Imagineering My Way Podcast

Imagineering My Way Podcast

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Imagineering My Way Podcast episodes

  • M47 (Patton II) Medium Tank [Flickr]

    Greg Nutt posted a photo:

    The M47 Patton was an American main battle tank, a development of the M46 Patton mounting an updated turret, and was in turn further developed as the M48 Patton. It was the second American tank to be named after General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. Third Army during World War II and one of the earliest American advocates of tanks in battle.


    The M47 was the U.S. Army's and Marine Corps' primary tank, intended to replace the M46 Patton and M4 Sherman medium tanks. The M47 was widely used by U.S. Cold War allies, both SEATO and NATO countries, and was the only Patton series tank that never saw combat while in US service.

    Although similar in appearance to the later M48s and M60s, these were completely new tank designs. Many different M47 Patton models remain in service internationally. The M47 was the last US tank to have a bow-mounted machine gun in the hull.

    Deployment
    With the arrival of the improved M48 Patton in 1953, the M47 was declared 'limited standard' in 1955, and examples in tank units were replaced with the M48 series before long. After being declared obsolete in 1957, M46s and M47s were retained in active duty infantry division battlegroup assault gun platoons (four tanks each, one platoon per battlegroup, for a total of 20 tanks per division) until replaced with the light truck-mounted SS-10 anti-tank guided missile in the early 1960s. M47s were used by the Reserves for a relatively short time, soon being replaced by early production M48 Patton series tanks; thus, most of the M47s were exported in the late 1950s.

    The US Marine Corps also fielded M47s starting in late 1952; after the Korean War, all seven Marine tank battalions, three divisional, two reserve training, and two force level, each fielded M47s. But these were soon replaced with M48A1 Pattons and M103 heavy tanks, with the last M47s being retired in 1959.

    The M47 was widely used by many countries, especially NATO and SEATO allies, including Austria (147), Belgium (784), Ethiopia (30), France (856), Greece (396 from USA and West Germany), Iran (around 400), Italy (2,480), Japan (1 for evaluation only), Jordan (49), Pakistan (100), Portugal (161), Saudi Arabia (23 from the US, 108 on the international market), Somalia (25 from Saudi Arabia), South Korea (531), Sudan (17 from Saudi Arabia), Spain (389), Switzerland (2 for evaluation), Turkey (1,347 from the US and West Germany), West Germany (1,120), and Yugoslavia (319). Like the US Army of the time, the West German Bundeswehr also used some of their M47s as interim tank destroyers/assault guns until replaced by the Raketenjagdpanzer 1 tank destroyers armed with SS-11 anti-tank guided missiles in the early 1960s.

    US Army M47s remaining in storage were expended as targets. In the 1970s, they were used for the M60A1's 105mm gun with devastating effect. The 105 mm HEAT round would penetrate the frontal armor with ease. Many M47s in like-new condition met their fate in this manner, showing the M60 crews first hand the effects of modern tank weapons on conventional steel armor.

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  • General George Patton Statue @ The General Patton Memorial Museum [Flickr]

    Greg Nutt posted a photo:

    The General Patton Memorial Museum was built to inspire such reverence through exposure and education. Quality of life for each visitor is directly tied to the health of this nation and we strive to ensure each visitor leaves the museum with a renewed understanding of that. We are committed to providing a place to learn about preserving the past and ensuring the lessons it teaches us are carried to future generations.


    The name General Patton was selected because he had actually handpicked the site and was the first commander of the DTC with Camp Young as the headquarters for the Desert Training Center, eventually training over a million men to go into the WWII effort. This became the world’s largest military installation both in size and population stretching from Arizona to Nevada to California. Leslie continues to work for the BLM and resides now in Colorado, and Margit lives at Chiriaco Summit and continues to serve as an active supporter of the museum.

    The first year was spent creating a 501(c)3 and forming an MOU with Bureau of Land Management which continues today. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had a mobile home that became the first office and repository for information and artifacts. Senator Presley helped the Museum to obtain the old Coachella DMV office which was moved to the site at Chiriaco Summit. The land was donated by Joseph L. Chiriaco and Ruth E. Chiriaco, pioneers of the area. In 1986 five more modules were purchased creating a 7000-square foot area to serve as the museum building. Construction began in earnest in 1987 with a solid team of retirees from SCE headed by Jerry Rusche. This group of men worked long and hard creating the interior spaces of the museum, cleaning up and modifying the spaces, installing new electrical, refrigeration, heating and everything else that went into the interior space, as well as overseeing the exterior plastering of the building. The rock was donated by the Whitewater Rock and the Sea Bees were the volunteers, who installed the rock walls one summer.

