The FReeper Foxhole's TreadHead Tuesday - M3 Half-Track Series

The M3 Halftrack and its variants were the workhorse of the US armored infantry divisions. Introduced in 1942 it remained in service throughout the war and with some countries long beyond the war. The M3 Halftrack was slightly longer than its ancestor, the M2 Halftrack and could seat a 12 men squad plus the driver. The M3's armament consisted of a pedestal- mounted .30 cal air-cooled MG. Compared to its rival, the German SPW 251/1, the US M3 Series had superior mobility by virtue of higher top speed and driven front axels. The US halftracks however suffered from higher ground pressure and tracks that wore out more quickly. In addition the M3 Series Halftracks had no floor armor, making the passengers vulnerable to mines. The poor overall armor of the Halftracks (Axis and Allied) led to their nickname "Purple Heart Box".

The M3 half-track used the same chassis and mechanical components as the half-track car M2, but the rear armored body was 10" (25cm) longer and featured a door in the rear to ease entry and exit from the vehicle. The M3 lacked side ammunition stowage compartments, and the fuel tanks were moved from their rear position on the M2 to just behind the driving compartment. Improvements in the M3 paralleled those in the M2, with spring-loaded idlers, smaller demountable headlights, mine racks, and winch featured on late vehicles.

Variants:

M3A1 Halftrack

M3A1 Halftrack: Standard Halftrack of the US armored infantry divisions after 1944. One .50cal HMG mounted to the right of the driver and a .30cal air-cooled MG mounted on either rear or side wall.

M3 MGMC

M3 MGMC: Support version of the M3 Halftrack. In addition to its main MG (.50 or .30cal) it mounted a additional two .30cal MGs on the side walls.

M21 Mortar Carrier

M21 MC: Mortar Carrier. The first US MC to mount the 81mm Mortar facing to the front. Only 110 were built throughout the war, of which 54 were transfered to the Free French.

M3 GMC

M3 GMC: Anti Tank Vehicle. The GMC (Gun Motor Carriage) was stopgap solution, rising from the urgent need to field a tank destroyer until the M10 GMC could be fielded. It mounted a M1897A4 field gun. When used in the ambush role it was amazingly effective against enemy armor, however its thin armor caused many to be knocked out.

M3 75mm GMC

The M3 75mm GMC was based on the M3 half-track, and essentially stuck a 75mm gun behind the driving compartment. A low, sloping gun shield was provided for the gun crew, and the armored windshield cover had a notch cut in the middle to allow room for the gun. The glass was removed from the windshield cover, and it folded down onto the hood instead of upwards as on the M3 half-track, since the GMC lacked a roof over the driving compartment. The fuel tanks were relocated to the rear, and stowage boxes were attached to the rear of the vehicle on either side of the rear door. The M3 gun mount consisted of the upper portion of the standard M2A3 gun carriage resting on a steel base. Modifications to the M3 half-track were also applied to the M3 GMCs.

M16 MGMC

M16 MGMC: Anti-Aircraft vehicle. The "Meat Chopper" carried four .50cal MGs coaxially mounted on a electrical Maxson turret. Its maximum rate of fire of 2,200 rounds per minute made the M16 very deadly against low flying aircraft, and proved devestating if used in the ground support role against infantry.

M4A1 81mm Mortar Carrier

Other variants included the T30 HMC, mounting a75mm Pack Howitzer, T19 HMC, mounting a 105mm Howitzer, M15A1 MGMC, mounting a 37mm AA gun and two coaxially mounted .50cal MGs.

Half-track Personnel Carrier M5

M5A1

The M5 resulted from the fact that White, Autocar, and Diamond T could not keep pace with the demand for half-track personnel carriers, and was analogous to the M3 half-track. The front wheels on IHC half-tracks could be engaged for cross-country travel as well. M5s differed in several respects from the M3, however. The M5's fenders were flat in cross-section, and the M5 was never fitted with the large fender-mounted headlights. International Harvester used rolled homogeneous steel armor on their vehicles, which allowed plates to be welded together, giving IHC's half-tracks a smoother appearance than the bolted half-tracks. The rolled homogeneous armor could also be formed, and IHC's half-tracks featured rounded rear corners, which contrast to the right-angled corners on the machines with face-hardened armor. Homogeneous armor lessened the chance of injury due to bullet splash and flying cap screws which could be dislodged when hit, but it was not as strong as face-hardened plate. This meant that the armor on IHC's half-tracks needed to be thicker than the face-hardened armor of the M3 to offer the same protection. The M5 was therefore fitted with heavier axles and hull strengthening components, but its performance still essentially equalled that of the lighter M3. The M5's length with the anti-ditching roller was 242.19" (615.16cm).

