m38 glass replacement

1950 - 1952, M38, questions, discussions, regarding anything related to the M38.
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Re: m38 glass replacement

Post by Joe Gopan » Sun Oct 15, 2017 4:27 pm

Usually the early starter and bell housing system was left intact until the M-38 needed a new engine and then the upgrade to the late bell housing and starter was done by ordnance support unit. There were several non-urgent upgrades the G-740 got if and when it got sent to a support unit, another was the change to the 60# Oil Gauge.
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Re: m38 glass replacement

Post by dpcd67 » Mon Oct 16, 2017 6:56 am

Now on another subject; fording capability I see. Well, my supply room had fording kits for 17 M60A1 tanks in it, and so did every other unit. Back then we were expected to be able to ford rivers over the height of the tank, (and jeeps aren't very high, so they are submerged too). The kits consisted of big boxes of tubes and 5 gallon cans of some sort of sealing goop. We never opened them nor trained on them so no one knew how they worked. Another waste of money, but remember, the mission capability comes first, even though it might not have been a smart one. We did swim 113s and M551s, and 114s, but those would actually float.
And we had AVLBs in the Battalion too. Those are bridges.
Running a tank, or a jeep, completely under water seems like a very dumb thing to do and we do not even want to do that now, but remember that in the 50s to the 80s, the Soviet Union could do it and we prepared every day to counter them.
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Re: m38 glass replacement

Post by Cuz » Mon Oct 16, 2017 9:44 am

Sometimes the big picture will elude us. How about a forced seaborne assault on a beach head with a reef at the 1 mile point. Required to be a surprise in a very high threat anti-ship and anti-aircraft environment. In very rare occasions this can become the only option and delaying the assault while we explore ways to fit the equipment to make the underwater drive from the reef to shore possible, fund it, contract it and stock it that war would be over before we could deal with the assault. Somewhere around 50% of military planning and supply has always been for the "What ifs"

There are plenty of much larger military logistics foul-ups we can attack.
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Re: m38 glass replacement

Post by dpcd67 » Tue Oct 17, 2017 9:46 am

Of course there are contingency plans to do all kinds of things, some of which are classified at TS; but driving a jeep a mile under the ocean is not in any of those scenarios that I have seen, and I have participated in simulations of a few. The M38 was designed for war with the Soviets and to drive under rivers. For the Army; now, the Marines might still want to do such crazy things.
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Re: m38 glass replacement

Post by Cuz » Wed Oct 18, 2017 7:22 am

Are you saying the fording kits for your M60's had 1000 Foot snorkels!!!!!?????

We all know the Army thinking on fording kits for wheeled vehicles started changing in the mid 50's but they continued with the program all the way thru the hummer's at one level or another. Most of those kits were never designed to put the driver's head under the water.
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Re: m38 glass replacement

Post by Joe Gopan » Wed Oct 18, 2017 7:34 am

There were plenty of NOS M-38 Windshield assy's filtering out of DRMO yards during the 50's-60's. Many of the surplus dealers stocked them.I believe the fording kit equipped M-38/M-38a1 were capable of 72".
The fording kits (and Heater Kits) for the popular MV' such as M-38/M-38A1 and M-37 stayed in Gov't depots until well after their vehicles were out of the system. Many units located in cold climate such as the Northeast would have appreciated the heaters.
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Re: m38 glass replacement

Post by dpcd67 » Wed Oct 18, 2017 2:58 pm

Or course no jeep would be able to go with the driver under water; scuba apparatus was not part of the fording kits.
1000 foot tank snorkels? I have no idea to what you are referring here. They were designed to ford rivers; not swim the ocean. Now, on the tanks, the drivers are, indeed, completely under water; the TC had to remain above water so there was a set of hatch tubes that when assembled was about ten feet tall. A bad idea from lots of angles, which is why we never trained to do it. Easy to drown a driver, gunner, loader, and probably a TC.
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Re: m38 glass replacement

Post by Cuz » Wed Oct 18, 2017 7:39 pm

1000 foot tank snorkels? I have no idea to what you are referring here.
Reference was your comment:
but driving a jeep a mile under the ocean is not in any of those scenarios that I have seen
Which left me trying to figure where you came up with the mile under thing.
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Re: m38 glass replacement

Post by dpcd67 » Sun Oct 22, 2017 12:03 pm

From your comment; "forced seaborne assault on a beach head with a reef at the 1 mile point".
But of course I hosed up my typing and put "under" instead of something else.
Anyway, the Army does not attempt such foolish missions. Maybe the Marines.
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