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Few shots from Sholokhovo (T-34 tank museum), 5 april 2009

Disassembling


This is SPARTAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11


Assembling with full wheels set for right side of T-34

Done. Tracks working, have short (2 meters) session of track surfing

Real heavy metal!

I know how they feel.

Of all the things I miss doing, that isn't one of them.

Much more appealing to see pics of someone else doing it.

I don't know,

Nothing brings a platoon together better than a good track changing party.

Very hard work but really satisfying when done, especially when it gets done before dark.

I don't miss that snow!

Yep, good show.
"Working" track of T-34 - 12 Kg
"Blank" track of T-34 - 10 kg

Need to pick up 22 kg and throw 3-5 times for mud cleaning, sledgehammer show as a bonus

In T-34 track 74 per side

Joe can check my figures and correct, but if I'm not mistaken, "Chevron" track on M48-M60 series were 50lb's per block (23kg.), 79 on one side, 80 on the other.

That about right, Joe?

Doug,

"Chevron" T97 should be about 50lbs a block, or two tons per side. T142 was about 60lbs IIRC. I haven't found any "official" manual giving the exact weight (But I'm sure I seen it somewhere before). All the TM's I've seen (Including the first ones) on M60's have stated 80 per side, both for T97 and T142. We'd normally get it in 2 sections of eight banded together with a wood bracket in between. If you were unlucky you'd get a big box with single blocks and individual center guides and end connectors. Life sucked then.

In the seven years I spent on M60's we always used 80 per side. Funny thing is Hunnicutt's "Patton" states 81 per side with T97. Not sure where he got his info from .

- Joe_D

Doug,

"Chevron" T97 should be about 50lbs a block, or two tons per side. T142 was about 60lbs IIRC. I haven't found any "official" manual giving the exact weight (But I'm sure I seen it somewhere before). All the TM's I've seen (Including the first ones) on M60's have stated 80 per side, both for T97 and T142. We'd normally get it in 2 sections of eight banded together with a wood bracket in between. If you were unlucky you'd get a big box with single blocks and individual center guides and end connectors. Life sucked then.

In the seven years I spent on M60's we always used 80 per side. Funny thing is Hunnicutt's "Patton" states 81 per side with T97. Not sure where he got his info from .

Joe,

Eight block sections (on pallets) were what I recall dealing with most of the time. Never individual blocks, unless it was a repair rather than replacement.

Maybe the 79/80 thing was an unoffcial thing, but I feel pretty sure about those numbers....think it had to do with amount of track tension adjustment WRT the offset of torsion bars. I don't recall which side was which, but we shorted one side. It's been 36 years so my recollection is suspect.

Don't know what happened later, but we never "backed out" used end connecter bolts, we just tightened them with cheater bar until they broke, much faster to remove since they weren't re-used.

Doug,

The 79/80 thing was still going strong the whole time I was on M60's. The torsion bar off set rational was the supposed reason. Had a guy actually make me look at the front side of the tank and show me the different angle of the track from the idler to the number one road wheels between the left and right, then state "That's why you use one less one the right side". I then took him around back and showed the the angle was reversed, negating his argument. This theory also carried over to the M1's for a while, except it was 77/78.

Officially the -20 stated that if proper tension could only be achieved by removing a block, it was not necessary to remove a block on the opposite side if tension was correct. Went on to say that being short one block on a side would not effect the vehicles operation. Bottom line was as long as the tension was able to be set, 79 or 80 made no difference, and once the track got really old, both sides could have only 79 blocks.

About removing end connectors, yep, did the same thing, 3/4" breaker bar or ratchet with 15/16" socket, tighten until head breaks off and then hit with 2 lb ball peen hammer. Some crews used to save the old broken wedges just for those Demonstrators vehicles during road marches.

"Don't know how that happened, broken wedge must have flew off the track and hit their car sir."