The M5A1 was fitted with the .50cal ring mount over the assistant driver's position, and a socket mount for the .30cal MG was attached on either side and the rear of the passenger compartment.

Half-track Car M9A1

M9A1

The M9A1 resulted from the fact that White and Autocar could not keep pace with the demand for half-track cars, and was analogous to the M2 half-track. M9A1s differed in several respects from the M2A1, however. M9A1s lacked the side ammunition compartments, featured rear doors, the fenders on the M9A1s were flat in cross-section, and unlike the M2A1 the M9A1's body was the same length as the M5's, its personnel carrier counterpart.

The M9A1 also never had the large fender-mounted headlights. International Harvester used rolled homogeneous steel armor on their vehicles, which allowed plates to be welded together, giving IHC's half-tracks a smoother appearance than the bolted half-tracks. The rolled homogeneous armor could also be formed, and IHC's half-tracks featured rounded rear corners, which contrast to the right-angled corners on the machines with face-hardened armor. Homogeneous armor lessened the chance of injury due to bullet splash and flying cap screws which could be dislodged when hit, but it was not as strong as face-hardened plate. This meant that the armor on IHC's half-tracks needed to be thicker than the face-hardened armor of the M2A1 to offer the same protection.

A variation of the M3 haltrack was outfitted with a 75mm cannon. This configuration saw action in the Italian front and was most commonly employed to provide troops with fire support.

The M9A1 was therefore fitted with heavier axles and hull strengthening components, but its performance still essentially equalled that of the lighter M2A1. No half-track cars M9 were produced, as the .50cal ring mount modifications had been approved before production began. The M9A1's length with the anti-ditching roller was 242.19" (615.16cm).

Additional Sources:

www.fischers-design.de
afvdb.50megs.com
search.eb.com
www.quanonline.com
mailer.fsu.edu
www.roberts.ezpublishing.com
www.usarmymodels.com
www.100thww2.org
afvinteriors.hobbyvista.com

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.

Actively seeking volunteers to provide this valuable service to Veterans and their families.

Iraq Homecoming Tips

~ Thanks to our Veterans still serving, at home and abroad. ~ Freepmail to Ragtime Cowgirl | 2/09/04 | FRiend in the USAF

PDN members and fans. We hope you will consider this simple act of patriotism worth passing on or taking up as a project in your own back yard. In summary:

Who They Are: Operation: Stitches Of Love was started by the Mothers of two United States Marines stationed in Iraq.

What They Are Doing: We are gathering 12.5"x12.5" quilt squares from across the country and assembling the largest quilt ever produced. When completed we will take the quilt from state to state and gather even more squares.

Why They Are Doing This: We are building this quilt to rally support for the Coalition Forces in Iraq and to show the service members that they are not forgotten. We want the world to know Nothing will ever break the stitches that bind us together as a country.

Ideas to start a local project:

Obtain enough Red, White and Blue material (cloth) for a 12.5 x 12.5 quilt square.
If you have someone in your family that sews, make it a weekend project and invite neighbors to join you.

Consider this tribute as a project for your civic group, scouts, church or townhall group.

Locate an elementary school with an after school program in your neighborhood or locate an after school program in your neighborhood not attached to a school and ask if you could volunteer one or two afternoons and create some squares with the kids.

Invite some VFW posts to share your project in honor of their post.

Send us webmaster@patriotwatch.com for digital photos of in progress and finished project for various websites, OIFII.com and the media.

