used rather then metal.
There was a half track at Gutersloh in the late '60's, it had RAF markings. I'm not sure what it would be used for on an airfield. It was the only one I've seen in service.
I saw one only once in lower saxony early /mid 60s , he came out of a Farm yard and drove down the Road and out of the Village, dont know which Army used it during this time Belgium , Brits , german or Germ. Border guard? In late 60s i saw sometimes in BAOR columns some Trucks/Tractors (with short flatbed) and Wreckers ( all long nose Vehicles not Cab over engine) they looked like US WW2 Types.
@@Sturminfantrist I was an army child and spent most of the '50's in Germany. Considering my dad was mechanised Infantry you'd think I'd have seen them, but I have no recollection of them at all. I remember a lot of other stuff universal (bren) carriers, DUKW's, Austin Champs etc.. But not them. Strange.
At least one German Afrika Corps unit under the command of Colonel Hans Dietrich used those half-tracks. Dietrich survived the war, emigrated to the USA, changed his name and moved to Genoa City.
if this man isn't knighted soon, there's a problem with the honours system. Whenever the world becomes too much for me, I turn on a Tank Chat. DFs voice calms me down instantly and there's always a tidbit of information you missed the first time.
These halftracks were good vehicles as long as their limitations were understood. These halftracks were fine at hauling infantry close to the front or keeping up with the friendly tanks then dismounting them within range of the enemy giving some protection. It was important to have some mechanized infantry with armor for the infantry in armored units to keep close to the tanks at all times. These halftracks also made excellent 81mm mortar carriers or 4.2" mortar carriers. So these were excellent vehicles as long as the commander understood their limitations of open tops and light armor. These halftracks were NOT assault vehicles but could take infantry and support weapons into combat zones giving some protection against small arms and shrapnel. The 75mm gun version on the halftrack as a talk destroyer were a failed concept. Yet, these 75mm guns had some ability to support infantry with moveable artillery support. The howitzer version probably was the most useful version for this sort of thing in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. But you didn't want to think you could knockout Tiger or Panther tanks with such vehicles. Overall, the mortar carriers were the most useful version. The 81mm mortar was a battalion mortar in the US Army. It would have been a Godsent to have the 81mm mortar on a halftrack with all the mortar shells towed in a trailer. The weight this would save some poor GI soldier from lugging it around would have been a real labor saving device. I know 105mm guns were put on halftracks but I don't know if such things were successful or not. Again, if properly used to engage the enemy from the reverse slope for cover the halftrack with a 105mm or 75mm gun would have been okay. But these halftracks with guns on them were NEVER going to be successful assault guns. These 75mm gun halftracks had good utility as scout support vehicles with the shoot and scoot concept. I always wondered why the American Army didn't develop an enclosed version of the Lee/Grant tank or Sherman tank with a 105mm gun loaded in the front without a turret in an assault gun variant. A .30 caliber and .50 caliber machine gun turret could have been put on top of the assault gun. I think three or four 105mm assault guns per battalion could have been quite useful during WW2 as infantry support vehicles. A shortage of shipping space was probably the answer to my question. The Germans made good use of these Stug vehicles on a chassis of a Panzer III or Panzer IV tank. The US Army could have used a "Sherman105mm" Stug in WW2 with four in every infantry battalion. These Sherman assault guns would have been ideal for close quarters infantry support against dug in enemy machine guns, pillboxes, trenches and defensive strong points.
There is alot to be said for a vehicle that is reliable, available in quantity, and good enough for purpose. Today we tend to go overboard in search of perfection and end up with overly complex, hard to maintain vehicles that are too expensive to purchase in quantity. And then find out that what we created isn't suitable for the current conflict situation.
Let the contest between the "Upvote Vultures" begin with their effusive and over-the-top praise for our host! Interesting and informative video, as always. Thanks.
Was hoping he could tell us what the round heavy cylinder did on the front. Most did not have a winch in ww2 photos just the steel rolling pin looking thing.. Did the steering wheel steer by the tracks or front wheels or both?
