Half-track
Encyclopedia
A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels on the front for steering, and caterpillar track
s on the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. The purpose of this combination is to produce a vehicle with the cross-country capabilities
of a tank
and the handling
of a wheel
ed vehicle. It is not difficult for someone who can drive a car to drive a half-track, which is a great advantage over fully tracked vehicles which require specialized training. Half-tracks thus facilitate moving personnel and equipment successfully across varying terrain.
The main advantage of half-tracks over wheeled vehicles is that the tracks reduce the vehicle's overall ground pressure and give it greater mobility over soft terrain like mud and snow, while they do not require the complex steering mechanisms of fully tracked vehicles, relying instead on their front wheels to direct the vehicle, augmented in some cases by track braking controlled by the steering wheel.
The French engineer Adolphe Kégresse
converted a number of cars from the personal car park of the Tsar
of Russia
to half-tracks in 1911.
His system was named after him: the Kégresse track, which used a flexible belt rather than interlocking metal segments. He applied it to several cars in the imperial garage including Rolls-Royce
cars and Packard
trucks. The Russian army also fitted the system to a number of their Austin Armoured Car
s. From 1916 onward there was a Russian project by the Putilov plant to produce military half-tracks (Austin-Putilov model) along the same lines using trucks and French track parts. After the Russian Revolution Kégresse returned to his native France where the system was used on Citroën
cars between 1921 and 1937 for off-road and military vehicles.
built by Alvin Lombard of Waterville, Maine
from 1899 to 1917. The vehicle resembled a railway steam locomotive, with sled steering (or wheels) in front and, at the rear, crawlers driven by chains instead of the driving wheels of a locomotive.
By 1907, dog and pony show operator H.H. Linn abandoned his gas and steam powered four and six wheel drive creations and had Lombard build a motor home/traction engine run by an underslung four cylinder Brennan gasoline engine to travel the unimproved roads of the day, with wheels at the front and tracks at the rear: the first payload-carrying halftrack. By 1909 this was replaced by a smaller machine with two wheels at the front and a single track behind, since rural wooden bridges presented problems.
Stability issues, together with a dispute between Linn and Lombard, led Linn to create the Linn Manufacturing Company, builder of the Linn tractor
, for building and putting onto the market his own improved civilian halftrack-style machines. Lombard attempted to follow but, for the most part, remained a pulling machine. Linn would later register "HAFTRAK" and "CATRUK" as trademarks, the latter for a halftrack meant to convert hydraulically from truck to crawler configuration.
In the early days of bulldozers, Holt
tractors had tricycle steering, owing to engineering difficulties with the caterpillars. The company's initial products focused on agricultural machinery
and were distributed internationally. During World War I
, its production capacity became focused on military needs. Its tractors replaced horses
and were widely used by the Allies as artillery tractor
s and for hauling supplies. The Holt tractors went on to become the basis for the Mark I tanks, the Schneider CA1
tank, and the German A7V
tank. The Holt would be renamed the Caterpillar 60
, after merging with C.L.Best Company of California, in 1925, the Holt Manufacturing Company
went on to form the company that would become known as Caterpillar
.
Also of note are the "snowmobile
" attachments for automobiles built by White Motor Company, Snowbird and others, for converting Fords to halftrack configuration, which could use skis instead of wheels in front for steering.
Tractors
used to tow artillery
and designs with front wheels and tracks in back began to appear prior to the outbreak of World War I
, often based on agricultural machines such as the Holt tractor
. The basic half-track concept was originally showcased by the British in World War 1.
With such tractors, it allowed the tactical use of heavier guns to supplement the light horse drawn field gun
s. For example in the British Army it allowed the heavy guns of the Royal Garrison Artillery
to be used flexibly on the battlefield. In England, starting in 1905, David Roberts
of Richard Hornsby & Sons
had attempted to interest British military officials in a tracked vehicle, but failed.
Holt bought the patents related to the "chain track" track-type tractor from Richard Hornsby & Sons
in 1914 for £4,000. Unlike the Holt tractor which had a steerable tiller wheel in front of the tracks, the Hornsby crawler was steered by controlling power to each track.
