Tanks 104: The basics of armored vehicle tracks

A short and simple video prompted by a Q&A question of "How does one get additional grip from a track?" As is my way, I attack this by addressing many somewhat irrelevant details first...
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Пікірлер: 335

  • @djizomdjinn
    @djizomdjinn Жыл бұрын

    To be fair, an armored train is an armored vehicle, and I’d love to see a video on those…

  • @johnd2058

    @johnd2058

    Жыл бұрын

    I'd love to see Putin's blown up with him in it. Just his car.

  • @Primarch359

    @Primarch359

    Жыл бұрын

    kzread.info/dash/bejne/l5OJlNJmeduYdbg.htmlm33s

  • @OOZ662

    @OOZ662

    Жыл бұрын

    Where track tension is external to the vehicle.

  • @herosstratos

    @herosstratos

    Жыл бұрын

    @@OOZ662 By reducing the tolerances, the nominal track gauge of the Russian broad gauge track was reduced from 1524 mm to 1520 mm. This significantly improved the riding behavior on these tracks.

  • @alltat

    @alltat

    Жыл бұрын

    @@OOZ662 Track tension is still an actual concern, though. You just can't escape it.

  • @Johnnyynf
    @Johnnyynf Жыл бұрын

    Happy track tension noises

  • @Einwetok

    @Einwetok

    Жыл бұрын

    And two lazy privates trying to "lose" their track jacks.

  • @dougstubbs9637
    @dougstubbs9637 Жыл бұрын

    Ground pressure is critical on operations. In East Timor, the originally deployed AUSLAV, eight wheeled vehicles, were quickly withdrawn and replaced with the vintage M113 ( the tin can cowboy’s ‘sardine machine’ from my service) as the LAVs were destroying the local usually unmetaled roads, especially during the rainy season. What is really annoying is even authoritarian texts will go into great detail regarding the weapons, and armour, they may quote power to weight, rarely quote ground pressure, which is a critical number in mobility context.

  • @FelixMeister

    @FelixMeister

    Жыл бұрын

    Weight's important for total load bearing capacity of transports and bridges etc. Not so much for manoeuvrability in the field.

  • @imagifyer

    @imagifyer

    Жыл бұрын

    ground pressure is certainly important, but how 'aggressive' the track face (or wheel face) is can also have an impact depending on the local conditions. When the Australian army was testing the M4 Medium tank at Madang in 1944; the M4A2 was eliminated from the trials relatively early on due to its all steel chevron track ripping the ground rather than gripping it, which would cause the tank to break the more stable upper soil layer and just dig itself into the softer soil beneath. The most successful of the M4 trial tanks was an M4A1 fitted with standard flat faced rubber block track and traction grousers, as this gave it good ground pressure and grip, but spread across a wide enough area to allow it to 'float' on the upper crust of soil present in the jungle without breaking through.

  • @aquaticontent

    @aquaticontent

    Жыл бұрын

    authoritarian texts? do you mean authoritative, or?

  • @FelixMeister

    @FelixMeister

    Жыл бұрын

    @@aquaticontent no, you see liberal texts go into great detail about crew comfort, UI, and sustainability in the field. ;)

  • @nightshade4873

    @nightshade4873

    Жыл бұрын

    Ground Pressure, Transmission gearing, and torque values as well. the transmission and torque part is what irks me the most, cause there was some people I've had the unlucky fortune to have conversed with, think that a 1000hp LS V8 is capable of performing as well as that of an AFV's 1000hp engine without considering torque values.

  • @lamwen03
    @lamwen03 Жыл бұрын

    "Metal grip pads". Less like snow chains, a lot more like studded tires. Thanks for the content. 🤣

  • @justforever96

    @justforever96

    2 ай бұрын

    Not really. Studs are studs. Tiny spikes for more grip on ice. Track grousers work more like chains, which work in snow and ice and mud, by both focusing weight on ice and by creating a paddle effect in soft terrain. But they add weight and limit speed, which is also probably true of grousers. And they are also more analogous to chains in that they are removable and only used in especially bad ground, while studs are permanent.

  • @glorgau
    @glorgau Жыл бұрын

    Not enough discussion of tracks coming off in deep,deep mud on a side slope. Preferably at night. That is when they are at their most fun. ;-)

  • @johnallison820

    @johnallison820

    Жыл бұрын

    While at Ft Carson followed an AVLB up a goat trail. Told my driver to hang back, he's going to throw a track and sure enough, off it came. Thrown track is poor maintenance and drivers who can't think ahead. Threw a track as a young TC on flat German ground, poor maintenance on me. Talked my driver out of a thrown track at Ft Carson and wrecked 2/34 AR as they came up a pig trail so just like in the last year 'they came up the same old way, I killed them in the same old way. The umpire didn't like my Wellingtoinialisms but he cleared the ridge in my favor.

