halftrackinfo
general discussion => what's on your mind? => Topic started by: halftracknut on October 25, 2014, 06:52:21 AM
-
Is there any way to use the hood or serial number and track where my halftrack has served?
-
As far as I have heard there is no known way to find out where your unit was during the war,I'm sure the government had list of what equipment was where but I don't know if it survived, so unless you get really lucky and find a picture with your half-track in it you're out of luck. I know that my half-track was bought from a military base in Colorado in the mid 50's but I still haven't figured out which one!
-
Ft Carson or pueblo depot seems they sold off lots of m2 out here but little m3
Did you get mine rack measurements ?
If not let me know will use mine
-
I wish I had met the guys dad before he died, actually knowing where your half-tracked served would be very interesting. Andy has posted a bunch of pictures with a tape measure in them,I have some plans sketched out as soon as I finish firewood for the season I refine them and get them up to my metal shop,I'll post a copy here when I get them done.
-
The Government never destroys any thing! My guess would be the records are in a file cabinet in the bottom of a wear house our if your lucky and close to the capitol, In the National Archives. I know that my track was with the 11th Armored 55th AIB. Just wish I could find more about what equipment they had in the heat of battle. Lots of info on who was where, but not what they had with them.
-
Some of the best books to find actual battle field pictures of WW2 half-tracks are books about Patton, even though everyone thinks of Patton as a tank guy his guys used a lot of half-tracks, A couple in my collection are, Patton by Charles Whiting, 4th Armored Division in WW2 by George Forty, Patton's Tanks by Steven Zaloga, it seems like there are pictures that show up in any book about half-tracks, but these three have pictures that don't usually show up in books strictly about half-tracks. I prefer the battle weary look in any military vehicle, but half-tracks seemed to collect a lot of personal gear you didn't see on other vehicles,except maybe tanks! Museum perfect restorations are nice,if you are a museum, but mine gets used in the real world,kids crawling around in it,and over since it doesn't have a back door, I would bet 99% of the half-tracks in use during WW2 wouldn't pass muster at an MVPA show!
-
It may be a good idea to start a wiki here for information that people know to be correct for there track...all I know about mine is that it came from Southern Equipment....I even have the book on it....
-
Monkeypirate is right on the money. The records are out there. My bet would be at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, however the curator of the Patton Museum at Fort Knox, KY would be a good person to start with. The Armor School recently moved from Fort Knox, but the museum would still have the subject matter experts.
When I was a tank platoon leader/company commander I had to sign the property books every three months. Every piece of equipment from a screw driver to the serial number of each M1A1 tank was documented and confirmed. Hasn't changed - I'm sure Gen Washington had supply officers issuing and accounting for each and every musket. 41st Armored Inf regiment's HT's serial numbers are out there in some propety book. A11, A12, A13 etc are there - which ones were destroyed, which ones were sent back to be rebuilt, etc - Just need to track down the particular Armored Division's property books.