PDN is making this appeal in support of Operation: Stitches Of Love
Media Contact: Deborah Johns (916) 716-2749
Volunteers & Alternate Media: PDN (916) 448-1636

Your friends at PDN

UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004

The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

Click on Hagar for
"The FReeper Foxhole Compiled List of Daily Threads"

On This Day in History

Birthdates which occurred on June 15:
1330 Edward the black prince, prince of Wales (1343-1376)
1767 Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson 1st lady
1843 Edvard Grieg Bergen Norway, composer (Peer Gynt Suites)
1894 Robert Russell Bennett Kansas City, composer/arranger (Oklahoma!)
1902 Erik H Erickson psychologist (Existentionalist)
1910 David Rose London England, orch leader (Red Skelton Show, Stripper)
1914 Saul Steinberg Romania, cartoonist, illustrator (New Yorker)
1922 Morris K Udall (Rep-D-Az)
1932 Mario Cuomo (Gov-D-NY)
1937 Waylon Jennings singer of innumerable country songs (Ramblin' Man)
1941 Harry Nilsson [Johnny Niles],singer/songwriter
1942 Xaveria Hollander [DeVries], Surabaya Indonesia, auth (Happy Hooker)
1945 Rod Argent England, keyboardist (The Zombies-She's Not There)
1946 Jim Varney Lexington KY, "Hey Vern", actor (Ernest Goes to Jail)
1947 Lee Purcell NC, actor (Big Wednesday, Mr Majestyk)
1954 Jim Belushi Chicago Ill, comedian (Sat Night Live, Trading Places)
1956 Polly Draper Palo Alto Calif, actress (Ellyn-30 Something, Hooters)
1958 Wade Boggs Nebraska, Red Sox 3rd baseman (AL bat champ 1985-88)
1964 Courtney Cox Birmingham Ala, actress (Family Ties, Cocoon II)

Deaths which occurred on June 15:
1381 Wat Tyler leader of English Peasants' Revolt, beheaded in London
1467 Philip the Good Duke of Burgundy, dies at 76
1849 James Knox Polk the 11th US Pres, dies in Nashville, Tenn
1968 West Montgomery jazz guitarist dies of a heart attack at 48
1984 Meredith Willson composer (The Music Man), dies at 82
1989 Victor French actor (Highway to Heaven), dies at 54 of cancer

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 KOPFMAN THEODORE F.---KENT OH.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1967 SWANSON JOHN WILLARD---ARLINGTON IL.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
763 -BC- Assyrians record total solar eclipse event on clay tablet

