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Old 10-22-2020, 01:08 PM   #11
Rupert
 
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Default Re: Major advantage of a half track?

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Originally Posted by Fred Brackin View Post
That's probably maintenance on the tracks and their general vulnerability. That's the usual reason given why the latest light ground combat vehicles tend to be built on the "Big wheels and lots of'em!" plan.
These days the big concern is IEDs with very large buried explosive charges. Those require a V-shaped belly and a lot of ground clearance, and that's easier to arrange with a wheeled vehicle than a tracked one.
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Old 10-22-2020, 01:36 PM   #12
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Default Re: Major advantage of a half track?

The Germans did seem to like them.
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Old 10-22-2020, 01:58 PM   #13
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Default Re: Major advantage of a half track?

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The Germans did seem to like them.
Not a ringing endorsement, considering that they lost rather decisively. Although maybe not because of their half tracks.
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Old 10-22-2020, 02:09 PM   #14
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Default Re: Major advantage of a half track?

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That's probably maintenance on the tracks and their general vulnerability. That's the usual reason given why the latest light ground combat vehicles tend to be built on the "Big wheels and lots of'em!" plan.
That may be the case today, but historically they seem to have pretty much stopped building half-tracks after WWII (though leftovers from WWII remained common through the 60s), new designs were fully tracked or fully wheeled.
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Old 10-22-2020, 02:32 PM   #15
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Default Re: Major advantage of a half track?

Technological improvements to suspensions and drives for wheeled vehicles probably also made wheeled cross-country armor look better after the war than it did when the halftracks were being designed.
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Old 10-22-2020, 02:53 PM   #16
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Default Re: Major advantage of a half track?

Production cost might also have been a factor in WW II. The more standard commercial components you could use in your APC, the less of a production burden the vehicle would be. You'd perhaps get more half-tracks faster than you would by designing a completely new all-tracked or all-wheeled off-road cross country vehicle from the ground up -- and then having to tool up factories for it. Sticking an armored box on the back half of a mostly-truck might have some some appeal just from a grand strategic point of view.

Modern wars tend to be "come as you are" using forces in being at the start of the war, rather than contests of industrial production. So production cost matters less, while capability matters more.

I haven't seen any sources that went into any detail on that point, though; just speculation on my part.
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Old 10-22-2020, 04:33 PM   #17
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Default Re: Major advantage of a half track?

The major advantage was that it delivered troops and supplies to places that trucks couldn't go and were armoured against small arms fire so could get closer than trucks could to deliver troops. They also generally had at least an M2 .50 cal MG to give cover fire to the infantry and the GI's improvised mounts for multiple .30 cal MGs as well. Any time a force can reduce the vulnerability of its attacking troops while maneuvering them faster than the troops can go on foot it is a plus.

They were also employed as self-propelled guns mounting 81mm and 4.2 inch mortars, 57mm, 75mm and 105mm guns and howitzers.

Anti aircraft role with two to four M2 .50 cal machine guns. Variants with a 37mm AA cannon were made also.

Edit- Obviously this is for US half tracks. German half-tracks had even more variants and generally mounted MGs when carrying infantry. Often there was provision for the infantry unit's MG to be put into service on the vehicle as well.
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Old 10-22-2020, 07:53 PM   #18
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Default Re: Major advantage of a half track?

One drawback of the German half-tracks was that the tracks themselves were complicated, with lubricated joints, among other things. Tank tracks, and almost everyone else's tracks, were much simpler. (Why use one moving part when seven will do?)
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Old 10-23-2020, 01:40 AM   #19
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Default Re: Major advantage of a half track?

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Originally Posted by YankeeGamer View Post
One drawback of the German half-tracks was that the tracks themselves were complicated, with lubricated joints, among other things. Tank tracks, and almost everyone else's tracks, were much simpler. (Why use one moving part when seven will do?)
Those tracks were similar to the designs used on German tanks, so there was probably a familiarity and parts availability factor. Also, they gave a smoother ride, and that means less wear and tear on men and equipment.
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Old 10-23-2020, 01:56 AM   #20
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Default Re: Major advantage of a half track?

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Though the concept has largely died out, so it presumably also has some unique drawbacks (I am not sure off-hand what those things are).
Wheeled vehicles have gotten very good off roads and tracked vehicles have gotten more reliable and user friendly so it's mostly just that the niche occupied by half-tracks has been squeezed out.
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