When World War I
broke out, with the problem of trench warfare
and the difficulty of transporting supplies to the front, the pulling power of crawling-type tractors drew the attention of the military.
With tanks coming into the scene, however, the combination of tracks and wheels seemed impractical when fully tracked or six-wheel, four-wheel drive vehicles were available. The half-track saw a come-back in the 1930s with development occurring in several countries that would use them in World War II. The White Motor Company which had designed armored cars for the United States Army
and United States Marines, continued after the First World War to develop armored cars and added tracks for the M2 Half Track Car
and M3 Half-track
.
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There were many civilian half-track experiments in the 1920s and 1930s. The Citroën
company sponsored several scientific expeditions crossing deserts in North Africa and Central Asia, using their autochenilles. After World War I, the U.S. military wanted to develop a semi-tracked personnel carrier vehicle so looked at these civilian half-tracks. In the late 1920s the U.S. Army purchased several Citroën-Kégresse vehicles for evaluation followed by a licence to produce them. This resulted in the Army Ordnance Department building a prototype in 1939. In September 1940 it went into production with the military M2 and M3 half-track versions.
With the snow and ice of Canada
in mind, Joseph-Armand Bombardier
developed 7 and 12 passenger half-track autoneiges in the 1930s, starting what would become the Bombardier industrial conglomerate. The Bombardier half-tracks had tracks for propulsion in the rear and skis for steering in front. The skis could be replaced by wheels in the summer, but this was uncommon.
The Red Army also experimented with half-tracks such as the BA-30
but found them expensive and unreliable.
Although not a feature on American WWII vehicles, steering could be assisted by track braking, controlled by the steering wheel.
In America, 43,000 Half-Tracks were produced by three primary manufacturers, by far the largest being the White Motor Company
, the original designer, with a total of 15,414 accepted by War Department. The other manufactures, Auto Car made 12,168 and Diamond T with 12,421. These designs were produced under license in Canada, and widely supplied under the Lend Lease program, with 5,000 supplied to USSR alone.
Half-tracks were used extensively in World War II
, especially by the Germans with their SdKfz 250
s and SdKfz 251
s, and by the Americans with their M2
s and M3
s.
, self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, self-propelled anti-tank guns, armored fighting vehicles and in other tasks.
jet fighter. Built by NSU Motorenwerke AG
Neckarsulm
and Stoewer Werke Stettin, with a total of 8,345 vehicles produced between 1940 and 1944.
Other Wehrmacht models were:
Larger German half-track tractors were used to tow anti-tank and field artillery guns. The largest of these were also used by mechanical engineers to retrieve bogged down vehicles or perform repairs such as engine maintenance.
. Half-tracks would see combat with the French Army in the
First Indochina War
and the Algeria War, in the Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts, and the early wars of the Arab–Israeli conflict
. Half-tracks were in use by the
Israeli Army until recently, where they were deemed to outperform
fully tracked and fully wheeled vehicles for non-combat payload tasks
such as carrying telecommunication equipment.
As of March 2008, 600 halftracks were still officially listed in active duty, although they may have been phased out.
A large number of Second World War half-tracks were sold off to civilian users either as surplus stock or later due to obsolescence when the armoured personnel carrier
s were introduced into service. Most were used in engineering-related tasks involving terrain that would be difficult for even four-wheel drive trucks, such as snow, sand and water-logged soil. Many were significantly modified for their new roles, including being fitted with winches, small cranes, and generators after the rear cabin sides were removed.
, produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation
, the main antagonist Percival C. McLeach, an evil poacher, uses a Half-track to transport Cody and Marachute to Crocodile Falls.
In the Nickelodeon
Series Danny Phantom
, his parents car the Fenton RV is a half-track.
Caterpillar track
Continuous tracks or caterpillar tracks are a system of vehicle propulsion in which modular metal plates linked into a continuous band are driven by two or more wheels...
s on the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. The purpose of this combination is to produce a vehicle with the cross-country capabilities
Off-roading
Off-roading is a term for driving a vehicle on unsurfaced roads or tracks, made of materials such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain.-Off-road vehicle:...
of a tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
and the handling
Car handling
Automobile handling and vehicle handling are descriptions of the way wheeled vehicles perform transverse to their direction of motion, particularly during cornering and swerving. It also includes their stability when moving at rest. Handling and braking are the major components of a vehicle's...
of a wheel
Wheel
A wheel is a device that allows heavy objects to be moved easily through rotating on an axle through its center, facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Common examples found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle,...
ed vehicle. It is not difficult for someone who can drive a car to drive a half-track, which is a great advantage over fully tracked vehicles which require specialized training. Half-tracks thus facilitate moving personnel and equipment successfully across varying terrain.
