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WI USA Gives USSR Nothing During WW2?
QUESTION:Caterpillar, John Deere, and Allis Chalmers crawlers used that
postwar even, but the Cletrac system(as in US Tanks) used by Oliver/
Cleveland Tractor was preferred even with the additional cost.
Much smoother that the Cat style skid-steer clutch and brake setup
Now best of all was the regenerative controlled differential system. It gave
for a graduated turning radius independent of the transmission gear chosen,
while the Cletrac was a fixed ratio.
Now hydrostatic steering drive is one way to do that, like the
Naeder used in the Char B1(needed for fine control to aim the 75mm)
or the multigear units like the Nazi fully regenerative units in the
Panther, but not very reliable either.
The single diff setup of the Cletrac was the best for durability,
but once the bugs worked out, the two diff Henschel used in
the Tiger, or 3 diff UK Merrit-Brown, gave the best control
on the ground for a Tank
The clutch and brake system used on the T-34 and KVs(and prewar
UK tanks) had the fewest parts, and easiest to work on, and cheapest
to make, but really shouldn't be used on things over 20 tons or so.
ANSWER: Thought that was evident from the '"' I left in that was the cite
you wrote that I was noting.
It was an odd thing for an Army report, as easily false to anyone
who has dealt with the models in question.Cletrac- and later Oliver
after they was bought out, had the edge in the crawler market,
and later had what was advertised as 'Spot Turn' that you could
sit and spin in one spot, something you can't do with with a Cletrac
final drive. All the other companys would offer Cletrac style units,
the 'Spot Turn' was Olivers way of keeping ahead. That needed a fully
regenerative design: Most postWWII tanks do as well. A lot more
fiddley,
but much easier to drive.
Now AFAIK, the Soviets switched from the simple clutch/brake setup
from pre- JSII AFVs to a dual epicyclic deal with track brakes besides
the band on the main planetarys. Still a skid/steer setup, but much
beefier for use in heavy tanks. Also, no boost unit for gearshift,
so those short Sov. drivers would still look like Popeye from the
workout of shifting gears.
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