German half-tracks of WWII - Page 5

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Posted: 1/2/2018 5:02:29 PM EDT

[#1]

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The band track really doesn't get enough credit. It was easier to change, much lighter, lower maintenance and more reliable.

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Quoted:

Ours were demonstrably better.

Powered front axle, non-interleaved road wheels, and a unitary band track instead of metal links.

This. Especially the non-interleaved wheels. Mud tended to get trapped in those which is why you don't see them anymore.

The band track really doesn't get enough credit. It was easier to change, much lighter, lower maintenance and more reliable.

The entire powertrain system had the bugs well worked out. Like the Sherman, it was not the ultimate, but proven technology that WORKED mile after mile and day after day of combat.

Posted: 1/2/2018 5:17:38 PM EDT

[#2]

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Sexy, but it ain't even quarter tracked, let alone half!

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How about some 234's?
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/55/95/6f/55956fcbf677da514381e8b76111ed8d.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7e/ce/43/7ece438ee69983aefb447e530621c1de.jpg
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4014/4713518281_f5b42ea3bf_o.jpg

Sexy, but it ain't even quarter tracked, let alone half!

But...but...It had front and rear driving positions.

Posted: 1/2/2018 5:36:40 PM EDT

[#3]

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It combined the off road traction of a tracked vehicle with the ease of steering of a wheeled vehicle. Using the wheels to steer the vehicle allowed them to do away with the complex synchronized braking system tracked vehicles needed at that era. Any truck driver could drive a half track.

In comparison, here is how German tanks had to steer: It steered by outright braking one side or the other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsodIneQGzI

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Love me some late model Panther G

Posted: 1/2/2018 5:38:28 PM EDT

[#4]

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Long story short on the company,they tied themselves entire!y to Walmart and Walmart killed them,kind of the Buell of toys. I never got into collecting them but they were cool. I kick myself for not getting some of their 1/32 kits when they were cheap

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Long story short on the company,they tied themselves entire!y to Walmart and Walmart killed them,kind of the Buell of toys. I never got into collecting them but they were cool. I kick myself for not getting some of their 1/32 kits when they were cheap

Interesting. I'd always assumed that they just weren't popular.
I saw them go from being available at Toy's R Us, Target, KMart to just being at Walmart and figured they were falling out of favor.

Quoted:
JSI picked up a few. The Panther, for example. One or two other companies have picked up molds as well. There’s an unassembled Fw-190 kit being offered.
It’s been pretty piecemeal in the 1/18 scale world.

I picked up a couple of 1/18 figures a couple years ago that looked really close to some of the 21st Century ones I'd picked up years before.
But I haven't seen them again since.

Quoted:
I used to travel a lot, and with the different paint schemes being distributed so unevenly I would buy them and resell on ebay. A lot of WM's clearanced them too, so for a year or so I had a pretty good side business going buying 21st planes on closeout and reselling on ebay.

The only place that ever seemed to dedicate shelf space to the larger vehicles was Toy's R Us.
I had no idea there was as much variety as there was because I never saw more than one or types of models together at one time.

Posted: 1/2/2018 6:08:30 PM EDT

[#5]

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The B-36 almost was.

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/attachments/f19/104101d1396671768-xb-36-track-landing-gear-14xb36.jpg

http://b36.flugmodel.net/Updating_here/photos_drawings/landing_gear1.jpg

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true

Posted: 1/2/2018 6:09:35 PM EDT

[#6]

The Nazis had the best looking stuff by far.

Coolest uniforms / guns / equipment/ machinery etc

Posted: 1/2/2018 6:13:33 PM EDT

[#7]

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Quoted:
The entire powertrain system had the bugs well worked out. Like the Sherman, it was not the ultimate, but proven technology that WORKED mile after mile and day after day of combat.

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Quoted:

Quoted:

Ours were demonstrably better.

Powered front axle, non-interleaved road wheels, and a unitary band track instead of metal links.

This. Especially the non-interleaved wheels. Mud tended to get trapped in those which is why you don't see them anymore.

The band track really doesn't get enough credit. It was easier to change, much lighter, lower maintenance and more reliable.

The entire powertrain system had the bugs well worked out. Like the Sherman, it was not the ultimate, but proven technology that WORKED mile after mile and day after day of combat.

