From: Steve Grammont (islander@midmaine.com)
Date: Wed Jan 08 2003 - 11:56:42 PST
Hi Fred,
>Steve....as Kuhrick and someone else pointed out with their Ronson and Zippo
>comments (liked that reply)....I had also heard about pouring gasoline or
>diesel
>on the tracks and setting it on fire to unthaw a tracked vehicle from frozen
>ground.
I've heard of this too, but I don't think in connetion with WWII.
>I wonder if it was a good idea to use fire with
>all that gasoline and ammo aboard?
I don't think that would be the main problem. I would think the main
problem to be the fast burn time. In other words, it would burn off
quicker than it could thaw. But in straigth ice conditions (as opposed
to frozen earth) it might work or at least help.
>We had different priorities on the
>water than you land based (I won't say lovers)....
Oh, I don't think soldiers, sailors, and airmen are that different when
it comes to doing things like this. Remember US ground crews using Coke
cans to patch up flak holes on F-16s during Desert Shield/Storm? :-)
>The question is: if they needed to get them
>unstuck in a
>hurry....would they have used whatever fuel was on hand?
Due to the ever present fuel shortage problems, I am sure this would be a
method of last resort (if it even worked).
>Or.....would firing the main gun release them?
Possibly, but I doubt it. The bulk of the German tank force in winter
1941/42 had 37mm or 50mm guns mounted on fairly decent weight vehicles.
The recoil therefore wasn't all that significant. Plus, it would only
move the vehicle back a couple of inches or foot at most. That leaves a
LOT of track still sitting motionless. In order for the recoil to do its
job the vehicle would have to move backwards the entire length of its
track. That simply wouldn't happen even if the vehicle was sitting on
unfrozen pavement in neutral.
Steve
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