Evening star., 1940-09-07
Tailoring Armor Plate
Is But One Problem
In Tank Manufacture

In Idnk WdnuIdCIuTe
Special Ports Required
And Must Not Slow
Production of Other Items
This is the fourth of series of
articles prepared by the National
Defense Commission to giDe the
public background on the cur
rent program OF Building for
Defense"
Some think a tank is a simple
little item to produce. 1t is, how
even, 8 or 10 tons of armor plate
that will stop anything up to
good-sized cannon shell; a couple
of hundred horsepower engines that
will drive it so miles an hour over
anything mountain goat could
navigate; a set of caterpillar tracks
that won't break down no matter
how deep the mud; a half-dozen
machine guns that can sling a cou-
pie of thousand shots a minute, and
radio set to keep in touch with
what the commanding officer has in
mind.
That's all that's necessary, except
to put together a crew that can
stand the gaff of sitting on top of a
red-hot engine inside of the steel
turtle that attempts to knock their
brains out by bouncing around the
landscape, while the men with ma
chine guns buttoned practically into
their laps make life miserable for
anything that gets in their way.
Under the reorganization of the
Army, we are building up the new
armored forces of the infantry and
cavalry, and formed into divisions
resembling the famous German
''panzer" divisions. These divisions
are going to need a lot of tanks,
several thousand of them, and it is
up to the National Defense Advisory
Commission to see that the Army
gets those tanks with their requisite
machine guns, ammunition to run
the guns and fuel to run the tanks
Problem Starts With Designing.
The problem of tank production
starts with the design. That's basic
and important. 1t takes about $500
individual drawings. each drawing
exactly to scale, to build tank. Or, !
rather. it takes that many to build |
a light tank. A heavy tank takes |
more
After the designs are complete, |
there is the little item of machines
to make the tank. These are the
machine tools discussed in an ear
1ier article. A lot of people think |
that automobile factories can turn
out tanks very easily, but when it
is realized that the job of bending |
a piece of sheet steel around to
make the smooth curved automobile
fender doesn't require as much ma
chinery as is necessary to wrap |
2-inch thick face-hardened armor |
plate tank hide into shape, it be-
gins to be clear why it isn't as easy |
as it sounds. But our machine tool
manufacturers can build machines
to do that job on 2-inch tank armor.
They are already doing the job.
1t has also been discussed that
the tractor companies that build
crawler-type tractors could also be
utilized for tank building, but a
mobile force needs tractors to haul
their big guns around. Also, we
need plenty of tractors for the con-
struction program for building new
plants and new roads. If the tractor
plants tool up for producing tanks,
then our other production lines
would be handicapped. 1t is. then,
a question of new or additional
plant facilities.
Army Experienced Builder.
The Army has already had con-
siderable experience in building
tanks in their own shops, such as
the arsenal at Rockford, Ill. Ex-
perience gained in these plants will
greatly facilitate the building up
of new production lines for tanks,
as the kinks have already been
found and eliminated.
So, the job of the National De- !
tense Advisory Commission has re-
volved around the problem of pro-
viding proper plant facilities for
the manufacture of the tough
hided tanks. An expenditure of S53,-
100000 for the construction and
equlpping of new factory for build
Ing tanks on a quantity production
basis Is part of the defense pro-
gram In little over year the pro-
duction lines will be rolling, turning
out tanks in quantities at a lower
cost per tank than had ever been
thought possible.
A tank probably resembles a par
ticularly thick-skinned steel rail-
way car closer than anything else,
so some contracts also have been let
Tor manufacturing the hull of the
tanks to those companies special
izing in railway car manufacture.
These already nave the machines on
hand for handling steel plate of
armor plate dimensions.
Thousands of Tanks Needed.
Still other companies have equip
ment on hand for making the thou
sands of links, half a foot square,
which when bolted together form
the flexible track which the tank
lays down, runs over, and picks up
In its endless caterpillar tread.
Each one of those little links in
the chain needs a rubber block
which actually grics the ground,
so contracts have been let to the
rubber companies for the rubber
blocks to go into the treads. These
rubber blocks are fitted into the
treads, the treads are linked to-
gether in an endless belt, the end
less belt is delivered to the COM
pany that made the tank body, and
with other parts, the whole thing
Is assembled into a finished tank
The same process is true of many
other specialized items that go into
tanks. The motor is not built by