1215 King John signs Magna Carta at Runnymede, England (or else)

1381 Wat Tyler, leader of English Peasants' Revolt, beheaded in London
1389 Battle of Kossovo; Turks defeat Serbs, Bosnians
1520 Pope threatens to excommunicate Luther out of Catholic Church
1567 Jews are expelled from Genoa Italy
1590 Pope Leo X threatens to excommunicate Martin Luther
1664 NJ established
1752 Benjamin Franklin, in a dangerous experiment, demonstrated the relationship between lightning and electricity by flying a kite during a storm in Philadelphia. An iron key suspended from the string attracted a lightning bolt.
1775 George Washington appointed commander-in-chief of American Army
1779 General Anthony Wayne captures Stony Point, Bronx
1785 2 French balloonists die in world's 1st fatal aviation accident
1804 12th amendment ratified; deals with manner of choosing president
1836 Arkansas becomes 25th state
1844 Goodyear patents vulcanization of rubber
1846 Oregon Treaty signed, setting US-British boundary at 49ø N
1851 Jacob Fussell, Baltimore dairyman, sets up 1st ice-cream factory
1860 1st White settlement in Idaho (Franklin)
1862 Gen JEB Stuart completes his "ride around McClellan"
1864 Battle for Petersburg begins as Gen Grant assaults Confederate line
1864 Robert E Lee's home area (Arlington, VA) becomes a miltary cemetery
1866 C H F Peters discovers asteroid #88 Thisbe
1866 Prussia attacks Austria
1869 Celluloid patented by John Wesley Hyatt, Albany, NY
1869 Mike McCoole (US) defeats Tom Allen (England) in bare-knuckle bout
1871 Phoebe Couzins is 1st woman graduate of a US collegiate law school
1876 Sara Spencer (R) is 1st woman to address a US presidential cconvention
1877 Henry O Flipper becomes 1st black graduate at West Point
1878 1st attempt at motion pictures (used 12 cameras, each taking 1 picture) done to see if all 4 of a horse's hooves leave the ground [Eadweard Muybridge]
1887 NY Giants beat Phila Phillies 29-1
1896 Tsunami strikes Shinto festival on beach at Sanriku Japan 27,000 are killed, 9,000 injured, with 13,000 houses destroyed
1902 Canada's Maritime Provinces switch from Eastern to Atlantic time
1902 Justin Clark of Corsicana, Tx minors hits 8 home runs in 1 game
1904 Side-wheeler "General Slocum" burns in NY's East River (1,031 die)
1907 44 nations meet in 2nd Hague Peace Conference
1915 US government mints 1st $50 gold pieces, for Panama Pacific Expo
1918 1" of snow falls in Northern Pennsylvania (more proof of global warming)
1919 1st nonstop Atlantic flight (Alcock & Brown) lands in Ireland
1924 Ford Motor Company manufactures its 10 millionth automobile
1924 Native Americans are proclaimed US citizens
1925 B Jekhovsky discovers asteroid #1093 Freda
1929 1st time NY curb stock exchange transacts more business than NY Exch
1933 C Jackson discovers asteroids #1278 Kenya & #1279 Uganda
1934 C Jackson discovers asteroid #1324 Knysna
1934 Great Smokey Mountains National Park dedicated
1934 K Reinmuth discovers asteroid #1322 Coppernicus
1938 1st night game at Bkln Ebbets Field (Reds 6, Dodgers 0) as Cin Red Johnny Vander Meer hurls unprecident 2nd consecutive no-hitter
1939 C Jackson discovers asteroid #1676 Kariba
1940 French fortress of Verdun captured by Germans
1944 US forces begin invasion of Saipan in Pacific
1950 Itzigsohn discover asteroid 1581 Abanderada, 1582 Martir & 1779 Parana
1951 1st coml electronic computer dedicated Phila
1951 Joe Louis scored his last knock out victory
1956 John Lennon (15) & Paul McCartney (13) meet for the 1st time as Lennon's rock group The Quarrymen perform at a church dinner
1957 42.01 cm (16.54") of rainfall, East St Louis, Ill (state record)
1960 Argentina complains to UN about Israeli illicit transfer of Eichman (Boo Hoo)
1965 Bob Dylan recorded "Like a Rolling Stone" in his first "electric session" at Columbia Studios in New York.
1969 "Hee Haw" with Roy Clark & Buck Owens premiers on CBS TV
1971 Vernon E Jordan Jr, appointed exec director of National Urban League
1973 "American Graffiti" opens in NYC (where were you in 62?)
1977 Spain's 1st free elections since 1936
1978 Jordan's King Hussein marries Elizabeth Halaby, 26-yr-old American
1978 Soyuz 29 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6; they stay 139 days
1979 1st space shuttle SRB qualification test firing; 122 seconds
1982 Riots in Argentina after Falklands/Malvinas defeat
1983 Supreme Court struck down state & local restrictions on abortion
1984 Thomas Hearns KOs Roberto Duran
1985 En route to Halley's Comet, USSR's Vega 2 drops lander on Venus
1986 Pravda announces high-level Chernobyl staff fired for stupidity
1989 Balt Orioles pull their 9th triple play (vs Yankees)
1989 Ronald Reagan is knighted by Queen Elizabeth
1991 Philippines volcano Mount Pinatubo errupts
1994 Israel and the Vatican established full diplomatic relations.
1995 During his trial, O.J. Simpson
1995 Sinead O'Connor attacked two Israeli photographers who'd been following her as she did some sightseeing in Jerusalem.
1996 A truck bomb blew up in a retail district of Manchester, England, injuring more than 200 people in an attack claimed by the Irish Republican Army.
1999 South Korean ships sink a North Korean torpedo boat.
2000 Al Gore named Commerce Secretary William Daley to take over his presidential campaign, replacing Tony Coelho, who had abruptly resigned, citing "health problems".

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Arkansas : Admission Day (1836)
Denmark : Flag Day/Valdemar Day (1219)
Idaho : Pioneer Day (1910)
Korea : Farmer's Day-day to transplant rice seeds
Oregon : Treaty Day (1846)
Paraguay : Chaco Peace Day (1935)(Sunday)
US : Father's Day (Sunday)
National Little League Baseball Week (Day 2)
National Dog Bite Prevention Week (Day 2)(bite em first)
World : Sauntering Day
Surimi Seafood Month

Religious Observances
RC : Commemoration of SS Modestus, Crescentia, martyrs
RC : Commemoration of St Vitus, martyr, protector of epileptics
Feast of St. Bernard of Menthon.

