Next I will show some pictures of the 1919 A4 Air Cooled .30 Cal MG mounted on a 30/50 cradle mounted in the drivers side socket of the halftrack.
The 30/50 cradle will accept either the 30 Cal MG or the 50 cal MG. It has an ammo tray that will accept both sizes of ammo cans. No special ammo cans required.
These cradles are easier to find and less expensive than the 1917 cradle shown in the previous pictures.
My research tells me this cradle setup was commonly used throughout the war.
Next I will show some shots of the .50 Cal M2HB mounted on a M49 ring mount in the pulpit over the passengers seat.
This again is a 30/50 cradle with a redi-box mounted to it rather than the tray and the ammo can.
The carriage mount which carries the cradle around the ring mount requires a long-pintle cradle compared to the more common short pintle cradles which will fit in the three sockets on the sides and rear of the halftrack.
The hoses are for the gas gun mechanism which I am still in the process of installing.
This redi-box ammo can was designed to fit on a long-tailed cradle which is extremely difficult to find. I had to build some brackets to mount it on here. So this is probably not an authentic setup.
This is the cheapest and easiest method of mounting a machine gun on your halftrack.
I hope these pictures help answer some questions regarding gun mounts on a halftrack. Like I said earlier I am not an expert on gun mounts so if I said something incorrect hopefully another member will correct me.
Tom