  • @johnallison820

    @johnallison820

    Жыл бұрын

    Had a 2 man crew, me and driver. Told driver to drive uphill and keep driving. I destroyed a company and then they got me. They line up in the same old way, I shoot them in the same old way. Ump was later my PSG in Garlstedt (2AD/2-1Cav 2AD (FWD)

  • @johnallison820

    @johnallison820

    Жыл бұрын

    SSG Trackwell (better name for a tank NCO?) He ws a good guy but I had to take his platoon from him, drinking problem but here I am, an alcoholic but at 66+ I'm just ticking the boxes too; I meet my late wife again.

  • @fredericlepeltier3435
    @fredericlepeltier3435 Жыл бұрын

    Years back i had the luck that all the vehicle due to parade for "bastille day" (14th of july for us frogs) had to drive by under my windows. (get up early, sit at the café at the corner with your latte and croissant and you had a front row seat of you own personnal military parade! how the good old days!). At the end of the day, after all the Leclerc MBTs with rubber padded tracks left, there was always that patch of tarmac where they had to make it on the roundabout to get back that was like a plowed field. And since it is one of the main "gate" to the freeways leading to summers spots, it would not be repair until the end of september! Unfortunately road changes have since meant they come and go by an other itineary.

  • @JBall-hd8bw
    @JBall-hd8bw Жыл бұрын

    Changing track pads on a M60A1 took 2 days for 2 people one hot Ft. Polk summer. All mechanical tools.

  • @SirOsisofLiver

    @SirOsisofLiver

    Жыл бұрын

    I guess we were lucky, pounding out track pads on M113 in July took a morning.

  • @SlinkyTWF

    @SlinkyTWF

    Жыл бұрын

    Some of the "mechanical tools" we used to re-tension the track on the M60 were outright hacks, like a block of wood on a string that told us when the tension was about right. Not sure I remember how that even worked. Been over 40 years.

  • @ZGryphon

    @ZGryphon

    Жыл бұрын

    This feels like the kind of remark that has to end with "Ask me how I know." :)

  • @Einwetok

    @Einwetok

    Жыл бұрын

    @@SirOsisofLiver Ya'll had new pads in stock???🤬🤬🤬

  • @SirOsisofLiver

    @SirOsisofLiver

    Жыл бұрын

    @@Einwetok WO knew a guy who knew a guy.

  • @ODST_Parker
    @ODST_Parker Жыл бұрын

    I would love to see more of this type of video! Just basic information and some important details about one aspect of tanks as a whole. I can see this becoming a series. Hulls, turrets, engines, cannons, etc. This actually answered a couple questions I've had lately about two tanks I've played in War Thunder. Was curious about what the Stuarts had on the sides of their turrets, and I didn't know why the Italian M36B2 had seemingly wider tracks on the older VVSS setup. Now I know it's grousers and "duckbill" extensions respectively. As someone who really loves tanks, but has absolutely no deep education on the basics like this, I'm really looking forward to more of this!

  • @douglasmaccullagh7865

    @douglasmaccullagh7865

    Жыл бұрын

    I like this style, too. Some might be longer, though. There could be suspension, wheels, steering, visibility, aiming.

  • @TheChieftainsHatch

    @TheChieftainsHatch

    Жыл бұрын

    120mm ammo is next.

  • @ODST_Parker

    @ODST_Parker

    Жыл бұрын

    @@TheChieftainsHatch Awesome! Another thing I've wanted to learn more about. When I was a kid playing Armored Fist 3, I didn't even know what sabot and HEAT meant. Was shocked to learn that the former is basically just launching a giant dart.

  • @quentintin1

    @quentintin1

    Жыл бұрын

    @@ODST_Parker humanity and the quest to throw rocks at each other

  • @fabiogalletti8616

    @fabiogalletti8616

    Жыл бұрын

    @@douglasmaccullagh7865 Like the style and the length, IMHO. the "Ask Ian" format, short answer on a very specific subject, supplement well the longer Q&A and their tangents. Tangents are a great bonus factor, but "just the facts, mr." helps, too.

  • @herosstratos
    @herosstratos Жыл бұрын

    The narrow tracks used in the 1920s and 1930s are also related to the Christie type running gear, since it was intended to transport the tracks on the track-cover while driving on wheels. A special case are the tracks of the Universal Carrier, which had to be laterally flexible in order to allow steering via lateral bending of the tracks.

  • @lavrentivs9891

    @lavrentivs9891

    Жыл бұрын

    Many other 20's and 30's tanks had relatively narrow tracks as well, such as the french two- and three man tanks (R.35, H35/39, S.35 et cetera), Matilda (I & II) and Valentine.