It’s was built with either a winch which was ment for self recovery. Of course it could be used for a lot more . Or a anti ditch roller it would help the front keep from digging in when going down into a ditch. The roller turned/ rolled on the opposite side of the ditch till the front wheels could make contact. All American half track were steered by the front wheels only.
Wonder why there isn’t much of a use for a vehicle like this. I imagine the tracks hamper speed and maneuvering, but they seem pretty nifty for getting through rough terrain.
If i understand it correctly modern wheeled vehicle are much better cross-country than before. So you dont need the extra compication of a mix of wheeled and tracked system to work with. Another part is maybe that tracked vehicle get more reliable, so you can use a fully tracked one instead. I think the chieftain has a video about that topic.
As a guy from the Grain Belt, think the word is "combine," in reference to the machine combining the cutting of the grain and the gleaning of the grain, the separation of the seeds from the chaff. I also heard the term used in Russia for the machine. A combine does not bind corn. I have see WWII vintage rifles made by International Harvester, with their name on the weapon. It was indeed an international harvester, also made by International Harvester. A true but sad description.
@@Dutch_Uncle before the combine and corn picker, corn use to be cut and put in "shocks", basically bundles. Same was done for wheat. Corn and wheat binders were machines created to cut the corn and wheat and place it in these bundles. That's were the term cornbinder came from.
@@Dutch_Uncle no disrepect my friend. IH Scout guys call them "cornbiners". We still have 4 IH products (1 scout 2, 2 scout 800's a 67' dump and a flatbed that I don't remember the year or model) on our central Colorado ranch. All of the old guys still call them "Binders" after the old slang name. P.S. The M1 Garands made by IH were not produced for ww2 but the Korean conflict along with Iver Johnson as comercial (non Springfield) rifles.
The decal on the mudgaurd of the halftrack in the video seems to be the insignia of the 15th Scottish Infantry Division, does anyone know if this vehicle was used by them or that I'm just confused.
My late father (2nd Lothians and Border Horse, B sqdn; N. Africa and Italy) had great praise for these utilitarian, rugged vehicles. Many thanks, again, David.
Infantry tend to appreciate all things other than walking, a lot.
A ubiquitous and aesthetically pleasing war fighting machine
For our American cousins, REME stands for Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers. They do all the fixing and mending, and also vehicle recovery.
Sounds like an ideal vehicle for that sort of thing at the time. Now where I live they use Haggelund track vehicles for some of their "hard to reach" lines.
Thank you. I had the Royal and Engineers figures but the M and second E were giving me fits.
Motorized?
Memorable?
Elegant?
Extreme?
@@whirving Hägglund ;)
No, it's "Rough Engineering Made Easy", at least to the rest of the army
Aka the guys that come to dig the Chieftain out of grandmas front yard after REFORGER
There was a gentleman who drove a half-track around Kenosha, back in the early 1980s. Especially in the winter, he was a notorious sight.
Even in the deepest snow, he never had problems.
US half tracks are street legal in many areas of the US because their rubber tracks don’t chew up roads and they’re not so heavy they damage bridges.
I wonder how a WW2 era halftrack compares to a modern 4x4 in terms of offroad abilities. Also I wonder if a modern halftrack would be markedly better.
there were a few around in England used on farms I recall. I think the cost of fuel here, especially after the oil crisis of the 1970s caused their demise!
@@johncartwright8154 yeah, not exactly fuel efficient. Re-engined with a good diesel engine, might still be useful, but... all that armor... Pricey.
Anything the IDF "acquired" and then kept in service long after an alternative became available. Is obviously a good piece of kit.
The IDF used them into the 1980s. Many soldiers preferred them to the M113.
At 03:30 is my dad’s squad on the way to Rome, June 5, 1944; 19th Engineer Combat Regiment, “B” Company, 2nd Pltn, 4th Squad, US II Corps, under Major General Keyes. They are towing a 37mm gun. These men are featured in a documentary named, “The 19th Engineers No Longer Exist.” here on UA-cam.