Religious History
1520 Leo X issued the papal encyclical 'Exsurge Domine,' which condemned German Reformer Martin Luther as a heretic on 41 counts and branded him an enemy of the Roman Catholic Church.
1649 Margaret Jones of Charlestown became the first person tried and executed for witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts.
1686 In Boston, the King's Chapel was organized. It was the first Anglican church established in colonial New England.
1950 American missionary martyr Jim Elliot wrote in his journal: 'A man without Christ has his roots only in his own times, and his fruits as well.'
1979 Greater Europe Mission moved its headquarters from Chicago to Wheaton, Illinois. Founded in 1949, GEM is an evangelical missionary agency involved in church planting and evangelism in over a dozen European countries.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"It is much easier to become a father than to be one."

Things To Do If You Ever Became An Evil Overlord...
When you've captured your adversary and he says, "Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?" Just say, "No." and shoot him. No, on second thought shoot him then say "No."

The World's Shortest Books...
Al Gore: The Wild Years

Dumb Laws...
Minneapolis Minnesota:
Red cars may not drive down Lake Street.

TOP 10 SIGNS YOUR FAMILY IS STRESSED...
Conversations often begin with "Put the gun down, and then we can talk".

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-gram.

BASHUR AIRFIELD, Iraq — When Tech. Sgt. Ken Joy went to Iraq, he took his prized possession — the American flag his father gave him 14 years ago.

The flag’s from another time, another war and has its own distinct history. Yet it has come to symbolize everything Joy believes Old Glory stands for — duty, honor, country — and more.

“To me, the red stripes represent the blood of all the military men and women who died serving our country,” Joy said. “It’s why I fly it as high as possible.”

Joy’s an unabashed, flag-waving patriot who joined the Air Force to serve his country. A security forces fire team leader with the 786th Security Forces Squadron from Sembach Annex, Germany, he doesn’t deploy without his flag. Like at other places, Joy hoped to fly the flag over his tent at Bashur Airfield.

But Iraq was another matter. Flying the Stars and Stripes there is a no-no. So the sergeant from Pasadena, Calif., flew his beloved flag in the only place he could — inside his tent.

“No matter where it flies, it’s still the symbol of our country, of our resolve,” he said.

Joy’s proud of his flag because of what it means to his father, Darryl. He was a Navy assault coxswain aboard the USS Talladega during the Vietnam War.

The flag flew over Darryl’s landing craft during an operation in 1965, when he dropped 50 Marines onto a beach in South Vietnam. It was one of the first beach landings of the war, and the Americans came under fire.

Two weeks later in Da Nang, a Marine Darryl left on the beach approached him and asked if he remembered him. The sailor’s smart-alecky reply was something like, “No, not really. All you Marines look alike to me.”

Then the leatherneck told him he was the only survivor of the boatload of Marines.

“That’s when my dad realized — and relayed to me later — that being in the military isn’t a game,” Joy said. “It’s serious business, and people die doing it.”

Darryl took the flag from his boat, folded it and stuck it in his sea bag. It stayed there through his three years in Vietnam and until just before his son left to join the Air Force.

Darryl didn’t talk about Vietnam until Joy headed for basic training. He told his son the story of the flag before giving it to him. Darryl told him to take care of it as the symbol of the nation — and to honor the Marines who died on that beach in South Vietnam 38 years ago.

At Bashur, Joy led a team safeguarding the airfield. He was often on foot or vehicle patrol or pulling convoy security duty. The days stretched from sunup to sundown.

No matter, Joy loves what he does. But back at Sembach, his wife, Mary Grace, and the couple’s two children, Darryl and Jasmine, were worried. But unlike other separations they’ve endured, this time Joy’s wife was behind his deployment 100 percent. In a letter to her husband, Mary Grace said she was proud of what he was doing.

The big cop got a bit misty-eyed when talking about his family. No doubt he wanted to be with them. But he had a key job to do. He stayed focused by looking at the flag in his tent.

“Our flag looks different in a war zone,” he said. “It makes what we do more meaningful.”

When the time comes, Joy plans to tell his son the story of the flag. And one day he’ll pass it to his son, if he decides to join the military.

“God willing, my son won’t have to go to war,” Joy said. “But if he does, I want him to take this flag with him and fly it proudly.”

— Louis A. Arana-Barradas

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