Gene & Mil-Veh List,
I did not catch the History Channel episode you referred to, however
after some archaeology in my library I would like to submit for your
edification:
Although not a tracked vehicle, the entire concept of a mechanical
powered battlefield machine was sent in motion in 1770 when James Cugnot
offered his 'steam carriage' to the French Army. Due to the steam
engine's unreliability Mr. Cugnot's offer was declined. Across the
English Channel that same year Richard Edgeworth patented a 'portable
railway' to carry horse-drawn carriages across the roads of the day. It
would be another century before these Saxon-French concepts would be
combined.
In 1801 Thomas German patented endless-chain tracks bearing wide plates
for agricultural use which perfected the linked tracks we now know.
Bringing it all together was a man named Fender from Buenos Aires who in
1882 took German's endless-chain tracks, installed them around a
hexagonal sprocket with a square idler supported on bogie wheels.
Unfortunately the engineering concept was so far ahead of 19th Century
technology that it took a generation of development to catch up with
Fender's idea.
Having prefaced the original question with these morsels of mil-veh
history I hope my following answer is correct. Using the basic
understanding that a half track comprises a brace of powered track links
in the rear for propulsion and a single or dual tired wheels in the front
for steering, it was an American F.W. Batter who had a steam-driven
'half-tracked vehicle' on his drawing board in 1888, followed quickly by
a G.H. Edwards' vehicle of 1890. The British followed suit in 1906 with
the Armoured Ivel Tractor designed by Dan Albone of Biggleswade,
Bedfordshire. This half track never got beyond military testing as it
had a nasty tendency to overturn if overloaded.
The first half-tracked vehicle to enter service in a nation's army and
serve in "The War To End All Wars" was the American HOLT tractor of 1912.
It was the 10-ton HOLT of 1914 that was used to pull heavy artillery
into battery behind the lines. In October 1914 British Lt-Col Ernest
Swinton observed one of these HOLT's in operation and was struck with the
idea of armouring this vehicle in order to defeat the German's barbed
wire and Maxim-08's. He submitted a white paper to the GHQ in France
where he received a brutal rebuff from generals who were totally ignorant
of modern technology. In that same year HOLT's overseas representative,
Mr. Steiner, offered the tracked concept to the German Army. The
Imperial General Staff responded with the classic rejection: "No
importance for military purposes".
With the first germination of this idea in 1770, through the
development of the concept during the 19th Century, it wasn't until the
1930's that half-tracks as we know them were perfected. The American
White Motor Company in 1938 tested the T8 half track personnel carrier
and the T14 reconnaissance vehicle, which on 19 Sep 1940 were adopted
respectfully as the M3 White Personnel Carrier and M2 Half Track Car.
While Germany's Bussing-NAG developed the Sd Kfz 250 and Hanomag the Sd
Kfz 251 around 1937. Of the 41,000 half tracks manufactured in the
United States approximately 1,000 are still in front line service by the
Israeli Defence Force.
HISTORY PROPHECIES THE FUTURE
MVPA22125
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Jan 02 2001 - 23:13:25 PST