M29 Weasel, D-Day Re-enactment, Conneaut, Ohio.
M29 Weasel General characteristics
Length	? m
Width	? m
Height	? m
Weight	2.2 t
Suspension	Tracked
Speed	36 mph km/h road ? km/h off-road
Range	265 km
Primary armament	.30 Cal BMG
Secondary armament	?
Armour	1.2 mm
Power plant	Studebaker Model 6-170 Champion 65 hp (48 kW)
Crew	2

The metre (Commonwealth English) or meter (American English) (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... The word ton or tonne is derived from the Old English tunne, and ultimately from the Old French tonne, and referred originally to a large cask with a capacity of 252 wine gallons, which holds approximately 2100 pounds of water. ... Military vehicles are commonly armoured to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets or shells, protecting the soldiers inside from enemy fire. ... The horsepower (hp) is the name of several non-metric units of power. ...

History

Background

We can look back now and say that Hitler's Germany was not as close to producing an atomic bomb as we thought but during the early part of WWII things did not look quite that way. By 1942, Germany had driven its war machine into Europe, North Africa and Russia. The war in the Pacific was well underway and German U-boats were sinking merchant ships throughout the Atlantic Ocean. The threat of Germany getting the atomic bomb first was very serious however, a British civilian scientist had an idea that just might make a difference. Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ...

Geoffrey Nathanial Pyke, a brilliant but sometimes obnoxious and eccentric scientist was known for his intriguing and sometimes outrageous ideas. Pyke submitted a plan to Vice Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten at British Combined Operations Headquarters. This plan outlined a commando raid of 2000 to 4000 men equipped with special snow machines to attack with speed across snow covered Norway. Pyke felt that the Allies should be masters of the snow in fact, he prepared a paper called just that, "Mastery of the Snows". He supported this with the fact that just about half of Europe was covered with snow a better part of the year. These commando raids would draw German resources away from other fronts and would require them to counter these attacks in snowy mountainous conditions that they were not prepared to fight in. Hitler's 49% of Norway's hydroelectric power and 70% of molybdenum mining could be sabotaged along with oil refineries, bridges, tunnels and of intense interest, Norway's heavy water production. This action would also open up supply efforts with Russia and give Russia a break they so desperately needed.

Being able to surgically attack these targets made this idea very intriguing. An attack of this nature would take a tremendous amount of ordnance if done with aircraft and even at that, you would still not be sure they were completely knocked out. On the other hand, this force would need a special snow machine in great numbers of which none were available at this time.

Lord Mountbatten was surprised that Pyke had put together such a plan without access to military information. He gave it a go and Pykes plan, now code-named Title of Com(Project Plough) was seriously pursued. A small group of Military personnel along with Pyke were sent to the United States to discuss Project Plough in detail. Pyke and the American military did not see eye to eye on the project but eventually worked through their differences. At this time the Americans were the only ones who could produce the snow machine in great numbers and this was vital to the whole project Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (June 25, 1900 – August 27, 1979) was a British admiral and statesman and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. ...

Lt. Col. H.R. Johnson was initially put in charge of implementing project Plough but at Johnson and Pyke's first meeting they immediately went head to head. Johnson told Pyke his involvement was not appreciated. Pyke took this to Lord Mountbatten who took it to Eisenhower and eventually to President Roosevelt. Johnson was removed from the project and replaced by Lt. Col. Robert T. Frederick. Little did Pyke know that Frederick did not think much of his plan either. Frederick, the son of a San Francisco doctor was working at the War Department when George C. Marshall (Chief of Staff) put him in charge of Project Plough. Dwight David Ike Eisenhower (October 14, 1890–March 28, 1969), American soldier and politician, was the 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) and supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, with the rank of General of the Army. ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only person to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... George C. Marshall George Catlett Marshall (December 31, 1880–October 16, 1959), an American military leader and statesman, was born into a middle-class family in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. ...

Lt. Col. Robert T. Frederick's special force for the project would be a joint Canadian /American unit initially called The First Special Service Force. This force would later become known as the Black Devil's Brigade and be the basis of the modern U.S. Special Forces. The FSSF was activated in July of 1942, at Ft. Henry Harrison, Montana. The FSSF insignia was made up of an Indian Scouts badge (arrowhead) with crossed arrows placed at the bottom. The letters USA were placed across the top of the arrowhead with Canada placed vertically down the center. Shoulder sleeve patch of the 1st Special Service Force. ... Shoulder sleeve patch of the 1st Special Service Force. ...

