Tank Chats  

My late father (2nd Lothians and Border Horse, B sqdn; N. Africa and Italy) had great praise for these utilitarian, rugged vehicles. Many thanks, again, David.

A ubiquitous and aesthetically pleasing war fighting machine

Anything the IDF "acquired" and then kept in service long after an alternative became available. Is obviously a good piece of kit.

There was a gentleman who drove a half-track around Kenosha, back in the early 1980s. Especially in the winter, he was a notorious sight.

For our American cousins, REME stands for Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers. They do all the fixing and mending, and also vehicle recovery.

At 03:30 is my dad’s squad on the way to Rome, June 5, 1944; 19th Engineer Combat Regiment, “B” Company, 2nd Pltn, 4th Squad, US II Corps, under Major General Keyes. They are towing a 37mm gun. These men are featured in a documentary named, “The 19th Engineers No Longer Exist.” here on RU-vid.

David Fletcher is the David Attenborough of tanks.

I cannot help but hear the theme to Kelly's Heroes whenever i see one of these half-tracks.. :)

White Corp. Half-Track...My grandfather, Alexander Linke was a service man for White Steam Cars (same company) in Canada... and earlier had driven a steamer from Cleveland , Ohio to St, Louis, Missouri as a reliability test. As steam cars phased out White turned to trucks and buses (later Half -Tracks as well). Special note: IDF obtained a wide selection of these from salvage yards in Europe in the late 40's & early 50's. All were made operational, many can be seen in extensive use on all fronts in the Middle East.

I have seen a real on at the Cole land transportation museum in Bangor Maine, the founder of the museum Mr. Cole served in Europe during ww2 and while riding in a half track he had traded seats with another GI, after doing so an German 88mm shell hit the vehicle killing everyone but Mr. Cole. Had he not changed seats he would have been killed too. I heard that story from the man himself.

As an aside, International Harvester did build 1000 anti-aircraft halftracks called M17s, mounting the same Maxon turret. These were all export to the Soviet Union and around 920 arrived there. The Red Army used these extensively for air defense in 1944-45. The quad-HMG variant of the post-war BTR-152 was based on the M17.

A versatile, rugged platform that served in multiple roles throughout its service life. It seems like a very successful ans dependable machine to me.

There was an extremely popular and highly sought after Airfix M9 Half Track Kit back in the early 1970's. I made lots of these Models. Then Matchbox produced their Variant along with the Hanomag.. Suddenly Table-Top Wargames had a whole new level of realism. As a 10 year-old child, I thought this Vehicle was the Bees Knees. Obviously, I wanted a Real One! Having researched the M9, M16 and White Scout Vehicles since then; I think I will stick to my Trusty, Rusty old Jag, thank you very much.

Every year for the Thanksgiving parade in Plymouth, Massachusetts, there's a guy who drives one of these as part of the parade. It has the quad gun mount, super impressive seeing and hearing it roll down the street.

They were used by the 825th Tank Destroyer Battalion in North Africa quite well against the Africa Korp Panzer 4 Special that carried the 75mm long gun . There is a Video on it

Always a pleasure David. Thank you.

My grandfather commanded a recon and repair unit from the .50 cal gunner's spot on a half track. 5th Armored. "Find em, fix em, fight!" was their motto. Thanks for this video, and good on ya, Brits!

Hooray! A new Fletch video to watch at lunchtime :)

In the earliest days of tracked vehicles they came up with the notion of steering the things with wheels, before they worked out track steering. There was an agricultural machine called the Gyrotiller which had a large iron wheel on the front to guide it. That's why WWI tanks were fitted with a pair of wheels behind, as steerage. They soon found they were superfluous but the idea hung around.

Another great video, Mr. Fletcher! American troops, at least in North Africa, used to call this thing a Purple Heart Box because the armor protection was very thin.

White created 2 versions of the half-track: M2 & M3. The M2 was shorter, carried 6-8 men and was generally used to pull light artillery or anti-tank guns. The M-3 was, I believe, a foot longer and could carry 13 men. 12 was the size of an American infantry squad, the 13th man being the driver. You're M9 might be an International copy M3A1, although A1's usually had the bustle for a .50 cal Ma Deuce. There were a few minor upgrades on the A-1's, but the bustle was the big one.

Fort Lewis in the US state of Washington has a military museum. One of the objects on display was a truck, with a sign advising that the soldiers frequently mounted "wenches" on the front bumper. I don't dispute that description of GI behavior, but in a visitor comment card I noted that "winches" were also mounted on the bumper, for more official military purposes. Yes vowels are important. Nitpicking museums and postings is one of my hobbies, but I don't do it orally.

I still have about the 1/72 Hasegawa M3 half tracks where I shaved of the mud guards, filed the back corner edges and scrapped our some of the rivets on the side. Rather than looking like an M5/M9 they look like, ‘what the heck happened here?’😂

"It's only a small detail; hardly worth bothering with really..." - This has now been identified by NASA as the moment when global weather patterns changed significantly, due to thousands of model-makers simultaneously taking a sharp intake of breath and then reaching for their keyboards in unison...