  • @edward9674

    @edward9674

    Жыл бұрын

    Steering by bending tracks? Jeez that ought to give the mechanic a headache afterwards.

  • @nightshade4873

    @nightshade4873

    Жыл бұрын

    i think the Harry Hopkins tanks had those kind of tracks as well, as they could be driven with or without tracks, and steered either by changing the angle of all the wheels (atleast from what i remember of a diagram) or skid steering.

  • @Simon_Nonymous

    @Simon_Nonymous

    Жыл бұрын

    @@nightshade4873 I think so and the Tetrarch too (I think); it seems to be a slighlty differeint system from the Universal Carrier, in that all eight wheels moved, and they also rotated/tilted in line with the direction of the warped track.

  • @Simon_Nonymous

    @Simon_Nonymous

    Жыл бұрын

    @@edward9674 not really that bad, it was quite simply done ; straight lift from Wikipedia: Directional control was through a vertical steering wheel which pivoted about a horizontal axis. Small turns moved the crosstube that carried the front road wheel bogies laterally, warping the track so the vehicle drifted to that side. Further movement of the wheel braked the appropriate track to give a tighter turn. 57,000 were made - it seems to have worked!

  • @MrGeorocks
    @MrGeorocks Жыл бұрын

    Chief, I'd like to recommend the Australian armoured and artillery museums KZread channel for the latest two videos they've released about some grant tanks that they found on a farm along with some intact parts. I've never seen someone so excited to find a dash or gun shield as these fellas.

  • @kalaharimine

    @kalaharimine

    Жыл бұрын

    👍really good blokes, highly skilled and knowledgeable - their restoration vids are fantastic

  • @shaunpatterson9148
    @shaunpatterson9148 Жыл бұрын

    This has been a long time coming, we all always knew this vid would eventually get made. Cheers Sir!

  • @doughudgens9275
    @doughudgens9275 Жыл бұрын

    It’s great to cover the basics for new viewers every now and again.

  • @hccdgvvfccdgn993
    @hccdgvvfccdgn993 Жыл бұрын

    Only 8 minutes, was expecting 90 minutes

  • @fabiogalletti8616

    @fabiogalletti8616

    Жыл бұрын

    wait for the "track tensioning" video - it will be movie-length.

  • @THo-wm3vh
    @THo-wm3vh Жыл бұрын

    The rubber tracks were surprisingly durable. When I was in Alaska in the mid 80s one of the local fishermen found a abandoned WW2 1/2 track and got it running again. There was some dry rot but they still worked.

  • @justforever96

    @justforever96

    2 ай бұрын

    Not a lot of UV in Alaska, which is the main thing that deteriorates rubber.

  • @WarmongerSmurfOnXbox
    @WarmongerSmurfOnXbox Жыл бұрын

    Perhaps you could also answer these questions in a second track video. 1) How valuable are tracks? Can the 50 cal or the DShK disable them under a couple of hundred meters? Will a main gun round that is poorly aimed damage the tracks and running gear to the point it will need depot level repairs? 2) What is SOP for a damaged/thrown track in combat? Do you maneuver your tank so that your tank is between you and the enemy? Does another tank provide cover for you to work? Or is the tank towed off the the battlefield?

  • @Wick9876

    @Wick9876

    Жыл бұрын

    *vulnerable

  • @WarmongerSmurfOnXbox

    @WarmongerSmurfOnXbox

    Жыл бұрын

    @@Wick9876 damn Apple speech to text.

  • @daniel_f4050
    @daniel_f4050 Жыл бұрын

    That was really quite well done. I hadn’t really considered quite how many different forms tracks could take. My favorite bit of track lore is still the T-34’s solution to keeping the track pins in place. No threaded end with a nut for them. There’s a metal wedge that knocks the interior head of the pin back in place as the track goes round. Not exactly a way to reduce the amount of noise the tank makes, but it works.

  • @sadwingsraging3044
    @sadwingsraging3044 Жыл бұрын

    🥺I seen the train and was looking forward to your armored train video.

  • @THo-wm3vh
    @THo-wm3vh Жыл бұрын

    We had one guy adjust the track tension with the road wheel pump. We kept the road wheel pump right next to our high angle primers and our boxes of grid squares.

  • @johnallison820

    @johnallison820

    Жыл бұрын

    what, no squelch juice?

  • @AlRoderick
    @AlRoderick Жыл бұрын

    Ironic, given your joke at the beginning, I had always heard that the reason why German armor had an option for narrow track was because it made them transportable by rail, they were too wide for the wagons and tunnels with the size track they were intended to use.

