"M3A1 Halftrack Winch or Roller?" Topic

I am wondering which halftrack vehicles in the US Armoured Infantry Battalion received the 10k lb capacity bumper winch and which vehicles received the unditching roller?

I have read that, in the company, only the HQ and maintenance section received the winch and everyone else was supposed to receive rollers… what about the Battalion HQ section or the anti-tank platoon vehicles? I know these things varied enormously in practice… just looking for information on the actual organizational tables issued by the army, not actual practices.

I am wondering which halftrack vehicles in the US Armoured Infantry Battalion circa 1944 received the 10k lb capacity bumper winch and which vehicles received the unditching roller?

I have read that, in the company, only the HQ and maintenance section received the winch and everyone else was supposed to receive rollers… what about the Battalion HQ section or the anti-tank platoon vehicles? I know these things varied enormously in practice… just looking for information on the actual organizational tables issued by the army, not actual practices.

The T/E portion of the T/O&E just shows the number of halftracks with winch, and not their allocations. The figures don't change from the original Sep43 issues.

HQ & HQ Company – 1
Each Rifle Company – 4
Service Company – 1

Gary

Thanks that is very helpful! I am going to guess that the HQ/HQ Co. winch is on the maintenance section's vehicle. I'm really curious about the 4 vehicles with winches in the rifle companies… everything I've read said the Company Commander's vehicle had the winch and presumably the company's maintenance section had another winch. That leaves 2 winches between three rifle platoons and one ATG platoon. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has any further information about the winch distribution.

My guess (and it's only a guess) is that the Company Co and the 3 platoon leaders got a winch. Unfortunately, most of my models have the winch.

Thanks for the info on numbers, Gary.

Not sure how many winches I do have in my small collection of M3 halftracks, but I probably need to make sure not to get many extra ones.

This has come up before…

Interestingly, the schematic of the 1943 Coy TOE in Zaloga's O-V #31 shows the Coy HQ and Maint Sect M3A1s as winches with none in the Rifle and AT platoons. The two trucks in the Admin, Mess & Supply Sect also appear to have winches.

I still haven't seen a citation for platoon HQs receiving winches, whether officially or unofficially.

However, in my own force for both variety and ease of recognition all Rifle platoon HQ vehicles and the coy HQ are winches, which gives me the right number (4) since I don't bother representing the Maint Sect halftrack.

I've got the memory from somewhere of 'one in five' vehicles being winch equipped, but with no context. I suppose my suggestion would be one per Company Maintenance Section halftrack (total four), the sole halftrack in the Service Company, and one per Rifle Platoon (total nine) to get to the 14 indicated in the T/Es. With 72 halftracks in total that is quite close to 'one in five', so may be I'm not imagining it!

The Weapons Carrier (3/4-ton truck) in the Service Company Supply and Transportation Platoon is the only other vehicle I can see marked specifically with a winch.

Gary

Probably a certain amount of randomness entered into the picture, especially for units that saw a lot of combat and thus had vehicle losses. Some units probably had more winch-equipped half-tracks than what the T&OE called for, and others had fewer.

Agreed.

I find this so confusing. The question of the title is only about the A1, with the 50 calibre in that "pulpit" mount. Did the M3 Half tracks, without the 50, never have the winch?

My personal interest is in the 2eme DB, French chaps largely kitted out as US Army, in Patton's 3rd Army. They had far more M5s, M5A1s, M9s etc etc……..as Lend/Lease.

I like the randomness answer frankly.

Yes, M3 halftracks did come with winches.

As did M2A1s (can't recall seeing an M2 but haven't checked my files…).

Ditto IHC versions:
link