The main advantage of half-tracks over wheeled vehicles is that the tracks reduce the vehicle's overall ground pressure and give it greater mobility over soft terrain like mud and snow, while they do not require the complex steering mechanisms of fully tracked vehicles, relying instead on their front wheels to direct the vehicle, augmented in some cases by track braking controlled by the steering wheel.
Kégresse track
Adolphe Kégresse
Adolphe Kégresse was a French military engineer, inventor of the half-track and dual clutch transmission....
converted a number of cars from the personal car park of the Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
to half-tracks in 1911.
His system was named after him: the Kégresse track, which used a flexible belt rather than interlocking metal segments. He applied it to several cars in the imperial garage including Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
cars and Packard
Packard
Packard was an American luxury-type automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana...
trucks. The Russian army also fitted the system to a number of their Austin Armoured Car
Austin Armoured Car
Austin Armoured Car was a British armoured car produced during the First World War. The vehicle is best known for its employment by the Russian Army in the First World War and by different forces in the Russian Civil War....
s. From 1916 onward there was a Russian project by the Putilov plant to produce military half-tracks (Austin-Putilov model) along the same lines using trucks and French track parts. After the Russian Revolution Kégresse returned to his native France where the system was used on Citroën
Citroën
Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
cars between 1921 and 1937 for off-road and military vehicles.
Steam Log Hauler
The concept originated with the hauling of logs in the northeastern U.S., with the Lombard Steam Log HaulerLombard Steam Log Hauler
The Lombard Steam Log Hauler, patented 29 May 1901, was the first successful commercial application of a continuous track for vehicle propulsion. The concept was later used for military tanks during World War I and for agricultural tractors and construction equipment following the...
built by Alvin Lombard of Waterville, Maine
Waterville, Maine
Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The population was 15,722 at the 2010 census. Home to Colby College and Thomas College, Waterville is the regional commercial, medical and cultural center....
from 1899 to 1917. The vehicle resembled a railway steam locomotive, with sled steering (or wheels) in front and, at the rear, crawlers driven by chains instead of the driving wheels of a locomotive.
By 1907, dog and pony show operator H.H. Linn abandoned his gas and steam powered four and six wheel drive creations and had Lombard build a motor home/traction engine run by an underslung four cylinder Brennan gasoline engine to travel the unimproved roads of the day, with wheels at the front and tracks at the rear: the first payload-carrying halftrack. By 1909 this was replaced by a smaller machine with two wheels at the front and a single track behind, since rural wooden bridges presented problems.
Stability issues, together with a dispute between Linn and Lombard, led Linn to create the Linn Manufacturing Company, builder of the Linn tractor
Linn tractor
The Linn tractor is a heavy duty civilian half-track or crawler tractor invented by Holman Harry Linn. Approximately 2500 units were built in Morris, New York, USA from 1916 to 1952....
, for building and putting onto the market his own improved civilian halftrack-style machines. Lombard attempted to follow but, for the most part, remained a pulling machine. Linn would later register "HAFTRAK" and "CATRUK" as trademarks, the latter for a halftrack meant to convert hydraulically from truck to crawler configuration.
In the early days of bulldozers, Holt
Holt Manufacturing Company
The Holt Manufacturing Company traces its roots to the 1883 establishment of Stockton Wheel Service in Stockton, California, United States. Benjamin Holt, who was later credited with patenting the first workable crawler tractor design, incorporated the Holt Manufacturing Company in 1892...
tractors had tricycle steering, owing to engineering difficulties with the caterpillars. The company's initial products focused on agricultural machinery
Agricultural machinery
Agricultural machinery is machinery used in the operation of an agricultural area or farm.-Hand tools:The first person to turn from the hunting and gathering lifestyle to farming probably did so by using his bare hands, and perhaps some sticks or stones. Tools such as knives, scythes, and wooden...