David Fletcher is the David Attenborough of tanks.
I think you have it wrong; David Attenborough is the David Fletcher of the animal world.
Well said, other commenter, also well said
I'd like to see Fletcher's top 5 tanks fight Attenborough's top 5 animals lol
I cannot help but hear the theme to Kelly's Heroes whenever i see one of these half-tracks.. :)
Yeah and it got strafed and destroyed by one of their own fighter planes while they were resting on a hill top..but the real heroes of course were the Sherman tanks and 'Oddball' outwitting the Tigers
I for one remember the ending of Dirty Dozen where the survivors drive off on that "German" Half-track.
@@inisipisTV and that had Donald Sutherland in it too!
@@KoolKman He had the positive vibes after all.. :D Woof, Woof. (Personally though i really love Don Rickles as Crapgame)
Or hear that guy complain about taking his gun out in the rain and letting it rust up!
White Corp. Half-Track...My grandfather, Alexander Linke was a service man for White Steam Cars (same company) in Canada... and earlier had driven a steamer from Cleveland , Ohio to St, Louis, Missouri as a reliability test. As steam cars phased out White turned to trucks and buses (later Half -Tracks as well). Special note: IDF obtained a wide selection of these from salvage yards in Europe in the late 40's & early 50's. All were made operational, many can be seen in extensive use on all fronts in the Middle East.
I have seen a real on at the Cole land transportation museum in Bangor Maine, the founder of the museum Mr. Cole served in Europe during ww2 and while riding in a half track he had traded seats with another GI, after doing so an German 88mm shell hit the vehicle killing everyone but Mr. Cole. Had he not changed seats he would have been killed too. I heard that story from the man himself.
The last place you would want to be when being fired upon by anti-tank guns was in a half-track. The Lord was watching over him that day for sure. Purely luck that anyone survived that hit at all.
@@sonoftherabbitpeople4737 Odin works in mysterious ways.
I'm going to have to take a trip to the Cole Land Transportation Museum some day. I've driven by it quite a few times. As an aside, just down Route 1-A from Bangor, in Hermon, is the Maine Military Supply store. In the back of their parking lot is a MIG 21 jet with Polish markings. They also have a Dodge WC 3/4 ton truck and a Daimler scout car.
My grandfather commanded a recon and repair unit from the .50 cal gunner's spot on a half track. 5th Armored. "Find em, fix em, fight!" was their motto. Thanks for this video, and good on ya, Brits!
There was an extremely popular and highly sought after Airfix M9 Half Track Kit back in the early 1970's. I made lots of these Models. Then Matchbox produced their Variant along with the Hanomag.. Suddenly Table-Top Wargames had a whole new level of realism. As a 10 year-old child, I thought this Vehicle was the Bees Knees. Obviously, I wanted a Real One! Having researched the M9, M16 and White Scout Vehicles since then; I think I will stick to my Trusty, Rusty old Jag, thank you very much.
Airfix called it’s 1/72 model an M3 half track - came with a trailer. Looked identical to this vid. Do you know what the difference is?
@@strontiumstargazer103 You are correct. Thank you for correctly me. All I can tell is what I have read on Wikipedia, if that is even worth a damn. The M3 was an updated version of the M2. The M9 was an improved M5: Larger fuel capacity etc. Basically, they all look very similar (Except the M2 "Car"). Different Manufacturers were involved and this could account for minor differences. It has been 50 years since I was an enthusiastic Wargamer.
@@tomsenior7405 Thanks Tom. I had that model 45 years ago and loved it. I’m after the Tamiya 1/35 version but cannot find it. Maybe it needs another manufacturing run.
@@strontiumstargazer103 Happy Hunting. Rare, out of production Tamiya kits appear on eBay from time to time. I have had to wait 5 years in some instances. A quick glance shows several already built Tamiya US Half Tracks on eBay. If you are none too fussy, there are a few "Dragon" Kits as well. I have only ever built one Dragon kit and it was pretty good. No flashing, clean crisp mouldings and decent instructions. However, they are made in China.
