The Disston Tractor Tank, also called the Six-Ton Tractor Tank, was an American
light tank
A light tank is a Tank classification, tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller with thinner vehicle armour, armor and a less powerful tank gun, main gun, tailored for ...
of the mid 1930s. It was cheap to make, but few were sold as it was primitive and markedly inferior to the other light tanks of the era.
Development
The tank was created as a joint venture by the
Caterpillar Corporation and the
Disston Saw Works
Disston Saw Works was an American company owned by Henry Disston that manufactured handsaws during the mid-19th to early 20th century in the Tacony neighborhood of Philadelphia. The company was initially named Keystone Saw Works and then He ...
. Caterpillar provided the chassis, which was from a standard
Caterpillar Model 35 civilian tractor, and Disston provided the tank body, which was bolted on to the Caterpillar chassis. The Caterpillar track was lengthened by adding a road wheel to the front of the track assembly, but some examples apparently do not have this lengthened track.
[
The Disston had a 37mm gun mounted in the body, and a turret with a .30 caliber (7.62 mm) ]light machine gun
A light machine gun (LMG) is a light-weight machine gun designed to be operated by a single infantryman, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. LMGs firing cartridge (firearms), cartridges of the same caliber as the othe ...
. It weighed about six tons, probably had a speed of 5 to 6.5 miles per hour, and had armor sufficient to stop small arms fire. The crew consisted of three men. At a cost of $21,000 (), the Disston was cheaper than similarly-armed tanks, but – being quite slow, with tracks unsuited for difficult terrain, thin armor, a high boxy superstructure, the engine exposed in the front, and only the secondary armament in a turret – was generally deemed unsatisfactory even so.[
]
Operational history
A few were sold and delivered to Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
and entered service there. At the 2001 American occupation of Afghanistan some were found to still exist, in broken-down condition or in Afghan scrapyards. The vehicle was marketed to Kuwait
Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
, New Zealand and Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, and perhaps some other countries, but there is no reliable evidence that any were sold.[
]
See also
*New Zealand Bob Semple tank
*Soviet NI tank
*New Zealand Schofield tank
*Soviet KhTZ-16
References
{{Interwar tanks, style=wide
Light tanks of the interwar period
Weapons of Afghanistan