and were distributed internationally. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, its production capacity became focused on military needs. Its tractors replaced horses
Mechanization
Mechanization or mechanisation is providing human operators with machinery that assists them with the muscular requirements of work or displaces muscular work. In some fields, mechanization includes the use of hand tools...
and were widely used by the Allies as artillery tractor
Artillery tractor
Artillery tractor is a kind of tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, a vehicle used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights.-Traction:...
s and for hauling supplies. The Holt tractors went on to become the basis for the Mark I tanks, the Schneider CA1
Schneider CA1
The Schneider CA1 was the first French tank. It was inspired by the need to overcome the stalemate of the trench warfare of the Great War.-Caterpillar development:...
tank, and the German A7V
A7V
The A7V was a tank introduced by Germany in 1918, near the end of World War I. One hundred vehicles were ordered during the spring of 1918, but only 21 were delivered. It was nicknamed "The Moving Fortress" by the British because of the shape of the hull...
tank. The Holt would be renamed the Caterpillar 60
Caterpillar 60
The Caterpillar Sixty was a crawler tractor manufactured by the Caterpillar Tractor Company from 1925 until 1931. The Sixty was the largest tractor in Caterpillar's product line at that time....
, after merging with C.L.Best Company of California, in 1925, the Holt Manufacturing Company
Holt Manufacturing Company
The Holt Manufacturing Company traces its roots to the 1883 establishment of Stockton Wheel Service in Stockton, California, United States. Benjamin Holt, who was later credited with patenting the first workable crawler tractor design, incorporated the Holt Manufacturing Company in 1892...
went on to form the company that would become known as Caterpillar
Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar Inc. , also known as "CAT", designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas...
.
Also of note are the "snowmobile
Snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...
" attachments for automobiles built by White Motor Company, Snowbird and others, for converting Fords to halftrack configuration, which could use skis instead of wheels in front for steering.
World War I
Tractor
A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
used to tow artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
and designs with front wheels and tracks in back began to appear prior to the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, often based on agricultural machines such as the Holt tractor
Holt tractor
The Holt tractors were a range of caterpillar tractors built by the Holt Manufacturing Company, which was named after Benjamin Holt- Military Use :...
. The basic half-track concept was originally showcased by the British in World War 1.
With such tractors, it allowed the tactical use of heavier guns to supplement the light horse drawn field gun
Field gun
A field gun is an artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march and when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances, as to opposed guns installed in a fort, or to siege cannon or mortars which...
s. For example in the British Army it allowed the heavy guns of the Royal Garrison Artillery
Royal Garrison Artillery
The Royal Garrison Artillery was an arm of the Royal Artillery that was originally tasked with manning the guns of the British Empire's forts and fortresses, including coastal artillery batteries, the heavy gun batteries attached to each infantry division, and the guns of the siege...
to be used flexibly on the battlefield. In England, starting in 1905, David Roberts
David Roberts (engineer)
David Roberts was the Chief Engineer and managing director of Richard Hornsby & Sons in the early 1900s...
of Richard Hornsby & Sons
Richard Hornsby & Sons
Richard Hornsby & Sons was an engine and machinery manufacturer in Lincolnshire, England from 1828 until 1918. The company was a pioneer in the manufacture of the oil engine developed by Herbert Akroyd Stuart and marketed under the Hornsby-Akroyd name. The company developed an early track system...
had attempted to interest British military officials in a tracked vehicle, but failed.
Holt bought the patents related to the "chain track" track-type tractor from Richard Hornsby & Sons
Richard Hornsby & Sons
Richard Hornsby & Sons was an engine and machinery manufacturer in Lincolnshire, England from 1828 until 1918. The company was a pioneer in the manufacture of the oil engine developed by Herbert Akroyd Stuart and marketed under the Hornsby-Akroyd name. The company developed an early track system...
in 1914 for £4,000. Unlike the Holt tractor which had a steerable tiller wheel in front of the tracks, the Hornsby crawler was steered by controlling power to each track.
When World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out, with the problem of trench warfare
Trench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
and the difficulty of transporting supplies to the front, the pulling power of crawling-type tractors drew the attention of the military.