  • @michaelmclachlan1650

    @michaelmclachlan1650

    Жыл бұрын

    I believe that's correct for the Tiger, King Tiger and Jagdtiger. For the Tiger with the early roadwheels they also removed the outermost roadwheel on each side.

  • @quentintin1

    @quentintin1

    Жыл бұрын

    as pointed to Michael, that was only the case for the tiger tanks, as their wide hulls coupled with the wide tracks made them too wide to fit the european track loading gauge, so they had the transport track set developed to remedy that problem but it was specific to those vehicles, afaik no other tank in german inventory had to resort to such measures

  • @AdamMann3D

    @AdamMann3D

    Жыл бұрын

    ​@@quentintin1 kt had transport track.

  • @quentintin1

    @quentintin1

    Жыл бұрын

    @@AdamMann3D it's a tiger tank (share the same ordnance number, and the prototype was numbered in the same series as og tiger), so point stands

  • @slee3155
    @slee3155 Жыл бұрын

    now I can keep track of the differences between one and two pins

  • @petesheppard1709
    @petesheppard1709 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you! After all this time, I finally wrapped my two brain cells around 'track pitch'. One more ignorant question: Is 'metaled road' Euro-speak for 'paved'?

  • @JohnE9999

    @JohnE9999

    Жыл бұрын

    If memory serves the answer is 'sort of', i.e. a gravel road is metaled, but most people wouldn't consider it to be paved. I think.

  • @nightjarflying

    @nightjarflying

    Жыл бұрын

    "Road metal" is the broken stone or cinders used in the construction or repair of roads or railways - the concrete or macadam finish goes on top of the road metal. It's an old term from quarrying.

  • @Tuck-Shop

    @Tuck-Shop

    Жыл бұрын

    Metalled roadways are made to sustain vehicular load and so are usually made on frequently used roads. Unmetalled roads, also known as gravel roads, are rough and can sustain less weight. Road surfaces are frequently marked to guide traffic. -sonewhere online. Probably wiki

  • @petesheppard1709

    @petesheppard1709

    Жыл бұрын

    @@JohnE9999 Thanks!

  • @petesheppard1709

    @petesheppard1709

    Жыл бұрын

    @@nightjarflying Ah! Thanks!

  • @ZGryphon
    @ZGryphon Жыл бұрын

    Rubber band tracks were also popular on the 1/144th scale improvised military vehicles of my childhood, most of which were originally dump trucks.

  • @R.Floman63
    @R.Floman63 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you for taking time to talk today at Aquino, it truly was my honour to meet you and talk. You are even nicer and more down to earth in person than you are in your videos and I am flattered that you actually enjoyed and laughed at the 1950’s Centurion hunting story I told that was conveyed to me many years ago by a former armoured reservist. Keep up the great work and I hope you get your heavy armoured battalion command sir.

  • @bo12328
    @bo12328 Жыл бұрын

    Is it bad I was sad when I saw it was only 8 minutes?

  • @eastmsvie
    @eastmsvie Жыл бұрын

    honestly, listening to someone who served in the military is way better than some random "unknown expert" on youtube

  • @SomeRandomHuman717
    @SomeRandomHuman717 Жыл бұрын

    Your M1 model is still deadlined, the right side #1 torsion bar seems to be snapped.

  • @NoelArmourson
    @NoelArmourson Жыл бұрын

    This information tracks nicely.

  • @justforever96
    @justforever962 ай бұрын

    Anyone else want to see a new Chieftain series on trains and locomotives? I personally am psyched to know he's also a railfan. And i feel like him doing "Inside The Cab" videos would be just as amusing as his tank videos. But probably that's too much work for one man.

  • @wacojones8062
    @wacojones8062 Жыл бұрын

    I remember from basic watching the 3rd Herd which was returning from Nam running their M114's with the rubber band tracks with their narrow cleats which failed the test of combat in the rice paddies. Way too many recovery operations needed.

  • @cameron5802
    @cameron5802 Жыл бұрын

    This is the sort of detailed and higher-tier knowledge that isn't easy to just find, especially not as fast as you convey the info through this video. I thoroughly appreciate your expertise.

  • @ditzydoo4378
    @ditzydoo4378 Жыл бұрын

    The tracks on the tank go round-n-round.. ^~^ as long as your track tension is up to snuff... >~< so says the Chieftain. ^~^

  • @norad_clips
    @norad_clips Жыл бұрын

    I’ll probably have to watch this a few more times to absorb all the information. I really appreciate these bite-sized basics videos for people that don’t have super in-depth knowledge on tanks.