    The first year was spent creating a 501(c)3 and forming an MOU with Bureau of Land Management which continues today. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had a mobile home that became the first office and repository for information and artifacts. Senator Presley helped the Museum to obtain the old Coachella DMV office which was moved to the site at Chiriaco Summit. The land was donated by Joseph L. Chiriaco and Ruth E. Chiriaco, pioneers of the area. In 1986 five more modules were purchased creating a 7000-square foot area to serve as the museum building. Construction began in earnest in 1987 with a solid team of retirees from SCE headed by Jerry Rusche. This group of men worked long and hard creating the interior spaces of the museum, cleaning up and modifying the spaces, installing new electrical, refrigeration, heating and everything else that went into the interior space, as well as overseeing the exterior plastering of the building. The rock was donated by the Whitewater Rock and the Sea Bees were the volunteers, who installed the rock walls one summer.

    The foundations were constructed and donated by Modern Alloy. The firm of Krieger and Stewart donated the engineering for the facility, and Joe Aklufi did the legal work. Corky Larson, Riverside County Supervisor also played an important role in the project. The first really professional exhibit was the MWD topographical map – the map shows the vast regions of Southern California where the massive aqueduct was installed bringing the much needed water to Los Angeles.

    The availability of water to the DTC is the main reason that Patton selected the area for the DTC and placed the camps accordingly. This is aside from the fact that this desert area so mimicked the areas of North Africa and he could train the men in these harsh conditions preparing them for their eventual service in the war.

    During the building process, personalized engraved bricks were sold to finance parts of the project that just could not be donated. Today there is a large wall area covered with bricks, both large and small, which are still being sold and installed. Over time, the building was beginning to look more like the General Patton Memorial Museum. This transformation took many hours of volunteer service. The Museum was ready to open on November 11,1988 at 11 in the morning, coincidentally Patton’s one-hundredth birthday.

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  • M60 (Patton) Main Battle Tank @ the General Patton Memorial Museum [Flickr]

    Greg Nutt posted a photo:

    The M60 Patton is a main battle tank (MBT) introduced in December 1960. With the United States Army's deactivation of their last (M103) heavy tank battalion in 1963, the M60 became the Army's primary tank during the Cold War. Although developed from the M48 Patton, the M60 series was never officially classified as a Patton tank, but as a "product-improved descendant" of the Patton series. In March 1959, the tank was officially standardized as the 105 mm Gun Full Tracked Combat Tank M60.


    The M60 underwent many updates over its service life. The interior layout, based on the design of the M48, provided ample room for updates and improvements, extending the vehicle's service life for over four decades. It was widely used by the U.S. and its Cold War allies, especially those in NATO, and remains in service throughout the world today, despite having been superseded by the M1 Abrams in the U.S. military. Egypt is currently the largest operator with 1,716 upgraded M60A3s, Turkey is second with 866 upgraded units in service, and Israel is third with over 700 units of Israeli variants.

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  • M3 Half-track [Flickr]

    Greg Nutt posted a photo:

    The General Patton Memorial Museum was built to inspire such reverence through exposure and education. Quality of life for each visitor is directly tied to the health of this nation and we strive to ensure each visitor leaves the museum with a renewed understanding of that. We are committed to providing a place to learn about preserving the past and ensuring the lessons it teaches us are carried to future generations.


    The name General Patton was selected because he had actually handpicked the site and was the first commander of the DTC with Camp Young as the headquarters for the Desert Training Center, eventually training over a million men to go into the WWII effort. This became the world’s largest military installation both in size and population stretching from Arizona to Nevada to California.

    The M3 Half-track, known officially as the Carrier, Personnel Half-track M3, was an American armored personnel carrier half-track widely used by the Allies during World War II and in the Cold War. Derived from the M2 Half Track Car, the slightly longer M3 was extensively produced, with about 15,000 units and more than 50,000 derivative variants manufactured (most of which were interim designs).

    The design was based on the Citroen-Kégresse half-track. The developers attempted to use as many commercial parts as possible. There were also several dozen variants for different purposes. The M3 and its variants were supplied to the U.S. Army and Marines, as well as British Commonwealth and Soviet Red Army forces, serving on all major fronts throughout the war. Although at first unpopular, it was used by most of the Allies at some point in the war.

