I'll second that Rikk, He's really good!
Bruce
MVPA 23824
Rikk Rogers wrote:
> Jack,
> I'm going to answer on list so other MVPA members can comment.
> I'm think that Jack needs a humor column in Army Motors, maybe even with a Q
> & A section.
> His explanations are clear and concise, even if somewhat twisted, generally
> go directly away from the point, and sound even vaguely plausible.
>
> Perhaps, we should run him for political office, I truly believe in a press,
> he could lie with the best of em.
>
> rikk
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Military Vehicles Mailing List [mailto:mil-veh@mil-veh.org]On
> Behalf Of Cougarjack@aol.com
> Sent: Tuesday, December 18, 2001 2:22 AM
> To: Military Vehicles Mailing List
> Subject: [MV] Why 68 segments...was: M548 track question
>
> In a message dated Mon, 17 Dec 2001 7:13:44 AM Eastern Standard Time, "Mike
> S" <tankcity@globalnet.co.uk> writes:
>
> > Late following up this thread as usual. The man's original query was how
> > many pads he should allow for when ordering a new vehicle set.
> > The curious thing here is that almost *any* make of tank from no matter
> what
> > country and no matter what size seems to require approx 65 to 68 links per
> > side. I have never understood why this constant always seems to apply.
> Although the French are generally credited with the invention of the tank,
> it was originally equipped with short sections of rigid rail. The rail was
> laid out and picked up again behind the vehicle. BTW, the word "tank" is
> short for the French expression for "intermittent locomotive". It proved
> cumbersome, and a way was sought to make the rail flexible so it could be
> joined at the ends. It was the Poles who finally invented the tank track.
> It was a project of the RPCOSFLTATV, or Royal Polish College of Study for
> Lighter Than Air Track Vehicles. In the Polish number system, it should be
> mentioned that any number greater than 68 is merely notated on blueprints as
> "morethan68", or MTS. While the vehicle may well have 88 segments per track,
> the highest number noted will always be 68. In fact, the legendary
> Herbanskyvynskoslowski Main Battle Tank of 1921 had two hundred sixty eight
> track segments, and would have been more successful, had it not been for the
> thirty thousand track pins, conn
> ectors, links, and nut
> s required for each track. Since there is no direct Polish translation for
> "cotter pin", it required a convoy follower truck loaded with spare nuts and
> connectors to keep it running. If the truck crew stopped for the inevitable
> rest stop or bawdy house visit, the tank could always be found a few hundred
> yards away, mired fast in a great pile of loose hardware and road junk.
> The constant of 68 derives from Waselewski's Second Corollary of
> Bendability. You construct a track with increasing numbers of segments until
> it operates without getting thrown off as it rounds the drive sprocket. You
> then add one segment to either side, depending on your location relative to
> the equator. This is always "morethan68", a phenomenon first observed by
> Waselweski.
> Very early tanks had rubber tracks made from cast off mine conveyor belting.
> The edges were perfed the same as printer paper, and everything worked well
> UNTIL the inevitable paper jam occurred. From this era, we get the phrase
> "Hewlett-Packard!!", which is a German curseword for when your 60 ton tank
> goes off the edge of the road into a ravine after a paper jam. The scenario
> of a wet slick rubber track sliding on gooey greasy clay, on a 60 degree
> side slope, propelled on by 60 tons of scrap iron and explosives, gave a
> whole new meaning to the word "slippery". Movable turrets were soon
> developed so that the descending gunner and unfortunate crew could exchange
> greetings with the tank commander as they slid down the slope with the tank
> while the commander watched.
>
> Jack, always glad to help
>
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