Spare Track Links ... Ever thought about this ?

[Wildboar44]

Ok...... So there I was driving back from a business trip down the M6 all the way from Liverpool , was I thinking about the meeting ?, you
know the usual stuff, forecasts , next years budget , staff numbers ?...... Na of course not.... i was covering mile upon mile thinking about
Tanks.... Then in a traffic jam I crawled along side a big lorry carrying a bulldozer .... oooh more tracks to look at ... then it struck me .

There are on most WWII tanks probably depending on size 50-100 track links on each track .. that makes double that number in total.
There are about 10 to perhaps 15 or so spare links on say the average German Tank . Clearly not nearly enough to replace any where near
even 25% of the total ...... So my question was this , what causes an individual track link to be replaced ?.

I would think that most track links within the track itself would wear at more or less the same rate , be under more or less the same strain ,
and the pins that linked them under the same amount of wear and tear . What would cause a crew to replace one or two links ?, do they break ?
I cant imagine a casting as big as they are breaking before the pins would ?.

Oh by the way... the forecast for UK Construction growth is 0.76% ........ now that is boring !! .

Does any one know the answer ..... ?


Regards

Gordo
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[Tankbear]

I always thought the spares where to do repairs after hitting a mine or a lucky grenade hitting the tracks.

But either way that is a disappointing growth for Uk construction. Guess no payrise for another year.

[jarndice]

I really do not know the answer but I would bet someone on this non stop tutorial will, When I was in the Paras everyone carried a belt of gpmg ammo and a mortar bomb so that their was enough ammo for these weapons and I wondered if tanks worked on the same principle of everyone carrying track spares that would be used to fix the tank that had been damaged in your section. Sorry I blame the drink! shaun

[Wildboar44]

Thanks for the reply's peoples interesting information , it has to be for damage i guess to small sections of links as you point out .

Interestingly I noticed that on my inspirational build photo of Tiger131 there is a track link missing already, the photo was taken
during Mid June 1944 whilst PzAbt 101 travelled to the Normandy assembly area . Having been supplied probably as part of the
10 replacements collected from MagdeBurg on the 3rd January 1944, the unit had been on training duties since May 44 so this
vehicle had not seen combat , I wonder what caused them to use it , or as jarndice speculates loaned to another vehicle .

Very much the case of "the missing link".............


Oh and jarndice............ owt nowt wrong with Stout ...... or Larger or Wine or Whisky.... Natures way of smoothing the edges !

[wibblywobbly]

Taking the Tiger as an example, the front road wheel was often removed as a design problem caused rocks to get caught in the tracks, which would cause them to fail. Commanders, Allied and Axis, also placed spare track links around turrets and on the front/sides as extra armour. Shermans were often covered in them. You often see Shermans with German tank tracks stuck on the side, they were so weakly armoured that they would use anything to protect themselves.

Yes, tracks can be blown apart, its the easiest way to render a tank immobile. I recall a vet in Arromanche telling me that they feared the Tiger more than anything. They noticed that one strategy the Tiger commanders had was to drive up to a ridge, take a shot, and reverse back while they reloaded. The Brits used to ask for volunteers to sneak up to the ridge with a pipe bomb, and when the Tiger came up to take its next shot, they would shove the pipe under the tank, or tracks, and detonate it. With the tank stuck on the ridge the Brits could at least shoot at it.

Rob

[trackmech81]

As a tank mechanic I saw numerous times when a driver would hit a large rock or other debris and bend the outside edge of a link. Also, track links are not just a metal link with a rubber pad, they also have an internal bushing of sorts that keep a positive arc in the track. If you see a section of track on a modern tank lined up for I stall it curls up. This aids in keeping the stress of moving down. Sometimes a bushing will blow out and that link has to be replaced.
The older WWII tanks didn't really have to worry about bushings, but like was said before, mines, building debris, or other incidents would lead to a failure.

[Edwin]

hi,

in tanks in combat, it often also to fire damage to individual chain links, which were then replaced at the first opportunity of the crew to be safe and fit for use again. We have here in Germany some fine examples are in museums where such fire damage can be seen.
One more thing is that crews short strands of replacement chain links used as a reinforcement of the armor. There are many pictures where you can see how the crews gu fixed this on their vehicles, especially at the front.

regards Edwin

[Dietrich]

Tracks were used a lot as extra armour..... these are 2 of my favourite photos, with most of the tank being given some extra protection...

pz4hev.jpg (31.75 KiB) Viewed 905 times

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unknown-vehicles.jpg (52.47 KiB) Viewed 905 times