It has a Track & it Carries Stuff
 

Hello Carrier Enthusiasts,

I was looking through the Australian War Memorial collection online and I came across a film about a prototype tracked truck which was based off the Bren Carrier however it had different features such as a side pivoting front of the tracks for steering. It does not say what the vehicle was called or whether it ever came into production and saw service.

Accessed September 13th 2013
http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/F07479

Here is the Australian War Memorial's description ...

Enjoy!

Kind Regards
Lionel

ID number F07479
Title Tracked truck tests in mud
Object type To be confirmed
Place made Australia: Victoria, Melbourne
Date made 21 January 1944
Physical description 35mm/b&w/sound
Measurement 8 min 26 sec
Video Download video 37.93 MB
Access Open
Collection Film

Description

An Australian Army Research film produced by Military History (Cinema Section).
Shows the Track Truck under test in the mud. Mechanics removing plate. Close ups of steering, track, foot levers and boies. The truck going over rough country, going backwards in a creek and up the creek bank. A Jeep being attached to the truck and truck towing the Jeep. Truck pulling gun with Jeep following in the mud and over rough country. Truck with gun going over a ditch. Truck passing staff car on metal road.

Permalink: http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/F07479

Please note: The film and sound collections of the Australian War Memorial includes items which may contain: historically or culturally sensitive images and terms, confronting depictions of the consequences of warfare, and/or, human suffering or death. This material does not reflect the viewpoint of the Memorial, but rather is representative of the social attitudes and circumstances of the period or place in which it was created and also the reality and human cost of warfare.

If you have queries about material in the film or sound collections, please contact filmsound@awm.gov.au

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Related

Conflict

Second World War, 1939-1945;

Subjects

Inventions and improvisations;
Trucks;

Hi Lionel,

There was a thread a while back on this, you might like to see,
http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/sh...=tracked+truck

Wherezat?
 

The mud flat testing area appears to be on the Bellarine Peninsular shoreline of Corio Bay, just out of Geelong. This is not far from the large Ford plant that is closing down shortly but was a major producer during WW2.
Jan Thompson grew up in this area and her father would no doubt recognise exactly where the film was taken if Jan couldn't do so herself.
Strangely enough my uncle who served in New Guinea reported seeing a similar vehicle that had been captured from the Japanese. The part that intrigued them about this Japanese military vehicle was that it was powered by a Hercules engine. When he saw it it was waiting to be sent to Australia for examination.
I wonder if it was the inspiration for this attempt?
David

G'day Lionel,
Thanks for that informative link. On the side, the Australian Army trialled two T24 Studebaker Weasel's in August 1945 and there is a small reference to the recovery of a Weasel that was stuck fast in the mud by an unladen truck tracked one ton. I think that the truck noted in the trial report is indeed the same as yours. I will attach an extract from this report however I must acknowledge Ian Fawbert for sourcing this information from the AWM and kindly passing it on to us.
Cheers
John W.
As a footnote: The tests were carried out at Lang Lang, Victoria.

Very interesting video
 

Hi Lionel

Enjoyed the video, I remember seeing stills of these test before on AWM but not the video, is the the loading of videos something new or did I just miss them?

Also found the trailer with the flat fenders interesting, makes it looks very much like the much later trailers.

Cheers Phil

G'day Phil,

Thanks for the reply. The AWM is constantly upgrading so things become newly available. It is worthwhile checking back in every now and then to see what comes up.

When I visit the site I go to their "Collection Advanced Search" http://www.awm.gov.au/search/collections/?mode=advanced
It allows keyword searches
Also limit to a specific conflict era which is a drop down box of choice
Then down the left side is a range of tick boxes representing Medium types
Then click on "Search"
Then away you go :)

Kind Regards
Lionel

G'day John W,

Thank you for posting up the page of the trial report. Plus acknowledging Ian Fawbert as well for the source of the document. There are numerous photographs at the AWM online Collection of the Tracked Truck going through light brush tests in Queensland as well. Some people had lots of fun during the trials too.

Kind Regards
Lionel

Thank you Richard for posting up the old thread. It was good to see the photographs at Bandiana Army Museum and that there is an example still on display.

Kind Regards
Lionel

G'day David,

Thank you for your anecdotes from Jan and about your uncle. I wonder what happened to the Japanese vehicle once it arrived on our shores?

Kind Regards
Lionel

Could be wrong
 

Is there any information on who built these pilot vehicles or how many were built?
I assumed that Ford had a hand in it so made the further assumption that testing was carried out in the Geelong area.
Lang Lang on the eastern side of Western Port Bay seems an odd choice of location for testing to be carried out unless the vehicles were produced in Dandenong which has long been a centre of industry.
Lang lang's only claim to fame is the presence of the nearby General Motors Holden proving ground but that was not established until 1957.
Regards the Japanese tracked vehicle my uncle reported seeing. There is a photo I think appeared in an AWM publication that may be of the type he saw. In the photo a captured example is pulling a string of Jeep trailers down a river bed.

David

Hi David,
According to the museum guide for Puckapunyal, a prototype was built in 1943 using parts from a MG Carrier, then a revised vehicle was built in 1944, The 12 pre-production vehicles followed on. That is where the project ended.

According to Keith's Old CMP site, the drive axle was from a Chev, so maybe not built by Ford?

cheers Richard

Great little film.
Still trying to workout if the narrator was saying Trucked Track or Tracked Truck.
Thought that the Jeep with chains was doing an outstanding job, shame it was decided to let it stop: for dramatic reasons I suppose.
Rich.

Mudflats
 

David, the area around Lang Lang was the usual place where the Army tested vehicles in mud. I was interested to see a couple of high angle shots... I have seen pics taken there of a FGT No8 which may have been the camera vehicle in this case. Bet it needed rescuing too.

My favourite bit is when it passes the car.

DMV archive pics
 

I may have posted these before, but in light of the subject thought it relevant.
Testing pics of the tracked truck.

Whodunnit?
 

What you say makes some sense of things then Keith. As has been stated, the differential is certainly Chev pointing to GM involvement. Also GMHs choice of Lang Lang as the location for their proving ground post war may have been because of familiarity with the area. I don't know if they ended up owning the mud flats but suspect that part of the facility would be under-utilised if they did. Couldn't imagine a Commodore being put to the test.
For some reason the military chose Monageeta for their proving ground, no mud flats there to my knowledge.
It would seem that at this point in time the prime contractor for these vehicles remains unknown?

David

More detail on the Tracked Truck on Page 2 of THIS THREAD