Check out this official T34 tank manual published in 1942 and scroll down to the heading that says “TECHNICAL INSPECTION OF THE VEHICLE”.
You will notice that track condition and track tension are the very first two things the crew inspects for. Very important! Loose track with a dramatic droop as seen in many models will be shed! Tracks that are too tight can break.
Crews were very diligent in making sure the track was nice and tight at all times and those crews that did not faced penalties for negligence.
The tightness was adjusted by moving the idler wheel back.
I think modelers exaggerate the problem of track droop most of the time. Of course, if you’re building a specific vehicles and have a picture of it showing sagged tracks by all means knock yourself out.
For the fear of looking like an idiot, in a thread many eons ago, one imformative member said that tracks don’t get as rusty as you’d think. Something about being on the move or whatnot wouldn’t allow them to get so rusty. Since I can’t verify this it kind of goes down as hearsay. Still as a modeler, it makes you think that we might we conditioned to think a certain way. Hope that made sense.
I don’t know what is authentic or not, but I have some pictures of JS-2’s and T-34’s with loose fitting tracks. For example, take a look at the New Vanguard JS-2 book and you will see what I mean.
This is why it’s so important to refer to good reference photos. Not museum pieces but actual photos of the vehicle in use. Many myths have been propogated through the years.
Ericadeane - right on the money with the Sherman … ain’t no sag in those tracks to speak of. Same with the Stuart and Lee / Grant.
Tanks equipped with return rollers above the roadwheels should not have sagging tracks as the return rollers keep the track straight. Those without return rollers may have some slack when not running. As soon as the drivesprocket starts turning the track should pull straight. At least that is how I’ve got it. Tank tracks can be compared to the chain on a bicycle. Too much slack and it will climb off of the sprocket, too tight and it would place strain on the sprocket.
Not quite Tappie. If you look at pictures of a Panzer IV from the side, you will see a distinct sag in the tracks and they have return rollers. The reason for the Sherman line not having sag is that they have a type of track system known as a “live track”. They tend to curl in on themselves when they are not kept good and tight.
As Robert has said, ref pix of the vehicles in action are probably the best and most reliable source of info.
Another thing to consider even in such pix is the situation the vehicle is in at the time of the pic. The sag or lack thereof can be effected by things such as the speed the vehicle is travelling, whether it’s making a turn or not, the application of breaks, or any combination of factors. It it’s not moving, the look of apparant tension can also be effected by how it was parked, what the geometry of the suspension was at that time, etc.
Then of course it might depend of the crew who were operating the vehicle at the time.
A good example of the seemingly wild fluctuations in track tension would be the Panther. Check out even a small selection of pix, and you’ll see tensions varying from track-slinging slack to pin-snapping tight.
If any of you had ever thrown a track & been left behind to put it back on or embarrassed enough to have maintenance come over to “help” you would realize that this is part of daily maintenance Track tension means the difference between moving & shooting or being a pillbox and pillboxes dont last long
J-Hulk is absolutely right the tank track is a very dynamic animal, as an addition though vehicles with a Christy style suspension; with out return rollers (panthers, M113, T55…) are much more susceptible to track sag than supported tracks (M1, Leo, M4…) there are many exceptions in both styles, this I only a broad generalization. In the field we check track tension on our tank twice a day, or every halt on a long road march and we “walk the track” once a day, that is when we check every end connecter (oval steal thing holding the ends of an individual pair of track links together) and center guides (tall pointy thing in center of track) for tight ness. That is a long process when you think of 70some links per track. As for the wear of the track here are some pictures of some M1A1s that have been used fairly hard.