The German designs were demonstrably worse maintenance-wise than other Russian and American designs. Given that, the Germans could not make enough of their flawed designs to matter.

The German vehicles produced during the war were woefully short on durability. Unlike the French, and the Americans, the Germans never had an institutional program of durability testing I've seen vids of Panther tanks being restored where wooden plugs were inserted (by slave laborers) into critical oil passages, which lead to initial acceptance, and battlefield failure.

Posted: 1/2/2018 6:16:05 PM EDT

[#8]

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This thread inspired me to fire up Close Combat "A Bridge Too Far".

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I love all the close combat games, there a few newer titles out there.

Posted: 1/2/2018 7:34:57 PM EDT

[#9]

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The band track really doesn't get enough credit. It was easier to change, much lighter, lower maintenance and more reliable.

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The Germans didn't have any rubber. I agree the band track is awesome.

Posted: 1/2/2018 9:20:42 PM EDT

[#10]

A little half track heritage...

A Holt 75 in WW1.

Attached File

Attached File

And people complained about the M2's armor.

Posted: 1/3/2018 9:14:09 AM EDT

[#11]

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More like Breaking one side or the other.

The shortage of critical alloys and machine tools due to Allied Bombing & blockade meant that the German steering gear boxes in the later heavy tanks were a critical weakpoint of their designs...

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I read once that German tankers wanted experianced drivers for the Panther as they tended to be able to work around the known weakness, but German high command felt that new recruits get the new tanks, which led to more breakage as well.

Posted: 1/3/2018 11:03:08 AM EDT

[#12]

I think I read the French operated quite a few Panthers after the war, alongside some other Allied models. It doesn't sound like they were impressed and quickly rid themselves of the Panthers as soon as replacements were available.

Posted: 1/3/2018 11:09:04 AM EDT

[#13]

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A little half track heritage...

A Holt 75 in WW1.

https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/286652/Holt75pk-409195.JPG

https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/286652/Artillery_tractor_in_France_Vosges_Spring_1915-409196.JPG

And people complained about the M2's armor.

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Does this qualify as a half-track? The Mark I tank with a steering wheel in its rear.

. Yeah, it steered by braking.

Posted: 1/3/2018 11:25:29 AM EDT

[#14]

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I think I read the French operated quite a few Panthers after the war, alongside some other Allied models. It doesn't sound like they were impressed and quickly rid themselves of the Panthers as soon as replacements were available.

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https://worldoftanks.com/en/news/chieftain/chieftains-hatch-french-panthers/

Posted: 1/3/2018 11:29:17 AM EDT

[#15]

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Does this qualify as a half-track? The Mark I tank with a steering wheel in its rear.

. Yeah, it steered by braking.
http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/British_Mark_I_male_tank_Somme_25_September_19161.jpg

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I thought the training wheels were an anti turtle measure for climbing slopes and traversing trenches?

Posted: 1/3/2018 11:59:27 AM EDT

[#16]

Quote History

Quoted:
I think I read the French operated quite a few Panthers after the war, alongside some other Allied models. It doesn't sound like they were impressed and quickly rid themselves of the Panthers as soon as replacements were available.

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France was getting a great deal of US military aid along with developing their own industry. They got a big number of free M47s,nearly 1000 IIRC,and were building thousands of AMX-13s light tanks and EBR heavy armored car/tank destroyers (both using essentially the Panther's gun) along with all the Shermans,M36s etc they had been given. Keeping orphans that were both fragile and no current parts support would have just been dumb but actually,they kept them around for several years,longer than the US had kept all manner of things in service post war,for example even though the M18 had the highest kill:loss ratio of any US AFV they were quickly removed from American service.

Posted: 1/3/2018 12:09:50 PM EDT

[#17]

Posted: 1/3/2018 12:14:49 PM EDT

[#18]

Here's one of my favorite photos of a German half track.

Posted: 1/3/2018 12:24:19 PM EDT

[#19]

Did you know the Germans also produced a Landwasserschlepper?

I did a thread about the Landwasserschlepper some years back on here.

I love the word "Landwasserschlepper."

Learn About Landwasserschlepper Here

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - German half-tracks of WWII (Page 5 of 5)

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