@@tomsenior7405 I have been wondering who will bring to market first the Queen Elizebeth aircraft carrier, UK’s Airfix or China’s Dragon. My money is on the Chinese.
Every year for the Thanksgiving parade in Plymouth, Massachusetts, there's a guy who drives one of these as part of the parade. It has the quad gun mount, super impressive seeing and hearing it roll down the street.
It is an M16 halftrack. There’s also one in the American heritage museum in Hudson, Ma. Amazing tanks and vehicles there, if you haven’t been you should make the trip.
@@CockadoodleDont it's on my list of things to do! I'm also planning on doing a drydock tour of battleship New Jersey in May.
@@trailrunnah8886 That sounds like a fun time, I want to see that ship at some point in my life! They have a great UA-cam channel as well. I keep thinking about the tanks in the heritage museum, I might have to go today lol
As an aside, International Harvester did build 1000 anti-aircraft halftracks called M17s, mounting the same Maxon turret. These were all export to the Soviet Union and around 920 arrived there. The Red Army used these extensively for air defense in 1944-45. The quad-HMG variant of the post-war BTR-152 was based on the M17.
A versatile, rugged platform that served in multiple roles throughout its service life. It seems like a very successful ans dependable machine to me.
They were used by the 825th Tank Destroyer Battalion in North Africa quite well against the Africa Korp Panzer 4 Special that carried the 75mm long gun . There is a Video on it
My father recieved his second Purple Heart and a Silver Star in Tunisia, the first Purple Heart and a Bronze Star was during the landings in Morocco. They retired him, after he recovered enough, in 1944! He was fighting in the new mechanized units, halftracks.
Another great video, Mr. Fletcher!
American troops, at least in North Africa, used to call this thing a Purple Heart Box because the armor protection was very thin.
Better than a standard truck I imagine.
@@kyle857 It wasn't enough to stop an 8mm MG round from coming in but it was(the armor) enough to stop the round from going out the other side, so it tended to ricochet about inside the troop compartment.
Purple Heart. They must have been the lucky ones.
@@bigblue6917 KIAs get Purple Hearts too.
@@shanepatrick4534
I see you get your information from old movies (Patton). The 1/4 armor plate used on the half track could stop 7.92 ball ammo (8mm Mauser). Germany used the same cartridge in both machines guns and infantry rifles. They DID have AP rounds though. Don't know if they were loaded in MG belt like in the US though
In the earliest days of tracked vehicles they came up with the notion of steering the things with wheels, before they worked out track steering. There was an agricultural machine called the Gyrotiller which had a large iron wheel on the front to guide it. That's why WWI tanks were fitted with a pair of wheels behind, as steerage. They soon found they were superfluous but the idea hung around.
Did more than hang around.
Track steering in tanks is complex and expensive and needs training.
Steering by front wheels makes everything simpler.
White created 2 versions of the half-track: M2 & M3. The M2 was shorter, carried 6-8 men and was generally used to pull light artillery or anti-tank guns. The M-3 was, I believe, a foot longer and could carry 13 men. 12 was the size of an American infantry squad, the 13th man being the driver. You're M9 might be an International copy M3A1, although A1's usually had the bustle for a .50 cal Ma Deuce. There were a few minor upgrades on the A-1's, but the bustle was the big one.
Fort Lewis in the US state of Washington has a military museum. One of the objects on display was a truck, with a sign advising that the soldiers frequently mounted "wenches" on the front bumper. I don't dispute that description of GI behavior, but in a visitor comment card I noted that "winches" were also mounted on the bumper, for more official military purposes.
Yes vowels are important. Nitpicking museums and postings is one of my hobbies, but I don't do it orally.
After the war when the donut chain opened, Winchell's were mounted. The crullers being popular as they could be inflated and used as spare tires.
International Harvester was actually best known for their farm tractors then just trucks. And their rather clever logo proves it.
