From: Steve Grammont (islander@midmaine.com)
Date: Tue Apr 29 2003 - 15:35:00 PDT
Hi all,
I am the guy behind www.m29cweasel.org so I should be able to add a few
tidbits :-)
> 1. Who manufactured them?
Studebaker. Track bands were subcontracted out to BF Goodrich, don't
know about other sub contracted bits. There are 4 versions:
T-15/M28 - prototype Weasel of the first design from 1942. Shares little
outward similarities to what we think of when we think Weasels.
T-24 - prototype Weasel of the second design. Notable for 15" tracks,
no mudguards on side, brush guard on front, and limited swimming ability.
M29 - first official production version of Weasel, much like the T-24 but
with some significant and minor changes. Several significant updates
during production run, especially the move to 20" tracks. Many M29s were
retrofitted to M29C standards.
M29C - basically the last model M29 with float tanks. Many other changes
made before production ceased in August 1945.
> 2. What were they used for?
Originally designed for winter ops in Norway, they were eventually used
to get in and out of anyplace that a Jeep or larger couldn't.
> 3. How much cargo can they carry/tow?
It can take 2000 lbs of combined cargo and crew. Not sure what the
trailer hitch is set up for, but I hauled probably around 1500 lbs on a
WHEELED, tounge heavy trailer in 4' of snow through tight wooded trails,
over "puckerbrush", and ice. Besides a couple of turns where the
trailer's axel got hung up on snow, I had no problems with it. This
included backing it out of a tight, twisty 20m trail section with only a
couple of inches of room to spare left/right. Because of the ability to
"slop" turn on snow I was able to exercise control of the trailer like
you would expect from a tracked vehicle with zero radius turn ability
(i.e. neutral steering).
> 4. What military campaigns were they used in?
NW Europe, Italy, and PTO. They landed at Normandy and fought all the
way to the end. T-24/M29/M29C versions all saw combat in Europe with US,
British, and Canadians (smaller numbers for latter two). I think only
M29C saw action in PTO, but not really sure. French used slightly
modified M29Cs in Indochina, Norwegians used several hundred until 1980s,
Swedes used a few, and various nations used highly modified ones for
Arctic and Antarctic exploration into the 1960s.
> 5. How much does the Weasel weigh?
Off the top of my head a little more than 4000 lbs without float tanks,
4700 lbs with.
> 6. How much do the tracks weigh?
20" track supposedly weighs around 450 lbs. Never weighed one myself,
but they are damned heavy and akward to deal with because they are
continuous and not pinned.
> 7. How does the gearbox split power between the
> tracks?
Rear differential has two brakes, one for each track. This allows power
to be reduced from one to pivot by pulling back on driving stick. Pull
back on both to stop, push all the way forward to keep brakes disengaged.
Easy adjustement screws provided to keep them in synch.
Hope that helps!
Steve
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sat May 07 2005 - 20:18:40 PDT