M4 high-speed tractor

M4 high-speed tractor
An M4 high-speed tractor in the Batey ha-Osef Museum in Tel Aviv
General properties
crew	1 + 11
length	5.23 m
width	2.46 m
height	2.515 m
Dimensions	14,288 tons (combat weight)
Armor and armament
Armor	no armor
Main armament	1 × 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun
Secondary armament	no
agility
drive	Waukesha 145GZ (or F817G) 6-cylinder gasoline engine 210 PS (156 kW)
suspension	vertical coil suspension M3 Stuart chassis
Top speed	53 km / h (road)
Power / weight	14.70 hp / t
Range	290 km (road)

The M4 High-Speed ​​Tractor was an American full track artillery tractor from the 1940s that was used until the 1960s. The vehicle was designed for pulling artillery pieces .

description

An M4 high-speed tractor pulling a 155 mm howitzer ("Long Tom")

The M4 artillery tug was manufactured in Milwaukee by Allis-Chalmers starting in 1942. The vehicle was in service with the US Army until the early 1960s . Around 5,500 vehicles were produced between 1943 and 1946. The tug was developed for pulling 90 mm anti-aircraft guns, 155 mm howitzers of the " Long Tom " type and 240 mm howitzers . As part of the Mutual Defense Assistance program, the M4 was also exported to Japan , Brazil , West Germany , Yugoslavia , Austria (designation: M4 chain tractor ) and Pakistan after the Second World War . In the Bundeswehr , the tractor was used by the field artillery battalions until around 1960 to tow the M114 , M115 field howitzer and the M59 field cannon.

The M4 High-Speed ​​Tractor was also used in the civil sector, as an airfield fire-fighting vehicle , in the Netherlands until the 1980s as a fire-fighting and recovery vehicle in small numbers. These vehicles were converted former army tugs that were procured after they were taken out of service in the early 1960s.

technology

M4 High-Speed ​​Tractor (1943)

The M4 High-Speed ​​Tractor was based on the chassis of the M3 Stuart . It was powered by a six-cylinder Otto in - line engine of the type 145GZ or F817G made by Waukesha , which generated 155 kW (210 hp) at 2100 rpm. The engine displacement was 13,400 cm³. The maximum trailer load of the M4 was 14 tons. The tractor was able to handle inclines of 30 ° . Up to 12 people could be transported in the tug, so there was room for the crew of the rifled gun inside. The crew was in the front part of the tug. The engine compartment was in the middle part of the vehicle, the ammunition was stored in the rear . Later versions of the M4 tractor were equipped with a crane at the rear of the vehicle, which was used to lift heavier artillery projectiles. The crane's winch could pull ten tons .

literature

• Karl Anweiler, Rainer Blank: The wheeled and tracked vehicles of the Bundeswehr from 1956 to the present day. Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-8289-5331-X .
• Philip Trewhitt: Armored Fighting Vehicles. Dempsey-Parr, Bristol 1999, ISBN 1-84084-328-4 .

Web links

Commons : M4 High Speed ​​Tractor  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• M4 High-Speed ​​Tractor at www.olive-drab.com (English)
• Description of the M4 High-Speed ​​Tractor (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ M4 High-speed artillery tractor - The prototype
2. ^ The teaching collection of the armored troop school. Retrieved February 13, 2014 . 
3. ↑ M4 High-speed artillery tractor - The conversion idea
4. ↑ The suspension of M4 was inherited from M3 Stuart Light Tank ... ( Memento from October 15, 2008 in the web archive archive.today )
5. ↑ K. Anweiler, R. Blank: The wheeled and tracked vehicles of the Bundeswehr 1956 until today . Bechtermünz publishing house. Augsburg 1998. p. 390.