I still have about the 1/72 Hasegawa M3 half tracks where I shaved of the mud guards, filed the back corner edges and scrapped our some of the rivets on the side. Rather than looking like an M5/M9 they look like, ‘what the heck happened here?’😂
Hooray! A new Fletch video to watch at lunchtime :)
Always a pleasure David. Thank you.
You ripper. Greetings from Australia-. Can’t wait to get back to the museum
From what I understand the TD versions of these weren't entirely useless. There were a couple of instances where they were used as intended and did well.
You were probably better off using HE shells against infantry and soft targets with it
They used the M4's short barrel 75. And I believe U.S. armor piercing at that time sucked.
@@lamwen03 They used an older version of the 75mm, with slower operation, but otherwise was pretty similar. Plenty good enough to destroy any tank in the German inventory at the time.
If I could have a wartime vehicle, but have to maintain it on my own budget, it would be one of these halftracks. I think they've always looked cool as it is.
The tracks are becoming very hard to find now the Israelis have withdrawn them from service…
The version I always liked was the motor howitzer one. These trucks lead to the armored deuce and a half gun trucks of Viet Nam era and the current armored fighting vehicles used by the military.
There is the NDQSA, National Dusters Quads Searchlights Association which is about the Air Defense Artillery units deployed to and in Vietnam. Also includes the Vulcan minigun system and Hawk missile batteries.
Extensive material about the M42 Duster and the M55 Quad 50 which was often in a Gun truck configuration on 2 1/2 tons, M35s ( Deuce and a Half) and later 5 ton trucks M54s.
The Quad 50 half track also saw extensive service in the Korean War. When the Quad 50 was paired with the twin 40mm of the tracked Duster, it was a formidable system of complimentary interlocking fire.
Had a squadron of M9s for my backyard army. Always won every battle against neighbor kids' forces they went charging into (helped along be several M26 Pershing tanks and my awseome ATOMIC CANNON, of course!). 💥
Keep the history alive so we can learn from it and not repeat it, great job.
My old neighbor served with the 50th Armored Infantry, 6th Armored Division in one of these. RIP Jim.
I remember them in middle 90th IDF still used them as 81 mm mortar platform
"It's only a small detail; hardly worth bothering with really..."
- This has now been identified by NASA as the moment when global weather patterns changed significantly, due to thousands of model-makers simultaneously taking a sharp intake of breath and then reaching for their keyboards in unison...
I felt a great disturbance in the Force...
I enjoy Davids episodes so much. Only one on this channel I want to listen to!
I’m sure the others would love to read that
My favorite WW2 armor vehicle. I love this Halftracks so much. I made 10 models of this in deferent version Lol!
''White trucks you don't stear, you aim! was the slogan i think? Was able to ride in one a while ago. Thanks for the vid, appreciate it a lot!
Greets from the Netherlands 🌷, T.
13 men is a full 10 man rifle section and the three man halftrack crew.
Probably didn't need much adjustment looking at the size of your average Yank. 13 Brits = 6 Yanks.
@@Caratacus1
They resemble that remark...
@@Caratacus1 Modern Americans, yes. But these were skinny WWII Americans.
@@peteranderson037 In the 1940s, American farm boys were huge by European standards.
My uncle had one of these on his ranch in Oklahoma. We painted white crosses on the side and used it for target practice. We were surprised when my dad's new 220 swift punched a neat little hole through the side.
The man, the myth, the uncombed hair. He's my spirit animal
Nobody is so universally, unapologetically blunt. The more things a vehicle has that he doesn't like, the funnier the video gets.
This man is a walking national treasure with all hes knowledge.
If I had stupid money I would love to buy and renovate one of these. Definitely my favorite vehicle of World War 2
Hope to visit the museum someday, when all the lockdowns are gone!!
Lockdown? You in prison or something?
This is perhaps the "coolest" looking military truck I've seen.
"we're going to make a model with FOUR machine guns on top to shoot at airplanes with."
yes, that is definitely an American vehicle.
Surprised to see them so restrained. There was battleships which carried less guns then an early American tank.
