France's Unic Kégresse P 107 half track updated

The French did produce around 2,000 P 107 half tracks before the fall of France in 1940. Many were captured and used by the Germans.

United States' M3 half track personnel carrier updated

The United States manufactured over 41,000 half tracks during World War II with the M3 being one of the models. Used in a wide variety of rolls here's a picture of it being used as an ambulance.

Germany's SdKfz 9 schwerer Zugkraftwagen 18t half track updated

The biggest of all the half tracks used in World War II was the SdKfz 9. It was intended to recover tanks in the field when they had broken down or been damaged by enemy action. Due to its massive size it was also used to town some of the larger artillery pieces used by the Germans.

Germany's Luger Pistole 08 added

One of the most famous pistols used in World War II was the German Luger.

Germany's SdKfz 8 schwerer Zugkraftwagen 12t half track updated

The first in a long line of artillery tractors was the SdKfz 8. It was used to tow many of the larger artillery weapons such as the 8.8 cm FlaK 41 and the 1.7 cm K 18.

Thoughts on Pearl Harbor attack

I've been reading Joe Rochefort's War by Elliot Carlson but unfortunately didn't finish it before I had to return it to my local library so I can't give a full review but it did give me much to think about in regards to the attacks on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines and those ridiculous conspiracy theories that high levels of the United States government knew about the attack ahead of time and let the fleet be sacrificed.
Elliot Carlson's book goes into great depth about the intelligence that happened before the attacks.
Much of the intelligence done by the United States was done separately, and some cases in competition, by the Navy, Army, and State Department. All were basically doing their own thing with little to no coordination of resources or intelligence that was learned by each. Each had a little bit of the puzzle but never had the full picture.
Based on that fragmented intelligence decisions were made, that now looking back in time, weren't the best options to have prevented the attacks.
It didn't help that many in the higher echelons of government were quite racially biased when it came to reports of the capabilities of the Japanese military.
While I was reading Joe Rochefort's War I was constantly thinking how if only the intelligence community had been coordinated under one command or information shared.
I think I have more sympathy with General Short and Admiral Kimmel. They made decisions based on the best knowledge they had at the time.
I don't think that people were naive, at the time, that the war clouds weren't rapidly approaching but no one had any inclination that it would happen at Pearl Harbor like it did. Most felt that Japan would attack in Southeast Asia and possibly the Philippines.
Also the intelligence that Admiral Kimmel had was that the Japanese carriers were most likely in Japanese home waters or in the Marshalls. So he didn't have the fleet ready that fateful morning.
Now, as to whether General Short and Admiral Kimmel should have been removed from command? Well, yes, they were ultimately the ones responsible for the preparedness of their respective commands on December 7, 1941. After coming to this realization I really fumed inside thinking about how unjust it was to reward General MacArthur a Medal of Honor for basically the same thing. He had actual warning that the attacks were happening at Pearl well before the attacks on the Philippines and he could have been better prepared but failed miserably. I feel that the Medal of Honor was strictly a political move as MacArthur had backing by political foes of Roosevelt. I also see how it was a real slap in the face of all those true heroes that really earned that medal.
So now let us get back to those conspiracy theories. Ok, let's just for a moment think that somehow Roosevelt had a piece of paper in his hand that on December 7 Japanese forces were going to attack the fleet at Pearl. What would Roosevelt have done? Sacrifice the fleet? Doubtful, as Roosevelt loved the United States Navy. What I think he would have done was to have ordered much of the fleet to sea to lay in wait for the Japanese. Yes, he could have ordered the fleet to not take any action until the Japanese actually attacked and thus had the reason to join the war effort against the Axis powers.
I think that many of those conspiracy theorists, in their own minds, couldn't believe that we could be surprised by the Japanese and had to blame someone.
Let's face it the Japanese executed a well thought out plan, they maintained radio silence, and the United States was completely surprised by their attack. Is that so hard to accept?

The Elusive Enemy U.S. Naval Intelligence and the Imperial Japanese Fleet, 2011, Douglas Ford book review

To win against an enemy in war having accurate intelligence is just as key as having the best soldiers or weapons.
In The Elusive Enemy you'll see how inadequate our intelligence was of the Japanese. Much of it was based on ridiculous racial stereotypes.
Once the war started intelligence was in short supply and units were formed to gain intelligence of the Japanese.
The Elusive Enemy shows you what we, and Japan, got right, and what was woefully inadequate.
If the Pacific Theater is your forte, or intelligence work, then this is a recommended book for you.

Germany's schwerer Wehrmachtsschlepper, sWS, Gerät 71 half track updated

The sWS was intended to replace some of the more expensive half track model, but it never received production priority.

Germany's SdKfz 7 mittlerer Zugkraftwagen 8t half tracks updated

The SdKfz 7 was a very popular medium tractor that was even copied by the Italians for production and Bedford Motors in the United Kingdom made a copy but it wasn't produced.