    Although originally intended for armored infantry regiments, it was quickly put into action with the Provisional Tank Group when the Japanese Army began their invasion of the Philippines. Initially, there were multiple complaints due to several mechanical difficulties. These were rectified by the Ordnance Department after receiving field reports from the Philippines. The M3's first use for its intended role was during Operation Torch. Each armored division had 433 M2s or M3s, 200 in the armored regiments and 233 in the armored infantry regiment.

    The halftracks were initially extremely unpopular and dubbed "Purple Heart Boxes" (a grim reference to the US Army's decoration for combat wounds) by American troops. The chief complaints centered on the complete lack of overhead protection from airbursting artillery shells and that the armor was inadequate against machine gun fire. Omar Bradley quoted in his report about half-tracks that it was "a competent and dependable contrivance. Its bad name resulted from the inexperience of our troops who attempted to use it for too many things". In 1943, the M3 served in Sicily and Italy and received positive reports of it in action. It went into service in 1944 in Operation Overlord and served in Europe for the remainder of the war.

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  • M74 Armored Recovery Vehicle [Flickr]

    Greg Nutt posted a photo:

    The M74 tank recovery vehicle (M74) was an engineer vehicle used by the U.S. Army in the 1950s. It was designed to cope with the heavier weights of the M26 Pershing and M47 Patton. It could also be suitable for light dozing, since it had a hydraulic, front-mounted spade. It was produced in the thousands by Bowen-McLaughlin-York and were also converted from M4A3 Shermans by Bowen starting in 1954. Later, some were converted from M32B1s by Rock Island Arsenal until 1958.


    After the Korean War the M74 was designed to cope with the heavier weights of the new vehicles that were being introduced.
    Designed in 1953, it based on the M4A3 HVSS medium tank, it was developed to cope with the heavier M26 Pershing and M47 Patton which were entering service, which the M32 Armored Recovery Vehicle (ARV) was unable to retrieve. Using the standard Ford GAA and wide tracks, the chassis would be rebuilt. It was replaced in service with the U.S. Army by the M88 Hercules.

    The M74 was fitted with a 60,000 lb hydraulic winch as well as a lighter-duty general purpose one, a hydraulic A-frame, and hydraulic front-mounted spade, which was suitable for light dozing, as well as serving as an anchor for heavy winching operations. It had a .50-caliber M2 machine gun atop the hull and a .30-cal M1919A4 machine gun in the right bow.

    The M74 was produced from 1953 to 1955 by Bowen-McLaughlin-York in the thousands. The mass conversion of M4A3 Shermans into M74 recovery vehicles was started by Bowen in 1954. Some were also converted from old M32B1 ARVs by Rock Island Arsenal until 1958.

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  • M50 Ontos [Flickr]

    Greg Nutt posted a photo:

    Ontos, officially the Rifle, Multiple 106 mm, Self-propelled, M50, was a U.S. light armored tracked anti-tank vehicle developed in the 1950s, a fast tank killer for airborne forces.

    It mounted six 105 mm M40 recoilless rifles as its main armament, which could be fired in rapid succession against single targets to guarantee a kill. It was produced in limited numbers for the U.S. Marines after the U.S. Army lost interest in the project. The Marines consistently reported excellent results when they used the Ontos for direct fire support against infantry in numerous battles and operations during the Vietnam War. The American stock of Ontos was largely expended towards the end of the conflict and the Ontos was removed from service in 1969.

    The Ontos (Greek for "thing") project was created to be an air transportable tank-destroyer capable of being lifted by the cargo aircraft of the 1950s. This limited it to a weight between 10 and 20 metric tons. The Ontos also had to use the six-cylinder engine then widely used in the Army's GMC trucks. Allis-Chalmers was awarded a contract on August 12, 1955, for 297 vehicles.

    Allis-Chalmers' first vehicle, completed in 1952, was based on the running gear of the M56 Scorpion light anti-tank vehicle. The vehicle mounted a cast steel turret with two arms holding three rifles each. This early model could traverse the turret only about 15 degrees. A second prototype used a new suspension system, new tracks, and a newer turret with about 40 degrees traverse. The vehicle could carry only eighteen rounds for the main guns inside the vehicle due to limited space. Four of the rifles also had .50 caliber coaxial spotting rifles attached, each of which fired a round with the same trajectory as the 106 mm round, and that gave off a puff of smoke on impact. The spotting rifles were used to line up the 106 mm recoilless rifles with the target. The Ontos also carried a single .30 caliber M1919A4 machine gun for anti-infantry use.

    The vehicle was t

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