The FSSF would be trained in hand to hand fighting, mountain training, parachuting, demolition, and winter skiing. Training was strict and grueling. The FSSF would eventually be among the first to break out of the beach at Anzio, fight at Cassino and take part in the capture of Rome. An attack on southern France would follow but the Canadian's were withdrawn from the force and replaced with U.S. Rangers. The force was then renamed the 474th I.F. Interestingly enough, this unit did end up in Norway, (the forces original destination). At the end of the war their job was to help the Norwegian underground clean up any remaining German forces. Official force name 75th Ranger Regiment Rangers Other names Airborne Rangers Army Rangers U.S. Army Rangers Branch U.S. Army Chain of Command USASOC Description Special Operations Force, rapidly deployable light infantry force. ...

Project Plough also needed a special snow machine and it would have to be developed in very short notice. It was half way through April of 1942 and they would need these machines in quantity by December. O.S.R.D. (Office of Scientific Research and Development) figured the automotive field would be needed to produce these numbers and it took them at least a year to go from the drawing table to production on a new car. It looked impossible. In June of 1941, the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) superseded the committee structure [of the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC)]. The OSRD projects gave the United States and Allied troops more powerful and more accurate bombs, more reliable detonators, lighter and more accurate weapons, safer and more...

Many snow machines already in existence were evaluated. The Marmon Herrington designed and Bombardier built light tracked carrier, the Russian NKL 16/41 propeller driven sleds, and even Jeeps with balloon tires to name a few. Pyke kept pushing the Archimedian screw machine as the best type of drive system and the Americans infuriated him with their insistence on using a tracked vehicle but in the end, a tracked vehicle would be best for climbing rocky hills, durability, and for air-dropping. Bombardier Inc. ... Archimedes screw, or the Archimedean screw, is a simple machine historically used for transferring water from a low-lying body of water into irrigation ditches. ...

Pyke with his sometimes obnoxious and abrasive personality had been pushing his way in and around the wrong places with the wrong people for sometime now. His habit of loosely discussing the top secret snow machine and Project Plough with people outside the project prompted Churchill and Roosevelt to soon remove him from the project. The reason... he was a security risk.

Pyke went on to other enterprising projects of which one was called "Habbakuk". This effort was an aircraft carrier design made of ice blocks and sawdust called (Pykrete). This carrier would carry 100 Mosquito's, 200 Spitfires, and a crew of 1,590. Once said and done this aircraft carrier would end up costing more then a standard carrier. Pyke died in 1948 of an overdose of sleeping pills.

Studebaker Takes The Job

It was decided to have an American automobile manufacturer named Studebaker design and build the now highly classified top secret snow machine. Studebaker's many years of experience with commercial vehicles would be put to the test with this timely project. The snow machine would now have a higher priority then the B17 and less priority only to the atomic bomb. Studebakers Lazy S logo designed by Raymond Loewy was used from the 1950s until 1966 Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company was a United States wagon and automobile manufacturer that was incorporated in 1868. ...

On May 17, 1942 the Studebaker Corporation along with U.S. and British higher ups set up the specifications for the new snow machine. It was to be able to carry a load of 1200 lbs., travel at a minimum of 30mph (over snow), climb a 30-degree hill, have a range of 225 miles and be expected to last 1000 miles. It was required to turn in a radius of 12 feet or less, be air transportable and safely dropped by parachute. In case it had to be abandoned it would also be equipped with a self-destruction device to avoid being captured by the enemy.

R.E. Cole, the president of Studebaker accepted the project and 34 days later the first experimental vehicle was delivered.

The prototype was shipped from South Bend Indiana to Canada's Columbia Glacier in British Columbia. Here the now named "Weasel" and sometimes-called "Penguin" by the factory workers was put through its paces with Studebaker engineers and men from the 87th Infantry Mountain Regiment. Because of this timely project, Studebaker brought up a machine shop and had an air shuttle ready to transport parts between the test site and the Studebaker plant in South Bend Indiana. Many snow machines were tested and put up against the Weasel but in the end, the Weasel out performed them all.

The early pilot was 5 feet wide and a little over 16 feet long. Studebaker's well known in-line 6-cylinder Champion passenger car engine was mounted amidships with two seats mounted in the center ahead of the engine. The first Weasel weighed in at 7000 lbs. A power take off from the engine powered a tunnel-mounted propeller for amphibious use. This was the only Weasel equipped with a propeller.

Front mounted sprockets were driven through a three-speed transmission and two speed differential. The bogie units were mounted on longitudinal leaf springs and the link-less tracks were made of twisted steel reinforced rubber bands mounting riveted stamped steel plates or shoes.

Early testing found this Weasel hard to steer because of the rather long and wide tracks. It was quick to overheat, it was too slow, the tracks were too loud and it dug itself into the snow all too easily.