  • @ernie28ernie
    @ernie28ernie Жыл бұрын

    Hi Chieftain, thank you very much! More infos about tracks in under 8 minutes than in a dozen books I read about tanks ;)

  • @Lame_Duck
    @Lame_Duck Жыл бұрын

    👍 Thanks for educating us in this free lesson

  • @n.b.barnett5444
    @n.b.barnett5444 Жыл бұрын

    Fascinating and very informative. Question: did US surplus halftracks used for decades by Israel keep using surplus rubber band tracks or - recognizing how rocky so much of Israel is - replace them with purpose-built metal tracks?

  • @fabiogalletti8616

    @fabiogalletti8616

    Жыл бұрын

    It was covered in "would you buy an halftrack from this men?" Rubber tracks were made in Israel for them - tracks now available as surplus on the market for vehicle collectors.

  • @tacsquirrel
    @tacsquirrel Жыл бұрын

    Even the mundane can be made to be fascinating with your explanations.

  • @geofftimm2291
    @geofftimm2291 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you, Sir! Geoff Who still remembers a warehouse full of track pads in FRG c. 1978.

  • @biowerks
    @biowerks10 ай бұрын

    Thanks for all of the information that I needed for the moment, and I was able to get it within this moment. We live in a world of wonders and horrors simultaneously.

  • @claudiovillani5538
    @claudiovillani5538 Жыл бұрын

    I wish I had this man as a Teacher in my early ages in school. Great video

  • @EliteAmmunition
    @EliteAmmunition Жыл бұрын

    Track Basics tracks always break at the worst possible place and time. Also dun fact car tires rotate just like tank tracks. At the contact point the wheel/track is not moving, but the tire/track portion 180 from from the contact patch is at maximum acceleration and from the 180 point it starts slowing down until it comes to a stop at the contact patch.

  • @extrastuff9463
    @extrastuff946310 ай бұрын

    These videos are always good at keeping my attention. Not too short while keeping it informative and entertaining. I've just got one suggestion, in addition to the video title style making a playlist of the whole series could be worthwhile. I had a look through the playlists to check if I had missed watching any (to check if I remember/see the red indication how far I played the video) but couldn't find a playlist, so ended up putting "tanks 101", "tanks 102", etc manually into the video search and found one I didn't catch at the time or youtube forgot to inform me there was a new video.

  • @godsowndrunk1118
    @godsowndrunk1118 Жыл бұрын

    Tink , tink, thunk......

  • @xxxlonewolf49
    @xxxlonewolf49 Жыл бұрын

    Wait what? Where is my train video? :-)

  • @88porpoise

    @88porpoise

    Жыл бұрын

    Right here. After all what is a tank if not a train that lays its own track?

  • @xxxlonewolf49

    @xxxlonewolf49

    Жыл бұрын

    @@88porpoise Choochoo mofo! Hahaha

  • @johncashwell1024
    @johncashwell1024 Жыл бұрын

    Track Tension! Great stuff!

  • @paoloviti6156
    @paoloviti6156 Жыл бұрын

    It is a very interesting video and basically you have highlighted the basic difference between a fully metal track and the rubber padded tracks. It always come in my mind the Sherman with the the two types of tracks., that said the crews always complained the lack of handling, even on relatively low slopes on wet grass with the relatively narrow rubber tracks but generally much easier on hard roads. Good job as always 👍👍👍

  • @tuckcuttertuck6802
    @tuckcuttertuck6802 Жыл бұрын

    Concise and very well done.

  • @Allan_aka_RocKITEman
    @Allan_aka_RocKITEman Жыл бұрын

    Great video, Nick...👍

  • @michaelguerin56
    @michaelguerin56 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you. Good video. Straight to the point, as usual.

  • @Dennis-vh8tz
    @Dennis-vh8tz Жыл бұрын

    The chieftain keeps us on track.

  • @JamesLaserpimpWalsh
    @JamesLaserpimpWalsh Жыл бұрын

    Cheers Chieftain. Thanks for the info. I liked the way the later Shermans had the extra track bits you could put on. Big finkin that one was.

  • @pauld6967
    @pauld6967 Жыл бұрын

    It was indeed informative. Prior to this video I had mistakenly believed that duck bills were the same as grousers. Thank you for clarifying that.

  • @jefflee6711
    @jefflee6711 Жыл бұрын

    Honestly, in the 6 years I was an M-60 tanker in the Marine Corps (85 to 91) I can't ever remember throwing a track. I've helped other crews that had and the only times I've dealt with removing or installing track was either scheduled maintenance or a busted final drive. Maybe breaking track to get a roadwheel arm low enough to pull out a busted torsion bar. And nothing sucks worse than changing a torsion bar.

  • @d3faulted2
    @d3faulted2 Жыл бұрын

    This is a great video. It'd be awesome to get more video's focusing on specific components of the tanks, the reasons for different variants and a history of improvements.

