Halftrack Mounted Howitzer Idea

Tinman · Post by **Tinman** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 8:45 am

Haven't looked closely at how they might work out with the different scales, but I was wondering if it might be possible to mount a modified 32X 88mm German artillery piece in a 1:18 US Halftrack. Maybe it would make a servicible USMC Halftrack with 75mm Howitzer.

Has anyone tried this?

Post by **aferguson** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 3:54 pm

it would be about a 50mm gun in 1/18 scale. You could mount the GI Joe Mountain Howitzer in the US hafltrack. It looks a lot like a 105mm howtizer and i believe some halftracks were fitted with them, albeit i don't think it was a very successful match.

Tinman · Post by **Tinman** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 6:46 pm

Thanks, aferguson! I'll keep that in mind.

Post by **aferguson** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 7:00 pm

they were called T19 and used in Tunisia. They were an intrim step until the Priest came into service. The chasis wasn't really strong enough to take the recoil of the 105 and damage to the halftrack chassis was common.

Would be a neat little conversion though if you have an M3 to spare..

Threetoughtrucks · Post by **Threetoughtrucks** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 7:59 pm

The first practical artillery on a US Half-track was the 57mm Anti-tank gun.
Then we tried the 75mm Pack howitzer and French 75mm field guns left over from WW1. These French 75's were mounted on WW2 chasis in 1941 as a stop gap and were used as towed artillery and mounted in half-tracks.

The 105mm was the biggest "practical" gun mounted in half-tracks but continued fire did cause the vehicle to actually start to come apart as armored screws and bolts started to work their way apart. Not a real good idea in a combat situation.

Would make a very nice custom having a gun of any size on a half-track.

TTT

Post by **aferguson** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 8:01 pm

any idea of how many T19's were used TTT?

Threetoughtrucks · Post by **Threetoughtrucks** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 7:03 am

Aferg:

There were 324 T-19's made and put into combat.

The initial program was for a stop gap vehicle to mount a 105mm while the M-7 Priest was being developed and of course the T-19 was replaced by the Priest as they became available. It was a while before the Priest became available because of the work involved in production in competion with tanks on the same production lines. The Half-tracks were available for conversions.

Initial testing at Aberdeen found a serious problem with the frame uinder the 105mm mount, but that was corrected with support added to the frame. The other problem I mentioned is not memtioned in my books but my source was a TSgt Vet from WW2 who was on one for almost a year. On shows where I showed my CC next to my buddies M-3 Half-track we always had the old vets coming up and telling us stories, not war stories but just stories of how they lived on and with those vehicles. Great stories, usually odd ball stories you just don't see in reference books.

My favorite baby, the White Half-track was used to develop every kind of gun you can imagine they can put on a half-track. AA combos with 2 and 4 .50cal, mounts with 2 .50's and a 37MM quick firing, various combos with 20mm, a mount with a 40mm Borfors, even one with two 40mm's mounted one over the other, plus of course the mounted 57mm,75 pack, French 75, 105mm. If it shot something, it was tried to be mounted on a half-track.

TTT