From what I understand the TD versions of these weren't entirely useless. There were a couple of instances where they were used as intended and did well.

If I could have a wartime vehicle, but have to maintain it on my own budget, it would be one of these halftracks. I think they've always looked cool as it is.

I enjoy Davids episodes so much. Only one on this channel I want to listen to!

My favorite WW2 armor vehicle. I love this Halftracks so much. I made 10 models of this in deferent version Lol!

Keep the history alive so we can learn from it and not repeat it, great job.

The version I always liked was the motor howitzer one. These trucks lead to the armored deuce and a half gun trucks of Viet Nam era and the current armored fighting vehicles used by the military.

"we're going to make a model with FOUR machine guns on top to shoot at airplanes with." yes, that is definitely an American vehicle.

You ripper. Greetings from Australia-. Can’t wait to get back to the museum

Had a squadron of M9s for my backyard army. Always won every battle against neighbor kids' forces they went charging into (helped along be several M26 Pershing tanks and my awseome ATOMIC CANNON, of course!). 💥

The man is greatness. Legend

Hope to visit the museum someday, when all the lockdowns are gone!!

My uncle had one of these on his ranch in Oklahoma. We painted white crosses on the side and used it for target practice. We were surprised when my dad's new 220 swift punched a neat little hole through the side.

''White trucks you don't stear, you aim! was the slogan i think? Was able to ride in one a while ago. Thanks for the vid, appreciate it a lot! Greets from the Netherlands 🌷, T.

Such a good looking vehicle.

I saw one of these for sale on eBay some years ago that somebody had replaced the original cab and bonnet with that of a regular pick up truck. Kind of nifty!

Nice! Half-tracks are very cool looking. Hopefully we'll see more soon, like the Hanomag (or one of the German's at least). I suddenly forgot if other nations manufactured / designed their own.

13 men is a full 10 man rifle section and the three man halftrack crew.

This is perhaps the "coolest" looking military truck I've seen.

I remember them in middle 90th IDF still used them as 81 mm mortar platform

My old neighbor served with the 50th Armored Infantry, 6th Armored Division in one of these. RIP Jim.

*Amazing!!, thanks for sharing these videos!!! Liked & Subcribed!!!*

Awesome stuff.

A few months ago took a ride in Glaciers National Park on a 1936 White open topped tour bus. (It had been rebuilt, of course.) I told the tour guide that White also built scout cars and half tracks in WWII and she seemed delighted to know that.

International Harvester was actually best known for their farm tractors then just trucks. And their rather clever logo proves it.

The Wright Museum of WWII in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire has a White Scout Car, an M9A1 and an M16. Check it out if you are nearby. US tank destroyer personnel wear a half track with a 75mm gun as a collar device.

Yay! I've even waiting for a new tankchat

Tanks taking out half tracks as a past time. Classic Fletcher. First time I saw one of these I had to do a doubletake on the tracks as I had not realised they were rubber. I have thought they would have been like those on a tank. But then thinking about it I could see why rubber would have been used rather then metal.

This man is a national treasure

This man is a walking national treasure with all hes knowledge.

The man, the myth, the uncombed hair. He's my spirit animal

Bravo !

7:19 one of the main advantages of half-tracks is that they require much less training than a full-track vehicle. This is a big plus for nations who have conscription. Half-tracks fall out of favour as nations more to professional armies, but some countries don't

half tracks were actually really popular in the US for commercial vehicles in the 20s and 30s before ww2

There was a half track at Gutersloh in the late '60's, it had RAF markings. I'm not sure what it would be used for on an airfield. It was the only one I've seen in service.

Very interesting

Many of these flooded the local US Government scene after WW2. The Philadelphia ,PA fire dept converted one as a fire engine.I guess for winter work. Parts availability and maintenance costs doomed most to the scrap yard in civilian use.

If I had stupid money I would love to buy and renovate one of these. Definitely my favorite vehicle of World War 2

My Dad was the machine gunner (50 cal quadmount) on the m16 halftrack in North Africa and Italy.

We want the Director to present again!!!!

The decal on the mudgaurd of the halftrack in the video seems to be the insignia of the 15th Scottish Infantry Division, does anyone know if this vehicle was used by them or that I'm just confused.

At least one German Afrika Corps unit under the command of Colonel Hans Dietrich used those half-tracks. Dietrich survived the war, emigrated to the USA, changed his name and moved to Genoa City.

I want one for the winter commute

Again, dont interrupt David when he's in mid -flow, wait till the end !!!!!!!

To whomever decided upon the much louder adverts in the middle of the video, jarringly louder and much more frenetic than David Fletcher's presentation, I lay the following curse upon thee: *I hope you are assigned to drive an A38 Valiant for the rest of your days*

The quad 50 was used in Korea to stop waves of Chi coms attacks.

´´..., but that´s what they did...´´ an already iconic statement 😀

They had one of these with a crane as a gate guardian at REME Bordon.

