M26 tank " ALICE "

[ALPHA]

Personally ...I like this version best


ALPHA

[greengiant]

I have another one just sitting and I may give the howitzer version a try. But First all My cash is going into getting my plow trucks ready for winter.

[ALPHA]

I have another one just sitting and I may give the howitzer version a try. But First all My cash is going into getting my plow trucks ready for winter.

Plow trucks??????????????? ...real ones?

ALPHA

[greengiant]

Yes real ones. We get snow here and the farmers almanac is calling for a bad winter this year.
I built some rather crude versions of those things hanging down and I can see that they are a full length pin that goes through both of the towing brackets and are held in place by the bar hanging down being screwed into the pin using the handle sticking out the side. This would allow the weight of anything towed to be spread out through both brackets and they can swing out of the way with the pin if an obstruction is encountered. This is guesswork but I put them on my ALICE and they do work. Haven't been able to find any other rear view of a m26 with them.

[ALPHA]

Yes real ones. We get snow here and the farmers almanac is calling for a bad winter this year.

Is that part of your business?

I built some rather crude versions of those things hanging down and I can see that they are a full length pin that goes through both of the towing brackets and are held in place by the bar hanging down being screwed into the pin using the handle sticking out the side. This would allow the weight of anything towed to be spread out through both brackets and they can swing out of the way with the pin if an obstruction is encountered. This is guesswork but I put them on my ALICE and they do work. Haven't been able to find any other rear view of a m26 with them.

For your tank or the snow plows ? They are odd looking gadgets...

ALPHA

[greengiant]

I wish that's all the plows needed. After this snowstorm I had to replace the transmission and motor mounts on this truck.
They are odd looking but obviously existed. I'm trying to find some evidence on line of their use be the Marines or the Army. The Tank looks kind of in mint condition except for the dent in the front fender. It may have been one of those that where in Japan and shipped to Korea but after further review those were only 3 tanks and abandoned shortly after arrival in Korea due to overheating and no replacement parts.

[ALPHA]

I wish that's all the plows needed. After this snowstorm I had to replace the transmission and motor mounts on this truck.
They are odd looking but obviously existed. I'm trying to find some evidence on line of their use be the Marines or the Army. The Tank looks kind of in mint condition except for the dent in the front fender. It may have been one of those that where in Japan and shipped to Korea but after further review those were only 3 tanks and abandoned shortly after arrival in Korea due to overheating and no replacement parts.

You're there in the states right Giant? ... was that photo from that polar vortex thing....Snow that deep ..yeah ... I can see why your transmission burned ....think if I was there it'd be time to invest in a dozer

Have you ever tried inquiring about those brackets from a museum ?...There has to be more info on them... I can understand what you've figured out about them... but why put them on the back of the tank...you would think they would be more useful on the front

ALPHA

[greengiant]

Freak blizzard that year. Tried to work my way through a 15ft drift that was about 100yds long. I was just rushing it to much. Got about half way through when I got stuck. Had to back straight out. Not easy to do when every move causes snow to fall back in on you. Yea I'm in the states next to lake Michigan, which means lake effect snow that can be unpredictable.
I have tried online people knowledgeable about that era tank and no one seems to know anything about a towing pin that looks like that. Still looking though.
On the early M26 the brackets, in the front, are mounted at different angles more severely than those in the rear. This allowed the tow cable to be attached at angled tow T,s to lessen the strain if towed straight ahead , the center two brackets, or of to the side, the outer two brackets. A single pin couldn't go through both brackets on either side. Thus the use of a single pin that could be moved. I'm guessing that when trying to pull another tank the rear brackets were used.
This angling of the brackets as far as I can tell was only done on the early m26 series tanks.

[ALPHA]

Freak blizzard that year. Tried to work my way through a 15ft drift that was about 100yds long. I was just rushing it to much. Got about half way through when I got stuck. Had to back straight out. Not easy to do when every move causes snow to fall back in on you. Yea I'm in the states next to lake Michigan, which means lake effect snow that can be unpredictable.
I have tried online people knowledgeable about that era tank and no one seems to know anything about a towing pin that looks like that. Still looking though.
On the early M26 the brackets, in the front, are mounted at different angles more severely than those in the rear. This allowed the tow cable to be attached at angled tow T,s to lessen the strain if towed straight ahead , the center two brackets, or of to the side, the outer two brackets. A single pin couldn't go through both brackets on either side. Thus the use of a single pin that could be moved. I'm guessing that when trying to pull another tank the rear brackets were used.
This angling of the brackets as far as I can tell was only done on the early m26 series tanks.

It's interesting to say the least...wonder if it was a crew modification

ALPHA