Germany's SdKfz 6 Mittlerer Zugkraftwagen 5T half tracks updated

The SdKfz 7 was intended to be used by engineer units and to tow the 10.5 cm leFH 18 gun. It was costly to build and it was replaced by the sWS.

Germany's SdKfz 251 mittlerer Schützenpanzerwagen half tracks updated

The Germans also needed a 3 ton half track for carrying a squad, and the SdKfz 251 was selected. Around 15,000 were manufactured.

Germany's SdKfz 250 leichter Schützenpanzerwagen, half track updated

On issue with German industry is that they often made a weapon system too complex and thus expensive to make. The SdKfz 250 was such a vehicle. However, it was well liked by the troops.

Germany's Maultier ("mule") updated

After the first winter in Russia the Germans found a need to have a better vehicle that could transport supplies in the poor road conditions. Trucks were to have their rear axle removed and PzKpfw II track parts added to become the Maultier.

Germany's SdKfz 10 leichter Zugkraftwagen 1t half track updated

Over 17,000 of the SdKfz 10s were manufactured. It was well liked by crews and could tow many of the smaller artillery weapons used by the German military.

Secret Weapons Technology, Science & The Race to Win World War II, Brian J. Ford, 2011 book review

There always seems to be a strange fascination with the weapon systems that were on the drawing board or had some development work done on during World War II.
World War II was one of the first technological wars where technology was relied upon to win battles such as the Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Atlantic. But sometimes people seem to go off the deep end on the "What ifs". What if Germany had developed this or that?
Luckily Brian J. Ford doesn't go off the deep end, he covers many of the known, and some of the unknown weapons systems that were worked on or the outlandish that were thought up during the war.
Secret Weapons covers the large, ice berg size air craft carriers, and the small, penicillin. We cover weapons in the air, on the sea, and on land. The rockets that would lead us later to landing on the moon and some of the scientific discoveries that affect us even in our "advanced" world of today.
Secret Weapons is a good read and I do recommend it for those that like to read about World War II era weapons. There were a couple nitpicks on some of Brian J. Ford's opinions, but that's more of a personal opinion nature and not a nitpick on any facts.

Britain's Cruiser Mk VIII, A27M, Cromwell updated

The Cromwell was the first cruiser tank to have a Meteor engine installed. Many crew didn't like the Cromwell.

Germany's SdKfz 2 kleines Kettenrad (small half-track) updated

The Kettenrad was intended for use by the airborne troops for towing small artillery weapons.

Germany's Schwimmfahiger Gelandeng Typ 166, Schwimmwagen added

The Germans also produced some amphibious vehicles. The Schwimmwagen was mostly used on the Eastern Front though some were found in North Africa.

Japan's Type 2 Ka-Mi amphibious tank updated

The Japanese Navy had amphibious vehicles produced. One of the early ones was to take the chassis of a Type 95 Kyu-Go and by adding pontoons and other water propulsion features created the Type 2 Ka-Mi. Few were produced and the were most often used in defensive positions.

United States' Aircraft Production updated

I've updated the United States' aircraft production numbers.

United States' M29 Studebaker Weasel cargo carrier added

In 1943 plans were made to invade Norway and it was found that a vehicle that could carry cargo across snow was needed. The M29 was the result and was very successful at going where no other vehicle could.

United States' Landing Vehicle Tracked, LVT-3, "Bushmaster" updated

The LVT-3 was the last of the mass produced LVTs. It was a new design that had a larger cargo area as the engines, transmissions, and other equipment was located in the sponsons.

United States' LVT-2 and LVT-4 updated

To facilitate getting troops onto shore Landing Vehicle Tracked were constructed. Among the earlier variants was the LVT-2 which had it's engine at the rear. The LVT-4 was an improvement as the engine was moved forward and a ramp added at the rear.

Soviet Union's Vehicle Production and Imports updated

I have updated the Soviet Union's production page.

United States' 2 1/2 Ton, 6x6, Amphibian Truck, DUKW, "Duck" updated

If there's one World War II era vehicle that I could own and drive it would be a DUKW. Can you imagine taking it camping and then driving it out onto a lake!?! What a thrill! The DUKW was basically a boat hull mounted onto a truck chassis that allowed it to take cargo from ships to troops inland.

More M4 photos

Here's some more photos of the M4 Sherman from Mark Holloway and PhotosNormandie. Just looking at the men following the Sherman near Bastogne just makes me want to shiver!

Pearl Harbor Christmas, by Stanley Weintraub book review

It being the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor there's quite a few books coming out right now.
One being Pearl Harbor Christmas which goes into the time period of December 22, 1941, to January 1, 1942. Weintraub tells the reader what was going on in the world at different key locations, though primarily focused around Washington D.C.
Lots of new tidbits of information for me that I never knew about and many enlightening bits of information on Douglas MacArthur which just further justify my own low opinion on him.
A lot of the events revolve around FDR and Churchill, who had come to Washington, but we also see some events with a book seller in occupied Paris.
I only wish more books would be published that go over the events that happened on the home front during the war.