I need more Richard Smith OBE content. The only thing that could ever make Richard better would be a large moustache!

When the credits stated rolling, I just imagined that David doesn’t stop talking after the video ends. He just keeps going, from one tank to the next.

International Harvester were also known for their Farmall agricultural tractors.

if this man isn't knighted soon, there's a problem with the honours system. Whenever the world becomes too much for me, I turn on a Tank Chat. DFs voice calms me down instantly and there's always a tidbit of information you missed the first time.

The best!

These halftracks were good vehicles as long as their limitations were understood. These halftracks were fine at hauling infantry close to the front or keeping up with the friendly tanks then dismounting them within range of the enemy giving some protection. It was important to have some mechanized infantry with armor for the infantry in armored units to keep close to the tanks at all times. These halftracks also made excellent 81mm mortar carriers or 4.2" mortar carriers. So these were excellent vehicles as long as the commander understood their limitations of open tops and light armor. These halftracks were NOT assault vehicles but could take infantry and support weapons into combat zones giving some protection against small arms and shrapnel. The 75mm gun version on the halftrack as a talk destroyer were a failed concept. Yet, these 75mm guns had some ability to support infantry with moveable artillery support. The howitzer version probably was the most useful version for this sort of thing in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. But you didn't want to think you could knockout Tiger or Panther tanks with such vehicles. Overall, the mortar carriers were the most useful version. The 81mm mortar was a battalion mortar in the US Army. It would have been a Godsent to have the 81mm mortar on a halftrack with all the mortar shells towed in a trailer. The weight this would save some poor GI soldier from lugging it around would have been a real labor saving device. I know 105mm guns were put on halftracks but I don't know if such things were successful or not. Again, if properly used to engage the enemy from the reverse slope for cover the halftrack with a 105mm or 75mm gun would have been okay. But these halftracks with guns on them were NEVER going to be successful assault guns. These 75mm gun halftracks had good utility as scout support vehicles with the shoot and scoot concept. I always wondered why the American Army didn't develop an enclosed version of the Lee/Grant tank or Sherman tank with a 105mm gun loaded in the front without a turret in an assault gun variant. A .30 caliber and .50 caliber machine gun turret could have been put on top of the assault gun. I think three or four 105mm assault guns per battalion could have been quite useful during WW2 as infantry support vehicles. A shortage of shipping space was probably the answer to my question. The Germans made good use of these Stug vehicles on a chassis of a Panzer III or Panzer IV tank. The US Army could have used a "Sherman105mm" Stug in WW2 with four in every infantry battalion. These Sherman assault guns would have been ideal for close quarters infantry support against dug in enemy machine guns, pillboxes, trenches and defensive strong points.

I can't wait to try half-tracks out in Hell Let Loose once they are added to the game!

There is alot to be said for a vehicle that is reliable, available in quantity, and good enough for purpose. Today we tend to go overboard in search of perfection and end up with overly complex, hard to maintain vehicles that are too expensive to purchase in quantity. And then find out that what we created isn't suitable for the current conflict situation.

I think some of these still do work in places.

Other countries such as Morocco also used half-tracks until the 1990s.

I wonder if they sell David fletcher replica mustaches at the museum gift shop?

" A Tank usually took out one of these things as a Past time , or not even thinking about it " Fletchers wit never falters ..

Let the contest between the "Upvote Vultures" begin with their effusive and over-the-top praise for our host! Interesting and informative video, as always. Thanks.

Was at Bindlach BRD in the 80s with 1/2 ACR...had one in running order that came out on the 4th oh July...don't know who actually owned it.

Wonder why there isn’t much of a use for a vehicle like this. I imagine the tracks hamper speed and maneuvering, but they seem pretty nifty for getting through rough terrain.

They still make international trucks I drove a international workstar dump truck for over 20yrs 👍

Where was the pic at 2:26 taken? The MBTs look like centurions.

Was hoping he could tell us what the round heavy cylinder did on the front. Most did not have a winch in ww2 photos just the steel rolling pin looking thing.. Did the steering wheel steer by the tracks or front wheels or both?

Another French 🇫🇷 innovation. Excellent vehicle Difference between first war and second. Protected infantry

Kelly's Heroes features a couple of these...

I have seen images of Israëli halftracks with a rocket/missile system callen the nord ss.11, did they accually exist? The thing that i find unique is that these have an armoured roof over the driver/passenger compartiment..

At 2:22 is that pic taken in South Korea ? Because there are at least 2 Centurians in the background. I know they were used Very late in 1945, Just curious, Tank Chats.

To our European counter parts. Americans often refer to International Harvester products as "Cornbinders". Not a derogatory term in any way.

The rubber tracks are the grandfather of the snowmobile, many smaller construction machinery and Wall-E 👍

David Fletcher is a national treasure!

at 9:53 were those pics of 37mm guns in those M9's just a curious Yank !

Charming as always, David. Miss the Typewriter.

Aren't some of the pictures used actually pictures of M3 halftracks?

What’s the difference between the M3 and M9 half-tracks?