  • @raxit1337
    @raxit1337 Жыл бұрын

    Early to an upload! Thanks for the content, Chieftain.

  • @davidodonovan1699
    @davidodonovan1699 Жыл бұрын

    Great work as usual. Legend man.

  • @classicfrog80
    @classicfrog80 Жыл бұрын

    It was quite interesting and informative indeed. I hope you'll make more videos in this brief, informative fashion discussing other tank related topics.

  • @WildBillCox13
    @WildBillCox13 Жыл бұрын

    A useful primer. Thanks for posting.

  • @ronaldsimmons4281
    @ronaldsimmons4281 Жыл бұрын

    That was very interesting. Thank you for sharing that.

  • @Cohen.the.Worrier
    @Cohen.the.Worrier Жыл бұрын

    Always interesting and informatieve Chief.

  • @koenvangeleuken2853
    @koenvangeleuken2853 Жыл бұрын

    The reason for the rubber in a live track is that it deforms, twists, allowing the track links to hinge ( a bit) while the pin does not rotate in a bushing or something. The pin is vulcanised to the rubber. As the pin does not rotate is does not wear out. Therefore live tracks last far longer. Its the same principle as the silentblocks in a cars suspension.

  • Жыл бұрын

    Very intersting and informative. I really need to look at this topic myself.

  • @chrisj683
    @chrisj683 Жыл бұрын

    Truly the maddest of lads. He’s gone and done it.

  • @justforever96
    @justforever962 ай бұрын

    I do feel like this could have been an hour long deep drive and i would have been happy to watch it. Im sure this is an extensive subject when you get into the meat of it.

  • @johnallison820
    @johnallison820 Жыл бұрын

    Couple of track anecdotes, to wit: We did a road march around the British MTA (Major Training Area) of Bergen-Hohne in our freshly issued M60A1 RISE Passives (C/2-1 Cav, 2ad (FWD)) which were the first time we had seen the track with replaceable pads, T142, I think? Turned out the adhesive attaching the pads to the backing plates was bad and we spent our road marches with the loader facing rearward on the lookout for flying track pads. These were quite weighty and capable of injury if they caught you unaware. actually batted one away once, ONCE! ouch. During a REFORGER exercise (same unit) in I want to say '81 we were motoring through some Ballpeenhammersdorf outside Hanover when we had to make a right turn on a cobblestone road. Rubber pads notwithstanding by the time the troop got through we had pushed all the cobblestones to one side and dug an impressive gouge. A couple hours later some bright light decided we were in the wrong place and ordered us back to our starting point. coming back to Ballpeenhammersdorf we now took a left turn and undid all the work a repair crew had done to repair the original damage. I'mna pretty sure they were not amused. Bonus anecdote not strictly track related: Approaching ENDEX we were ordered to convoy to an assembly area where we would wait our turn to railload. We had to cross a canal and the only bridge for miles had a weight class of '5'. About the only vehicles in a cav troop that could safely cross a weight class 5 bridge were the jeeps. My PSG, hard charger that he was (future TRADOC Smaj) ordered me across the bridge. Being a freshly minted buck Seargeant I said 'roger' loader, gunner, get up here with me on top of the turret and traversed the turret to make it easier for the driver to bail, just in case, don'tcha know. Took it across at about 10mph and made it. turning onto the road paralleling the canal I turned to look back waiting for the inevitable oh spit moment. Miraculously everyone made it while I watched pieces of the underdecking fall off the bridge into the canal. Fast forward a month was playing a monster panzer leader/panzerblitz game (4 players, 1 American armored div, 1 British armored div, 1 Russian mechanized corps, 1 panzer grenadier div. each enters from one side, massive catfight in the middle, no allies (officially, but skullduggery is always afoot). Anyway, one of the players was a Lieutenant who was also the Bde's maneuver damage officer. I casually related about the bridge. I'd never actually seen someone turn white. He disappeared and came back in a few minutes with a map. 'Which town Sgt A?' That one sir *points* "Gotta go, see you guys later, clean up before the Major gets here. He has a temper and I won't be here to run interference." Yessir. It was Sunday morning and we'd just pulled an all-nighter playing the game and had just returned from breakfast. Found out later from him that he'd gone to the town in his POV and found that the bridge had been repaired, bill for the work submitted so everyone was more or less satisfied. Back in the mid-70s we had something called 'Brigade 75, 2AD, 1st and 4th ID(M) fielded a fourth brigade that would rotate in and out of FRG on a 180 day TDY rotation. Eventually some bright light figured it would be cheaper and less disruptive to make the now independent brigades permanent so 2AD(FWD) was actually an independent brigade until 2AD deployed when we were supposed to link up and deploy with the parent division, which we did once, ONCE. Can't speak for the mech bdes. Thus endeth the interminable 'anecdotes' related by a 66 yo armor has-been. Gimme a step ladder, I can issue a fire command. Gunner! HEP! Schoolhouse! Fire Fire Smoke! But all the new electronics? Not my M1, looks the same, not the same. Taught the M1a2 to Kuwaitis, current M1A2 SEP whatever is not the same tank. It look similar but someone would have to carry me and I be old and stuph.