@@bigblue6917 not american battleships.
And then lets shoot at ground targets with it because damn it we love guns!
@@GrandDungeonDad there's loads of other American things, too, like folding down the side armor so you can drive with your arm out the window.
@@kenbrown2808 I love them I feel like vehicles like this do not get the recognition in history they deserve. Much like a dagger when compared to a sword.
Again, dont interrupt David when he's in mid -flow, wait till the end !!!!!!!
Exactly! It ruins the flow for me.
A few months ago took a ride in Glaciers National Park on a 1936 White open topped tour bus. (It had been rebuilt, of course.) I told the tour guide that White also built scout cars and half tracks in WWII and she seemed delighted to know that.
No you didn't.
7:19 one of the main advantages of half-tracks is that they require much less training than a full-track vehicle. This is a big plus for nations who have conscription. Half-tracks fall out of favour as nations more to professional armies, but some countries don't
In training I heard the half track described as as "combining the disadvantages of a truck and a tank." The instructor's view.
@@Dutch_Uncle From the instructors point of view it probably did. But he doesn't have the wider perspective of training times and costs, and factory costs (half tracks are much cheaper than tracked vehicles). Think of it like all those german tanks. Sure, each individual one was a brilliant vehicle, but there are wider problems in a war.
@@Dutch_Uncle Half tracks have much lower maintenance requirements than fully tracked vehicles because the brakes aren’t used for steering.
Germany had a "almost 500.000 guys" conscript army till 1990 but only used the M16A1 half track for a very short time. So there must be more to the switch
@@mbr5742 The M16A1 is a special anti aircraft gun variant. Almost certainly useless against jet fighters.
To whomever decided upon the much louder adverts in the middle of the video, jarringly louder and much more frenetic than David Fletcher's presentation, I lay the following curse upon thee:
*I hope you are assigned to drive an A38 Valiant for the rest of your days*
I saw one of these for sale on eBay some years ago that somebody had replaced the original cab and bonnet with that of a regular pick up truck. Kind of nifty!
The Wright Museum of WWII in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire has a White Scout Car, an M9A1 and an M16. Check it out if you are nearby. US tank destroyer personnel wear a half track with a 75mm gun as a collar device.
We want the Director to present again!!!!
Nice! Half-tracks are very cool looking. Hopefully we'll see more soon, like the Hanomag (or one of the German's at least). I suddenly forgot if other nations manufactured / designed their own.
I think the Russians manufactured some, not sure if they were used much though...
Many of these flooded the local US Government scene after WW2. The Philadelphia ,PA fire dept converted one as a fire engine.I guess for winter work. Parts availability and maintenance costs doomed most to the scrap yard in civilian use.
half tracks were actually really popular in the US for commercial vehicles in the 20s and 30s before ww2
International Harvester were also known for their Farmall agricultural tractors.
And their construction Equipment too
Major agricultural machinery company. Good capability for building something that wears more than a car
Tanks taking out half tracks as a past time. Classic Fletcher.
First time I saw one of these I had to do a doubletake on the tracks as I had not realised they were rubber. I have thought they would have been like those on a tank. But then thinking about it I could see why rubber would have been used rather then metal.
They’re not only rubber but they’re all a single piece, basically like a giant rubber band.
Most countries could not afford that much rubber.
Easier maintenance but you need to replace the whole track often
Bravo !
There was a half track at Gutersloh in the late '60's, it had RAF markings. I'm not sure what it would be used for on an airfield. It was the only one I've seen in service.
I saw one only once in lower saxony early /mid 60s , he came out of a Farm yard and drove down the Road and out of the Village, dont know which Army used it during this time Belgium , Brits , german or Germ. Border guard?
In late 60s i saw sometimes in BAOR columns some Trucks/Tractors (with short flatbed) and Wreckers ( all long nose Vehicles not Cab over engine) they looked like US WW2 Types.