With tanks coming into the scene, however, the combination of tracks and wheels seemed impractical when fully tracked or six-wheel, four-wheel drive vehicles were available. The half-track saw a come-back in the 1930s with development occurring in several countries that would use them in World War II. The White Motor Company which had designed armored cars for the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and United States Marines, continued after the First World War to develop armored cars and added tracks for the M2 Half Track Car
M2 Half Track Car
The M-2 Half Track was an armored vehicle used by the United States during World War II.-History:The half-track design had been evaluated by the US Ordnance department using Citroën-Kégresse vehicles...
and M3 Half-track
M3 Half-track
The Carrier, Personnel Half-track M3 was an armored vehicle used by the United States, the British Empire and the other Allies during World War II and the Cold War. Nearly 43,000 were produced, and supplied to the U.S...
.
Autochenille & Autoneige
Citroën
Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
company sponsored several scientific expeditions crossing deserts in North Africa and Central Asia, using their autochenilles. After World War I, the U.S. military wanted to develop a semi-tracked personnel carrier vehicle so looked at these civilian half-tracks. In the late 1920s the U.S. Army purchased several Citroën-Kégresse vehicles for evaluation followed by a licence to produce them. This resulted in the Army Ordnance Department building a prototype in 1939. In September 1940 it went into production with the military M2 and M3 half-track versions.
With the snow and ice of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in mind, Joseph-Armand Bombardier
Joseph-Armand Bombardier
Joseph-Armand Bombardier was a Canadian inventor and businessman, and was the founder of Bombardier...
developed 7 and 12 passenger half-track autoneiges in the 1930s, starting what would become the Bombardier industrial conglomerate. The Bombardier half-tracks had tracks for propulsion in the rear and skis for steering in front. The skis could be replaced by wheels in the summer, but this was uncommon.
The Red Army also experimented with half-tracks such as the BA-30
BA-30
The BA-30 was a Soviet half-track armored car developed in 1937. Only a small number was built.-Other uses:BA-30 is the designator for a D cell battery in the U.S. military's Joint Electronics Type Designation System.-External links:...
but found them expensive and unreliable.
Although not a feature on American WWII vehicles, steering could be assisted by track braking, controlled by the steering wheel.
WWII half-track use
White Motor Company
White Motor Company was an American automobile and truck manufacturer from 1900 until 1980. The company also produced bicycles, roller skates, automatic lathes, and sewing machines. Before World War II, the company was based in Cleveland, Ohio.-History:...
, the original designer, with a total of 15,414 accepted by War Department. The other manufactures, Auto Car made 12,168 and Diamond T with 12,421. These designs were produced under license in Canada, and widely supplied under the Lend Lease program, with 5,000 supplied to USSR alone.
Infantry transporters
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, especially by the Germans with their SdKfz 250
SdKfz 250
The Sd.Kfz. 250 was a light armoured halftrack, very similar in appearance to the larger Hanomag-designed Sd.Kfz. 251, and built by the DEMAG firm, for use by Nazi Germany in World War II....
s and SdKfz 251
SdKfz 251
The Sd.Kfz. 251 half-track was an armored fighting vehicle designed and first built by Hanomag company during World War II. The largest and best armored of the wartime half-tracks, the Sd.Kfz. 251 was designed to transport the panzergrenadiers of the German mechanized infantry corps into battle....
s, and by the Americans with their M2
M2 Half Track Car
The M-2 Half Track was an armored vehicle used by the United States during World War II.-History:The half-track design had been evaluated by the US Ordnance department using Citroën-Kégresse vehicles...
s and M3
M3 Half-track
The Carrier, Personnel Half-track M3 was an armored vehicle used by the United States, the British Empire and the other Allies during World War II and the Cold War. Nearly 43,000 were produced, and supplied to the U.S...
s.
Support weapon platforms
Half-tracks were widely used as mortar carriersMortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
, self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, self-propelled anti-tank guns, armored fighting vehicles and in other tasks.