  • @paulmills6338
    @paulmills6338 Жыл бұрын

    Another great video. You mentioned reversing center guides for traction on snow/ice. Thing is you just can’t reverse the center guide. The center guide is too tall unless cut down and will make a nice cut in fenders and sponson box’s. I know in the M60 series we carried sand bags full of cut down center guides in the mid 70s in both ROK and FRG and in the mid to late 80s in FRG. Never did put those on but we carried in case needed.

  • @martinmorehouse9645
    @martinmorehouse9645 Жыл бұрын

    I once saw an M578 recovery vehicle lose an idler/roadwheel doing a pivot turn on top of a hill at the Yakima Training Center. The road wheel disappeared down the hill, bouncing over the rocks and sagebrush. The crew just shortened the track over the remaining four roadwheels on that side, and made it back to our trains area.

  • @lonnieholcomb2078
    @lonnieholcomb2078 Жыл бұрын

    Merkava Track was tested up at Gowen Field in the early 90's just chewed through the basalt rocks in that area

  • @drpeterc12
    @drpeterc12 Жыл бұрын

    Great video, thanks

  • @pyeitme508
    @pyeitme508 Жыл бұрын

    Wow

  • @jpc6235
    @jpc6235 Жыл бұрын

    Greetings from the Old Country, Nicholas. You're some boyo with your tracks 🙂

  • @johnmorris4003
    @johnmorris4003 Жыл бұрын

    A good video. as a USN vet a learn a great deal from them.

  • @brianreddeman951
    @brianreddeman951 Жыл бұрын

    I almost want to build a tracked vehicle now. Almost

  • @JessWLStuart
    @JessWLStuart Жыл бұрын

    Alternate title "The Chieftain's on Track!"

  • @candleman2123
    @candleman2123 Жыл бұрын

    I missed regular Chieftain content. No hate, just highlighting it's good to have it back.

  • @MadCDeeJay

    @MadCDeeJay

    Жыл бұрын

    have it back on track you might say

  • @candleman2123

    @candleman2123

    Жыл бұрын

    @@MadCDeeJay hahahaha! I could feel the tension in that post. 🤣

  • @entropyachieved750
    @entropyachieved750 Жыл бұрын

    Informative as always.

  • @bruceparr1678
    @bruceparr1678 Жыл бұрын

    One of my cousins was sent down to the port at Townsville to pick up a a reconditioned 113. They noticed it had no rubber blocks but decided to drive back any way. The cops arrived at the base shortly after they did.

  • @Waltham1892
    @Waltham1892 Жыл бұрын

    B 1/185th once went to Minnesota in January for a winter AT. Needless to say, the ground was frozen hard. The tanks slipped and slid over almost every surface, so we refeversed every 10th centerguide. It worked like a charm, but the horns of the guides ended up getting bent and deformed the hole assembly, we had to cut a lot of them off. That took a while with 14 tanks and two torches.

  • @tacomas9602

    @tacomas9602

    Жыл бұрын

    I'm assuming it would not have been possible to weld grousers on it, or not permitted.

  • @johnallison820

    @johnallison820

    Жыл бұрын

    @@tacomas9602 Dunno that grousers are even available for M60/M1 tanks. Pulled onto a range at Bergen-Hohne, started firing and the snow started falling. By the time we were done there was about 6" of snow on the ground. When we tried to drive off the range (paved road) first tank got halfway up and slid back, second tank didn't get that far. Moi saw this and turned off the road and went up on the ground alongside. Everyone followed me and all were happy-ish campers. CO was not amused 'range control is going to be on my ass allison'. Never heard a peep from the british or the germans.

  • @Sbiper
    @Sbiper Жыл бұрын

    The most Chieftan video ever?

  • @oscarsusan3834
    @oscarsusan3834 Жыл бұрын

    I remember 2 things about track from WW2. Duckbills was one and when the Germans saw the T34s off road driving performance in the snows of the East they saw a “waffle style”of track which was superior.

