Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2024 i Military Trader

In a previous article we learned about the Willys M-606 “high hood” jeep, which was manufactured in the 1950s and ’60s for the U.S. military and for export, and served during the Vietnam War; its civilian counterparts being the CJ3B in the U.S. and CJ4 in some Indian and Japanese incarnations. We also learned about the Willys-licensed Mitsubishi “high hood” jeep manufactured in Japan, as well as the Willys-licensed “high hood” Mahindra jeep manufactured in India, both of which also served in Vietnam with U.S. and ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) forces. And then there’s the Nissan-licensed JONGA, a very rugged and dependable multipurpose 4x4 vehicle based on the world-famous Nissan Patrol G-60 and P-60. JONGA is an acronym for Jabalpur Ordnance and Gun Carriage Assembly; and…

To combat in the closing phases of World War II, and the later M46 and M47 stretched the abilities of the M32 recovery vehicles to their limits. Accordingly, work was begun on a more substantial, better-equipped vehicle. The hundreds of M4A3 tanks in stock, and growing obsolete, made them ready candidates for such a tank retriever. Bowen McLauglin-York (BMY) developed such a vehicle, known as the M74, and began mass converting these units in February 1954. BMY finished its last conversion in October 1955. As the M74 was issued, the previously used M32B1 retrievers were turned in as surplus. Rock Island Arsenal then converted these into additional M74 retrievers, a process that lasted until 1958. The M74 was a considerable improvement over the older model, not the least of which…

WWII had taught the U.S. Army many lessons with regard to wheeled vehicles. Studies begun during the war, and accelerated immediately thereafter, laid the framework for future series of idealized wheeled tactical vehicles. The vehicles envisioned would be powered by multifuel, air-cooled engines of modular construction, they would feature easy to service outside-mounted brakes, include 24-volt electrical systems, and would be factory-equipped for deepwater fording, among other innovations, including serious consideration to automatic transmissions. Trucks with these characteristics were planned in a variety of weight classes and sizes. The 3/4-ton Chrysler T53 typified the new generation of vehicles envisioned by the military. In reality, development of this new series of trucks, in all size ranges, was a more time-consuming and formidable task than originally envisioned. Development of the new trucks…

An army must always expect the unexpected if it is to survive. This was certainly the case facing the Allied armies during the Second World War, when they were confronted with problem of crossing rivers where the bridges had been destroyed by the German Army as it retreated. The Allies had two methods of overcoming such problems. The first was the use of Bailey bridges, which could be constructed to span even the widest river, but took time to build and required considerable manpower. The other method was light boats propelled by infantry using paddles, such as the 82nd U.S. Airborne crossing the Waal during Operation Market Garden in September 1944 and later during the Rhine Crossing at Remagen. The drawback to this method was only infantry and light weapons…

In the summer of 1914, war broke out between the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary against the Allied Countries of Britain, France and Russia. At the start of the war, President Woodrow Wilson declared that the United States would remain neutral. Over the next three years, that neutrality would be strongly debated as events such as submarine warfare in the Atlantic and Germany’s sinking of the British ocean liner Lusitania on May 7, 1915 killed more than 120 U.S. citizens, pushing the United States closer to entering the war. With additional Germany attacks on U.S. shipping and Germany meddling in U.S.-Mexican relations, the United States finally declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. Within a few months, thousands of U.S. men were being drafted into the military and…

This huge tank retriever was created using the suspension and automotive components of the M103 heavy tank. Just as the M103 was shunned by the Army but used by the Marines, so it was with the M51. The U.S. Marine Corps adopted the M51 in 1958 and used it through the Vietnam War and beyond. The Army preferred the M88. Four men operated the M51, which was equipped with a hydraulically driven 45-ton capacity recovery winch as well as a five-ton auxiliary winch. A large, hydraulically actuated boom was mounted toward the rear of the vehicle. Anchor blades, also raised and lowered hydraulically, were provided both on the front and rear to stabilize the M51 during recovery and lifting operations. The size of the M51 is put into scale by…

In 1989, with 3,042 produced, M88A1 production ended, but the tooling was placed in storage. For years, the M88 had been the heaviest armored vehicle in the Army inventory, but that was changing. When the M1 Abrams debuted, the mighty M88A1, which could handle a M60 with ease, found itself struggling. Oftentimes two M88A1s were required to recover a single Abrams. This was the same situation that brought about the need three decades previously for the M74 to be replaced by the M88. However, M88 and its designers, now a unit of United Defense, were not going to give up without a fight. Upgrades to the M88A1 to improve its suspension and towing, winching, lifting and braking characteristics yielded the M88A2. Dubbed the Hercules, the M88A2 can singularly handle any…

Many of the vehicles used by the German Army during the Second World War proved themselves to be highly adaptable to serve in a range of roles other than that for which they were originally intended. Perhaps the most versatile range of all were the half-tracks, such as the SdKfz 251, for example, which was configured into no fewer than 23 separate roles and further designs which did not enter service. A variety of half-track designs were used by the German army, varying in size but of such importance they continued to be produced through the entire war. Indeed, these were among some of the last vehicles still being built right up to the end of the war. These half-tracks, because of their adaptability to serve in any role, were…

In an effort to provide a maximum amount of parts commonality between tank retrievers and the vehicles they were to support, four types of Sherman-based recovery vehicles were built. Based on the M4, M4A1, M4A2 and M4A3 chassis, respectively, were the M32, M32B1, M32B2 and M32B3. A M32B4 based upon the M4A4 was planned, but never reached production. At the request of the Marine Corps, the M32A1B3 shown here was developed, based on the horizontal volute suspension system (HVSS) equipped M4A3E8. Baldwin Locomotive Works and International Harvester in combination built 80 of this variant in 1945. Additional vehicles were converted after the war. Installation of the HVSS to the M32B1 resulted in the new designation M32A1B1. Unlike the M31 series, the M32 series had a fixed dummy turret mounted. Instead…

As the size and weight of America’s tanks increased, it became evident that even the improved M74 would not be up to the task. In 1959, production of the M88 began by Bowen-McLaughlin-York Inc., of York, Pa., which had also designed the vehicle. The initial order was for 1,075 vehicles. Their design has proven to be very well thought out and durable. The M88 is built on an armored chassis similar to a tank, and shares many components with the M48/M60 Medium Tank families. The lower portion of the hull is filled with two hydraulically powered winches, a hoist winch and a separate main winch. The 50,000-pound capacity hoist winch uses an A-frame boom and its 400 feet of 5/8-inch wire rope for heavy lifting. The main recovery winch is…

Among the smallest tracked recovery vehicles fielded by the U.S. Army is the M578. Chief among the reasons for its bantam weight is the fact that it was not originally designed to be a recovery vehicle at all! Rather, it was to be an air-transportable crane for replacing barrels on M107/M110 self-propelled guns, with which it shares a chassis. Ultimately, this T120 crane was equipped with a modicum of recovery gear and designated the M578 Light Armored Full Tracked Recovery Vehicle. The front of the M578 is essentially the same as the chassis of the self-propelled guns. The engine is mounted to the right and the driver sits on the left, separated by an insulated metal firewall. Directly behind the power plant is an auxiliary drive, which powers the generator…