Utility and tractor half-tracks
The Germans used a small 2 seater 1/2-ton class Sd.Kfz. 2 half-track (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a "half-track motorcycle") to pull small artillery guns, for ammunition haulage, general transport, and as a ground towing vehicle for the Messerschmitt Me 262Messerschmitt Me 262
The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. Design work started before World War II began, but engine problems prevented the aircraft from attaining operational status with the Luftwaffe until mid-1944...
jet fighter. Built by NSU Motorenwerke AG
NSU Motorenwerke AG
NSU Motorenwerke AG, normally just NSU, was a German manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and pedal cycles, founded in 1873. It was acquired by Volkswagen Group in 1969...
Neckarsulm
Neckarsulm
Neckarsulm is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, near Stuttgart, and part of the district Heilbronn. As of 2004, Neckarsulm had 27,296 inhabitants....
and Stoewer Werke Stettin, with a total of 8,345 vehicles produced between 1940 and 1944.
Other Wehrmacht models were:
- 1-ton class, Sd.Kfz. 10 produced by Demag, Berlin; Adler, Frankfurt am Main; Büssing-NAG, Brunswick; Phänomen, Cottbus and Saurer, Vienna, to a total of 25,000
- 3-ton class, Sd.Kfz. 11SdKfz 11The Sd.Kfz. 11 was a German half-track that saw very widespread use in World War II. Its main role was as a prime mover for medium towed guns ranging from the 3.7 cm FlaK 43 anti-aircraft gun up to the 10.5 cm leFH 18 field howitzer...
produced by Hannomag, Adler, Auto-Union and Skoda from 1938 to 1944 with a total of 25,000 - 5-ton class. Sd.Kfz. 6, manufactured by Büssing-NAG, Berlin-Oberschönweide; Daimler-Benz and Praga (Czechoslovakia) with about 3,500 in total
- 8-ton class. Sd.Kfz. 7, production was of about 12,000
- 12-ton class. Sd.Kfz. 8, some 4,000 were produced by five manufacturers
- 18-ton class. Sd.Kfz. 9, with a production of only 2,000
Larger German half-track tractors were used to tow anti-tank and field artillery guns. The largest of these were also used by mechanical engineers to retrieve bogged down vehicles or perform repairs such as engine maintenance.
Cold War use
Half-tracks were extensively used after World War II until late 1960s, with the Soviet Army introducing BTR-152BTR-152
The BTR-152 was a non-amphibious Soviet wheeled armored personnel carrier that entered Soviet service in 1950. By the early 1970s it had been replaced in the infantry vehicle role by the BTR-60...
. Half-tracks would see combat with the French Army in the
First Indochina War
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
and the Algeria War, in the Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts, and the early wars of the Arab–Israeli conflict
Arab–Israeli conflict
The Arab–Israeli conflict refers to political tensions and open hostilities between the Arab peoples and the Jewish community of the Middle East. The modern Arab-Israeli conflict began with the rise of Zionism and Arab Nationalism towards the end of the nineteenth century, and intensified with the...
. Half-tracks were in use by the
Israeli Army until recently, where they were deemed to outperform
fully tracked and fully wheeled vehicles for non-combat payload tasks
such as carrying telecommunication equipment.
As of March 2008, 600 halftracks were still officially listed in active duty, although they may have been phased out.
Civil use
Armoured personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
s were introduced into service. Most were used in engineering-related tasks involving terrain that would be difficult for even four-wheel drive trucks, such as snow, sand and water-logged soil. Many were significantly modified for their new roles, including being fitted with winches, small cranes, and generators after the rear cabin sides were removed.
Popular culture
In the 1990 American animated film The Rescuers Down UnderThe Rescuers Down Under
The Rescuers Down Under is a 1990 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution on November 16, 1990...
, produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation
Walt Disney Feature Animation
Walt Disney Animation Studios is an American animation studio headquartered in Burbank, California. The studio, founded in 1923 as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio by brothers Walt and Roy Disney, is the oldest subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
, the main antagonist Percival C. McLeach, an evil poacher, uses a Half-track to transport Cody and Marachute to Crocodile Falls.
In the Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
Series Danny Phantom
Danny Phantom
Danny Phantom is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon, produced by Billionfold Studios. The show was about a teenage half-ghost boy, who frequently saves his town and the world from ghost attacks, while attempting to keep his ghost half a secret...
, his parents car the Fenton RV is a half-track.