  • @user-rq9wy7ip9x
    @user-rq9wy7ip9x Жыл бұрын

    Finally a video about tank tracks lol😅

  • @peterconnan5631
    @peterconnan5631 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you very much

  • @trappenweisseguy27
    @trappenweisseguy27 Жыл бұрын

    Many people are not aware of the interesting “pivoting pads” (my term) that were added to artillery wheels in WW1 to try and reduce ground pressure because of the omnipresent mud.

  • @ArchOfficial
    @ArchOfficial Жыл бұрын

    Bit of a physics note; tracked vehicles are still wheeled vehicles. The amount of roadwheels and I suspect their lateral width and diameter still matters for ground pressure, as the contact patch load is distributed around the roadwheels. The track does not completely evenly split the load as some sources seem to imply. I'm pretty sure there's easily-obtainable mathematical formulas to calculate the approximate contact patch load for tracked vehicles, and I've seen a few FEA sims that insinuate this.

  • @ralphhowes
    @ralphhowes Жыл бұрын

    Very interesting!

  • @chrisblack6258
    @chrisblack6258 Жыл бұрын

    Another good day

  • @coniow
    @coniow Жыл бұрын

    This brings to mind a story that I heard from an old work mate who had been in the REME. While on a joint NATO exercise (possibly in Germany, not sure), there was a steep, icy, track to get to the top of. The German tanks got half way up, then the tracks just slipped. The Americans tried, and slipped at the same point. Same thing with the UK contingent. Everybody decided to bed down for the night, to try again the next day. There was one smarmy bastard, universally disliked in the UK troop, who said he had an answer. After all else had failed, they asked him: Reverse the tracks on the tank, but go up forwards. So during the night, they reversed the tracks on one tank, as a test. Sure enough, straight up, no slipping. All the UK tanks were sent up this hill before they let on how it was done. Is this a tall story? I don't think so, as it was mainly about the UK crew eating crow as this smart arse was right, and milked it! Would it have worked sending the tanks up in reverse? I have no idea. But to me, it sort of makes sense.

  • @DaniilVodopian
    @DaniilVodopian Жыл бұрын

    Would love to hear more about modern rubber tracks like they use on some cv90. I think they are 4 pieces linked together for the ease of replacement. They are also relatively heavy, on a half of a metal track

  • @Kelvin_Foo

    @Kelvin_Foo

    Жыл бұрын

    Articulated cab tracked AFVs like the BvS 10 and Bronco/Warthog have a continuous rubber track, IIRC. They are relatively quieter and less brutal on road surfaces than metal tracks.

  • @woodenturnip6092
    @woodenturnip6092 Жыл бұрын

    WOO I LOVE TRACK LORE!

  • @tangle70
    @tangle70 Жыл бұрын

    @6:34 , I always wondered that those where on the Stuart at the local American Legion where I grew up.

  • @rapcreeperproductions3269
    @rapcreeperproductions32694 ай бұрын

    I'd like to see more on rhe manufacturing process and how different countries came up with different styles

  • @herreisenfaust4654
    @herreisenfaust4654 Жыл бұрын

    good video. thx from germany

  • @gordonwallin2368
    @gordonwallin2368 Жыл бұрын

    Cheers from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.

  • @satanihelvetet
    @satanihelvetet Жыл бұрын

    Very good video! But you forgot to mention the track stud for a method to increase traction.

  • @sylvainvanduyl6143
    @sylvainvanduyl6143 Жыл бұрын

    The pointy shape on the rubber pads has a purpose. They push the slushy mud aside, so the track can find more traction 'underneath'. A research of a Dutch Geo Intel team.

  • @LegacyUser
    @LegacyUser Жыл бұрын

    I would gladly listen to a history of train tracks lol.

  • @schlirf
    @schlirf Жыл бұрын

    Oh the nightmares: Throwing Track to both the inside and outside back in 1984 and breaking track in the mud of Hohenfels. "Fun" times.

  • @dicebed
    @dicebed Жыл бұрын

    As for the rubber pads on tracks, not just to protect the "civil" infrastructure - they provide more grip on paved roads, as in towns in Western Europe, but also don't tear up the roads, and so making it more difficult for your supply trucks to follow you. Still, in 5 years in the Army, we never changed the pads - just replace the whole track, and if someone wants to put on a new pad on a track block back at the depot, well, so much the better for the crew that next uses that track block -

  • @Noobixm
    @Noobixm12 күн бұрын

    Amazing educational content, this literally had me taking notes and shit💀👍

  • @Electronzap
    @Electronzap Жыл бұрын

    Good info.

  • @trasherhead
    @trasherhead Жыл бұрын

    Sill waiting for you to do a video like this on having drive sprocket in front VS the back. 😊

  • @TheChieftainsHatch

    @TheChieftainsHatch

    Жыл бұрын

    Something like kzread.info/dash/bejne/imuXt9WLlNWbk6g.html ?