Looks like something from WWI, not WWII. Still pretty neat. Glad they decided not to put them into production!
Jury rigged to be sure. I assume that John Deere did switch to military manufacturing during the war? Just not their own designs!
That's a good question, Tim. I assumed they stuck with tractors due to the big farm mechanization push but I was wrong. Says they were the primary manufacturer of Sherman final drives, among other things John Deere in World War Two
Funny, Tweeted on these a week or two back. Two different variants tested. Weird wheels introduced after trouble steering. At 4000kg, and 60 HP, with blokes blacking out in the turrets from MG fumes, they were not deemed a success. This chap seemed to have some solid gen on them: John Deere Model "A" Armored Tractor The 'restorations', I think were more recreations. Sure there was one at Beltring a few years back. No idea if the same ones, as I think they're in the states. Case did some work on tractor-based extemporisations too. LAI:
The narrow front end is for a row crop tractor, also known as a cultivator tractor. Makes no sense that they even tried it for this application. They are fairly treacherous to drive on anything but a flat field and tip over on even mild hills.
Dicky, If the rates are too high the Canadian army may offer you a cheaper alternative and maintaining that attractive green/yellow colour pattern.
Saw this today that I thought was interesting. Things changed when herbicidal weed control gained popularity. Farmers no longer needed to cultivate their crops in the traditional manner – instead, they demanded more power. Mysteries Revealed - Farmall v. International Tractors - Antique Tractor Blog
A number of US tractor companies came up with ideas for converting tractors into AFVs. I think the idea was to sell them to poorer nations. The Afghan government bought a number of Disston tractor tanks one of which still survives