M60 Tank How's this one do??? It's in front of the VFW in St. Augustine. This one is an M60-A1 like I spent most of my time in before we swapped over to the M1-A1 Abrams.
Tank overhaul is a cool show, especially the episode of the panther they drag out of a river in Poland (at least I think it was tank overhaul).
Funny how it looks like an old T34 in it's shape which was a copy of a US prototype any way I think! lol
Yes Walter Christie sold his prototype rights to several countries in Europe right before WW2 started. He couldn't sell it to our Army because they thought he was a crackpot. His prototype evolved into the T-34 and the German Panther tank. Both of these tanks were world class leaders at the time. The M60 that I spent my years in evolved from the M26 Pershing and M46 - M-48 Patton series of tanks. They all shared the torsion bar suspension with Christies prototype from the 1930's, and the Panther. I'm not 100% sure what the T34 had for springs. It could have been leaf springs similar to the Panzer III and IV, but hidden behind armor. Even the M-1 has torsion bars, just like our Mopars do, but on a much larger scale. - - - Updated - - - Cool Show Indeed!!!!
Pershing tanks in Korea This picture shows M-26 Pershing tanks from the US Army 73rd Medium Tank Battalion at Incheon Korea. This was one of the tank units my Dad was in. One of these tanks could be one of the many that my Dad was a crewman in while he was in Korea. He never talked about it too much. He did mention that he was in the Incheon landing and that later his unit went with the Marines up to the Chosin Reservoir. He also said he had to bail out of 4 tanks that were knocked out due to different things like mines and mortar fire. One was knocked out that he was in when he was involved with the recapture of Seoul. He said that the enemy threw a satchel charge on the back deck which took the engine out of his Flame thrower version of a Sherman. Then he said "That's when I became Infantry. I liked being a foot soldier. They didn't shoot at you nearly as much." I can only imagine...................... What a nightmare. He lived with that for the rest of his life.
I just visited the only WW1 museum in the US in Kansas City MO. Tanks were invented during WW1 and the one they had there had a gapping hole in it from a shell hitting it in the rear. it wasn't any bigger than the cargo carrier that Chargerrtguy has, except it had a turret on top of it
They also built a lot of weapons carriers, command cars, ambulances, and other vehicles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_WC_series
Don't forget the bomber engines. Chrysler delivered over 18,000 B-29 engines, after redesigning them so they'd keep running. And at a lower cost than was expected.
M1A1 Abrams Cool link thanks. When we first got our Abrams they would go 70 mph on a paved highway and spin the tracks in the sand from a dead stop. They had to de-tune them because we started having problems with the tracks falling apart or jumping off the sprockets. That's one reason they now have the round track guide on the sprockets now. They could also stop on a dime. On more than one occasion while on pavement going about 40 mph, we locked the brakes up and smoke would come off the track pads. The tank would skid to a halt in about 50 feet or so. We loved it, but the gunner would sometimes plant his face in the sights. They were just TOO fast !!!! Very impressive to be able to get something that heavy to move out and stop that quick. Typical Chrysler product...........
Sherman Tank Guy in Michigan has this Late Model Sherman. M4A1 76MM E8 It has a Radial Aircraft engine.
My Favorites Here are a few photos of my all time favorites... The Germans made quality, where the US and Russia had quantity. We know who won that one!!!
I enjoy all tanks. I have Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Md where I would take my kids to see all the tanks they have out in the showfield. I just bought a book called "US tank destroyers of WWII". Great book as many dont know the US built tank destroyers that looked like tanks but had an open top turret. The had anti-tank guns in them and the most popular ones were the self propelled ones of the M-10 which had a 3" naval gun and then the M-36 which was the only US vehicle other then the M-26 tank able to knock out Tigers and Panthers with frontal shots as it mounted a 90 MM anti-aircraft gun. And then they had the fastest tracked vehicle in the war the M-18 that mounted the high velocity 76 MM gun. It could do over 45 mph. The US believed the tank destroyers should be fast and hit hard so they did not have alot of thick armor as thats one reason for the open top because they needed to see the enemy first so they could hit first to survive. Here is a pic of an M-18 as they knocked out alot of Panthers and Tigers in Europe. Ron - - - Updated - - - I watched a show on the Military channel and one of the tank guys from Korea that was on the 90 MM M-26 Pershing said the M-26 had no problem handling the T-34/85 tanks. Ron
The German "Tiger" tank was a great tank except for three things: The final drive was designed for a tank weighing 25 tons, the Tiger weighed 45 tons and it ate up those final drives like they were made of clay when running full speed (45 MPH) so the order came down from Berlin to limit the speed to 25mph. The original Tiger engine was a radial engine from an airplane which was very light weight but too fragile for use in a tank so they put V 12 diesels in the later ones. It took six men three days plus a 10 ton crane to replace a Tiger's engine and it had to be done in a repair shop. The Sherman took three men two hours out in the field. The Germans built 2000 Tigers. The Americans build about 20,000 Shermans. Benji
Ah the USA built 49,000 Shermans. The US army took over 19,000 tanks in its ranks in WWII. And I dont mean to go against you but I have never heard of a Tiger doing anywhere near 45 mph. Ron
Never heard of radial engine Tigers, maybe a prototype? The first 250 Tigers used 650 hp. Maybach gasoline V-12, aluminum block. The upgrade after that was an iron block Maybach V-12 with 700 hp, still gasoline. All German WWII tanks used gasoline. It did, however, have torsion bar suspension.