The next prototype was designated T15 and it was accepted for production testing. The engine was now mounted in the rear with the 2 center mounted seats still ahead of the engine. The length was shortened approximately 6 feet, the weight was brought down to around 4500 lbs. and the track width was extended to 18 inches. This helped the top speed but the rear mounted engine made it too heavy in the rear. The T15 was soon designated M28 and was very similar to its predecessor. Because the Weasels would be operating in snowy conditions the early machines were painted overall white with black camouflage patterns. Many later M29's still had white and black underneath their Olive Drab color.

By the time enough machines could be made available, the commando raids into Norway were reconsidered. The only aircraft available at this time that could bring the FSSF and their Weasels into Norway were the Lancaster bombers and these could not be taken away from their current bombing runs. The invasion of the French coastline was in the works and after talks between Frederick, Mountbatten and Combined Operations, Project Plough was cancelled.

After dropping the Weasel, the FSSF was rearmed and they went their separate ways. The FSSF and the new snow machines were together however, with the newly created 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment at the invasion of Kiska island in the Aleutians. They did not see combat thought, as the Japanese had evacuated the island two weeks before the invasion. The word was that the still secret Weasel performed very well in the varying conditions on Kiska island.

An almost entirely new Weasel was produced next and the now designated T24 had the engine, once again, mounted amidships with the driver seated to the left of the engine and the gas tank and batteries to the right. This left a sizeable area in the rear for seating, cargo and communications equipment.

This model had a modified suspension, which now had the bogies set up on 4 transverse mounted leaf springs. The drive sprocket was moved to the rear, and another new body design made the vehicle appear like it was going backwards. This body was also made of 18-gauge steel.

With the new body, suspension, engine, and seating arrangement, the Weasels fast paced development finally paid off. It did however still have a tendency to throw a track now and then but overall it performed very well.

There were supposedly 1000 T24's made and after that they were considered M29's however, I have seen a number plate on a T24 reading, UST-24-1651. At any rate, the T24 soon evolved into the M29, but overall they were much the same.

The M29 would float but it was quite slow and did not steer well in the water. A new model of Weasel soon evolved designated the M29C. New front and rear flotation tanks were added to help the Weasel travel through water with more free board and speed. The bow tank was shaped like boats hull and carried a surf guard to keep water from entering the vehicle in rough water. If there was ever a time that the Weasel could not climb a slippery bank or make it up a steep slope, a PTO driven capstan winch was mounted on top of the bow flotation tank.

The stern tank carried twin rudders controlled by a tiller at the front of the drivers station for improved steering. These rudders could be raised and secured for travel on land.

Problems with water turbulence created by the tracks running backward on the upper track run was helped but not entirely eliminated by adding side skirts, which channeled the water out and to the sides of the vehicle.

There were plans for Ford to build Weasels exactly as Studebaker, even using the Studebaker Champion engine. But as the war neared an end, it was not necessary. Ford may mean a number of things: A ford is a river crossing. ...

The M29C was the last variant produced and there were a total of 15,124 units built between 1942 and 1945. There were always experimental vehicles being tested with a variety of weapons and devices such as machine guns, recoilless rifles and mine clearing devices.

Battlefield Use

Although the Weasel was never used as it was designed for, the Weasel proved to be very agile in all types of terrain. It became very popular with the troops and one of its uses was as an ambulance. The Weasel could be fitted with up to four stretchers. The GI's knew that unique clattering "Weasel sound" and as supplies were brought up to the front the wounded were taken back. Downed pilots were also relieved to see the Weasel, it could get into places that other vehicles would never go. Many pilots were rescued in Greenland, Iceland and Alaska.

The Weasel soldiered on for many years, from the Aleutian and Pacific Islands all the way through Italy, France, Holland, Belgium, and Germany. After WWII the Weasel rolled on through Korea as well.

A number of vehicles were used for Antarctic exploration and many were used in Norway until 1984.

The Weasel served with the French during the Southeast Asia conflict where they were called "Crabs".

The secrecy surrounding the Weasel, the First Special Service Force and Project Plough appears to be as much of a secret today as it was back in 1942, even the History Channel has missed it. Either way, if Geoffrey Pyke submitted this idea a bit earlier it may not have had an effect on Hitler getting an atomic bomb but it could very well have made a difference in the direction of the war.

Original WWII Specifications

General Data

Performance

Engine

Notes

• Philip R. Kern. The Studebaker M29 Weasel. Military Vehicles Magazine Volume 1, 2 & 3.

• (1985). Studebaker M29 Weasel. ISO Military Vehicle Series.

• Richard Quinn. Studebaker Goes To War. "Turning Wheels" - magazine of the Studebaker Drivers Club.

• Beaudry, Barry (2005). The Weasel Restorer. (html) The Weasel and Project Plough. URL accessed on February 26, 2006.