@@Sturminfantrist I was an army child and spent most of the '50's in Germany. Considering my dad was mechanised Infantry you'd think I'd have seen them, but I have no recollection of them at all. I remember a lot of other stuff universal (bren) carriers, DUKW's, Austin Champs etc.. But not them. Strange.
Such a good looking vehicle.
The man is greatness. Legend
This man is a national treasure
The quad 50 was used in Korea to stop waves of Chi coms attacks.
At least one German Afrika Corps unit under the command of Colonel Hans Dietrich used those half-tracks. Dietrich survived the war, emigrated to the USA, changed his name and moved to Genoa City.
@@nickdanger3802 I can see why. She was young; he was restless.
if this man isn't knighted soon, there's a problem with the honours system. Whenever the world becomes too much for me, I turn on a Tank Chat. DFs voice calms me down instantly and there's always a tidbit of information you missed the first time.
These halftracks were good vehicles as long as their limitations were understood. These halftracks were fine at hauling infantry close to the front or keeping up with the friendly tanks then dismounting them within range of the enemy giving some protection. It was important to have some mechanized infantry with armor for the infantry in armored units to keep close to the tanks at all times. These halftracks also made excellent 81mm mortar carriers or 4.2" mortar carriers. So these were excellent vehicles as long as the commander understood their limitations of open tops and light armor. These halftracks were NOT assault vehicles but could take infantry and support weapons into combat zones giving some protection against small arms and shrapnel.
The 75mm gun version on the halftrack as a talk destroyer were a failed concept. Yet, these 75mm guns had some ability to support infantry with moveable artillery support. The howitzer version probably was the most useful version for this sort of thing in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. But you didn't want to think you could knockout Tiger or Panther tanks with such vehicles. Overall, the mortar carriers were the most useful version. The 81mm mortar was a battalion mortar in the US Army. It would have been a Godsent to have the 81mm mortar on a halftrack with all the mortar shells towed in a trailer. The weight this would save some poor GI soldier from lugging it around would have been a real labor saving device. I know 105mm guns were put on halftracks but I don't know if such things were successful or not. Again, if properly used to engage the enemy from the reverse slope for cover the halftrack with a 105mm or 75mm gun would have been okay. But these halftracks with guns on them were NEVER going to be successful assault guns. These 75mm gun halftracks had good utility as scout support vehicles with the shoot and scoot concept.
I always wondered why the American Army didn't develop an enclosed version of the Lee/Grant tank or Sherman tank with a 105mm gun loaded in the front without a turret in an assault gun variant. A .30 caliber and .50 caliber machine gun turret could have been put on top of the assault gun. I think three or four 105mm assault guns per battalion could have been quite useful during WW2 as infantry support vehicles. A shortage of shipping space was probably the answer to my question. The Germans made good use of these Stug vehicles on a chassis of a Panzer III or Panzer IV tank. The US Army could have used a "Sherman105mm" Stug in WW2 with four in every infantry battalion. These Sherman assault guns would have been ideal for close quarters infantry support against dug in enemy machine guns, pillboxes, trenches and defensive strong points.
Americans had a strong lobby for their tank destroyers. They slammed everything else
My Dad was the machine gunner (50 cal quadmount) on the m16 halftrack in North Africa and Italy.
Must've been deafening.
I want one for the winter commute
Very interesting
When the credits stated rolling, I just imagined that David doesn’t stop talking after the video ends. He just keeps going, from one tank to the next.
´´..., but that´s what they did...´´ an already iconic statement 😀
There is alot to be said for a vehicle that is reliable, available in quantity, and good enough for purpose. Today we tend to go overboard in search of perfection and end up with overly complex, hard to maintain vehicles that are too expensive to purchase in quantity. And then find out that what we created isn't suitable for the current conflict situation.
_Alot_ is a town in India. _A lot_ is more than one of something; multiples of.
Let the contest between the "Upvote Vultures" begin with their effusive and over-the-top praise for our host!
Interesting and informative video, as always. Thanks.
