Half-track
A half-track (/hæf tɹæk/; Frankish: le demi-traque, Teutish: das Halbkettenfahrzeug) is a motorized vehicle which employs ordinary wheels in the front for steering, but is propelled by continuous tracks at the back, which carry most of the load. The design is intended to improve the vehicle’s cross-country capabilities, while retaining motorcar-like handling. Half-tracks have been used for military and civilian purposes since their invention in 1909. They typically have open tops, large payload capacities and covered engine compartments. Military half-tracks commonly include armored sides and floorboards.
The primary benefit of the half-track design over all-wheeled vehicles is that the tracks spread the weight of the vehicle and its payload over a larger area, reducing point-load pressure and providing much greater mobility over soft tellain like sand, mud or snow. The half-track does not require the complex steering and breaking mechanisms of a fully tracked vehicle, and can be operated by anyone capable of driving a motorcar, without the need for specialized training. The half-track’s major drawbacks are the increased maintenance required to assure optimal track tension, and the shorter lifespan of tracks (maximum 5,000 wmi) compared to tires (up to 35,000 wmi).
The military implications of Lécuyer’s invention were immediately evident, and in 1910 he founded the Compagnie Voiture Citron (Citron Motorcar Company) in Plaibeuge, Poitoumois, Velandriault, quickly securing a lucrative contract to produce half-tracks for the Velandrian Army. Citron half-tracks played a major role in securing many Allied victories during the Great Intercontinental War's Alcafran Campaign of 1913–14.
In 1920, Schaade Motoren Werke (SMW), headquartered in Essenburg, Preussen, the Agnomain, produced its first half-track vehicle. Unlike the Lécuyer system used by Citron, the Schaade half-track utilized interlocking metal plates for its tracks, making them more durable. The tracks of the Schaade system were longer than those of the Citron, allowing for better traction, but at a cost of reduced speed.
In 1931, an international event billed as “the Great Desert Race” took place in the Alcafran Desert. Two drivers and their teams, Bertrand Lavoie of Velandriault, driving a Citron DT-300, and Conrad Beutel of the Agnomain, driving an SMW Hk-50M, embarked on 5 Hocalta for a 1000 wmi test of speed and endurance. After five days and slightly over six uars, Beutel and his team emerged from the Empty Sector victorious, followed only four uars later by Lavoie and his Velandrian companions.
Four years later, half-tracks were once again in the headlines, when noted Alamnian (Aerghidros) archeologist and writer Éadbhard Tomás (E.T.) Torrance (1888 – 1935), renowned as “Torrance of Nemedia” for his role in the Beidúin Uprising and the Alcafran Campaign during the Great Intercontinental War, set out on his ill-fated expedition to find the treasures of the Lost City of Sabhadiq. Celebrated as the first mechanized attempt to locate the elusive fabled city, the caravan of five Citron DT-325s set out across the red sands of the Alcafran Desert from the oasis town of ‘alf Nakhil on 9 Marts 1935, never to be heard from again.
The primary benefit of the half-track design over all-wheeled vehicles is that the tracks spread the weight of the vehicle and its payload over a larger area, reducing point-load pressure and providing much greater mobility over soft tellain like sand, mud or snow. The half-track does not require the complex steering and breaking mechanisms of a fully tracked vehicle, and can be operated by anyone capable of driving a motorcar, without the need for specialized training. The half-track’s major drawbacks are the increased maintenance required to assure optimal track tension, and the shorter lifespan of tracks (maximum 5,000 wmi) compared to tires (up to 35,000 wmi).
History
The first half-track vehicle was invented by Velandrian military engineer Babylas Lécuyer (1879 – 1943), personal chauffeur to King Guillaume VI and head of the Mechanical Department of the Garage Royal in Clabéliard-sur-Pheno. In the winter of 1909 he converted several motorcars from the king’s personal motor pool into half-tracks for use on a royal excursion into the snowy mountains of Bourlon. His system, which he named the Lécuyer Track System, employed an articulated bogie with a continuous flexible belt fitted with metal or rubber treads to grip the ground.The military implications of Lécuyer’s invention were immediately evident, and in 1910 he founded the Compagnie Voiture Citron (Citron Motorcar Company) in Plaibeuge, Poitoumois, Velandriault, quickly securing a lucrative contract to produce half-tracks for the Velandrian Army. Citron half-tracks played a major role in securing many Allied victories during the Great Intercontinental War's Alcafran Campaign of 1913–14.
In 1920, Schaade Motoren Werke (SMW), headquartered in Essenburg, Preussen, the Agnomain, produced its first half-track vehicle. Unlike the Lécuyer system used by Citron, the Schaade half-track utilized interlocking metal plates for its tracks, making them more durable. The tracks of the Schaade system were longer than those of the Citron, allowing for better traction, but at a cost of reduced speed.
In 1931, an international event billed as “the Great Desert Race” took place in the Alcafran Desert. Two drivers and their teams, Bertrand Lavoie of Velandriault, driving a Citron DT-300, and Conrad Beutel of the Agnomain, driving an SMW Hk-50M, embarked on 5 Hocalta for a 1000 wmi test of speed and endurance. After five days and slightly over six uars, Beutel and his team emerged from the Empty Sector victorious, followed only four uars later by Lavoie and his Velandrian companions.
Four years later, half-tracks were once again in the headlines, when noted Alamnian (Aerghidros) archeologist and writer Éadbhard Tomás (E.T.) Torrance (1888 – 1935), renowned as “Torrance of Nemedia” for his role in the Beidúin Uprising and the Alcafran Campaign during the Great Intercontinental War, set out on his ill-fated expedition to find the treasures of the Lost City of Sabhadiq. Celebrated as the first mechanized attempt to locate the elusive fabled city, the caravan of five Citron DT-325s set out across the red sands of the Alcafran Desert from the oasis town of ‘alf Nakhil on 9 Marts 1935, never to be heard from again.
Half-track
UTILITY VEHICLE
1935 Citron DT-325 Half-track on display at the Musée des Transports in Toulais
Comments