Yay! I've even waiting for a new tankchat
The rubber tracks are the grandfather of the snowmobile, many smaller construction machinery and Wall-E 👍
I think some of these still do work in places.
Kelly's Heroes features a couple of these...
Awesome stuff.
Was hoping he could tell us what the round heavy cylinder did on the front.
Most did not have a winch in ww2 photos just the steel rolling pin looking thing..
Did the steering wheel steer by the tracks or front wheels or both?
It’s was built with either a winch which was ment for self recovery. Of course it could be used for a lot more .
Or a anti ditch roller it would help the front keep from digging in when going down into a ditch. The roller turned/ rolled on the opposite side of the ditch till the front wheels could make contact.
All American half track were steered by the front wheels only.
@@heartland96athe roller rolled up the other side of the ditch pushed by the tracks.
Roller stopped into digging into side of dirch
*Amazing!!, thanks for sharing these videos!!! Liked & Subcribed!!!*
Was at Bindlach BRD in the 80s with 1/2 ACR...had one in running order that came out on the 4th oh July...don't know who actually owned it.
I can't wait to try half-tracks out in Hell Let Loose once they are added to the game!
Charming as always, David. Miss the Typewriter.
Me also!
YES!
Please bring back the typewriter intro and I will forgive the bothersome mid chat advert.
They had one of these with a crane as a gate guardian at REME Bordon.
I wonder if they sell David fletcher replica mustaches at the museum gift shop?
I need more Richard Smith OBE content. The only thing that could ever make Richard better would be a large moustache!
American soldiers called them "Purple Heart Boxes"
A bullet wound pierce one side, and rattle around inside.
Another French 🇫🇷 innovation.
Excellent vehicle
Difference between first war and second.
Protected infantry
They still make international trucks I drove a international workstar dump truck for over 20yrs 👍
Wonder why there isn’t much of a use for a vehicle like this. I imagine the tracks hamper speed and maneuvering, but they seem pretty nifty for getting through rough terrain.
If i understand it correctly modern wheeled vehicle are much better cross-country than before. So you dont need the extra compication of a mix of wheeled and tracked system to work with. Another part is maybe that tracked vehicle get more reliable, so you can use a fully tracked one instead. I think the chieftain has a video about that topic.
To our European counter parts. Americans often refer to International Harvester products as "Cornbinders". Not a derogatory term in any way.
As a guy from the Grain Belt, think the word is "combine," in reference to the machine combining the cutting of the grain and the gleaning of the grain, the separation of the seeds from the chaff. I also heard the term used in Russia for the machine. A combine does not bind corn. I have see WWII vintage rifles made by International Harvester, with their name on the weapon. It was indeed an international harvester, also made by International Harvester. A true but sad description.
@@Dutch_Uncle before the combine and corn picker, corn use to be cut and put in "shocks", basically bundles. Same was done for wheat. Corn and wheat binders were machines created to cut the corn and wheat and place it in these bundles. That's were the term cornbinder came from.
@@Dutch_Uncle no disrepect my friend. IH Scout guys call them "cornbiners". We still have 4 IH products (1 scout 2, 2 scout 800's a 67' dump and a flatbed that I don't remember the year or model) on our central Colorado ranch. All of the old guys still call them "Binders" after the old slang name.
P.S. The M1 Garands made by IH were not produced for ww2 but the Korean conflict along with Iver Johnson as comercial (non Springfield) rifles.
Other countries such as Morocco also used half-tracks until the 1990s.
The decal on the mudgaurd of the halftrack in the video seems to be the insignia of the 15th Scottish Infantry Division, does anyone know if this vehicle was used by them or that I'm just confused.
The quad deuce devastated the Germans at the battle of the bulge
David Fletcher- file under national treasure
Where was the pic at 2:26 taken? The MBTs look like centurions.
at 9:53 were those pics of 37mm guns in those M9's just a curious Yank !
Aren't some of the pictures used actually pictures of M3 halftracks?
Are you chaps going to do another Christmas special ?
What’s the difference between the M3 and M9 half-tracks?
AKA, the purple heart box