Studebaker's "cute" M29 Weasel...

[Gunslinger]

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/meet-cute-little-m29-weasel-legendary-workhorse-world-war-ii-128607

[Buzzard]

Thanks Bruce for this great post.
Owning one of these beauties, I can attest to it's absolutely incredible winter performance in very inclement mountainous conditions. An aside is that the operations manual states " If ever stalled trying to climb OVER a mountain, simply place in low range, first gear and drive it on the starter motor". Try that trick with a new vehicle.
The Canadian testing location referred to in the article was the Columbia Ice Field located between Jasper and Banff Alberta straddling the continental divide. They now run tours utilizing special vehicles which well could have been the Weasel in the day.

https://www.banffjaspercollection.com/attractions/columbia-icefield/

Cheers,
Bill

[HOXXOH]

I just finished reading that article and learned far more than all the others combined. I'm guessing because of it's rather specialized use for the more nearly impossible conditions, it's post-war popularity was limited to sparsely populated areas.

The most surprising fact, was that a few were equipped with a 105 mm "rifle" (aka solid mount) weapon. From my Army experience in an artillery unit with 105 and 155 howitzers, I can only imagine the forces involved when firing from a 4,000# Weasel without a recoil mechanism,. Even if they were limited to a powder charge 3 for direct fire, the projectile was still 33# with a range of over 1 mile. For comparison the 60,000# Sherman tank only had a 76 mm as it's primary gun.

[Andy R.]

Very enjoyable read.
I found it fascinating that the "depth of earth pressure less than that of a human foot."

[gordr]

If I remember right, an M29 Weasel was used in the only-ever test of the Davy Crockett weapons system, which was a very small rocket-propelled nuclear warhead launched from what was basically a mortar. Spoiler: it worked.

[Gunslinger]

The most surprising fact, was that a few were equipped with a 105 mm "rifle" (aka solid mount) weapon. From my Army experience in an artillery unit with 105 and 155 howitzers, I can only imagine the forces involved when firing from a 4,000# Weasel without a recoil mechanism,. Even if they were limited to a powder charge 3 for direct fire, the projectile was still 33# with a range of over 1 mile. For comparison the 60,000# Sherman tank only had a 76 mm as it's primary gun.

Are you sure you're not talking about the 106mm recoilless rifle? That was fielded in Korea and Vietnam either on a tripod or vehicle mounted. It was actually 105mm but was officially referred to as 106mm to prevent confusion with the 105mm artillery round.

[BobWaitz]

And.... in case you want to own one, a couple of them are coming up for auction on May 30th:

https://www.vanderbrinkauctions.com/auction/collector-cars-parts-the-marple-collection/

[62champ]

Red Ball Express military vehicle meet and swap in Pleasant Valley, PA, 2011.

[STEWDI]

Great article!

The Studebaker Champion was not introduced to the public until the spring (April?) of 1939, not 1938, and the engine produced 78 HP in civilian form.

Tempting, aren't they!

[gjamesk]

This guy is restoring one: https://youtu.be/Sd4pK6Il-mE

[studegary]

I note the mention of "...

the chairman of America’s National Defense Research Committee, Dr. Vannevar Bush,

…" I have a certificate from him given to my father for my father's work on non-petroleum fuels and lubricants during WW II.

[Skip Lackie]

It is possible that I am the only person on this forum who has used a Weasel in their job, as opposed to hobby use. In the early 1960s I was an "ice man" for the US Navy -- that is, I was responsible for studying the effect of Arctic and ocean ice on naval operations. That job got me a three-month tour of living in a plywood hut at a small camp built on an ice island (a piece of glacial ice floating in the Arctic Ocean) a bit south of the North Pole. Just about everything we had was military surplus, from the cots and kitchen utensils to the C-47/DC-3 that was used to supply the camp. Our vehicles were two surplus Weasels, both painted orange for visibility on the ice. One had a top and the other, called the sports car, was open. Riding in the open one at minus 30 degrees F was a memorable experience. They were used every day for a variety of jobs, like towing sleds with supplies from the landing strip to the camp, about a mile away. The landing strip was nothing more than about a thousand feet of Arctic ice leveled and cleared by the Weasels equipped with plows.

One of the Weasels was lost when it broke through the ice in 1964; the driver survived. The second one survived until the ice station was abandoned in May 1965. The ice island itself exited the Arctic Ocean soon thereafter and broke up off eastern Greenland.

To those of us who used the Weasels, they were just useful tools, no more remarkable than the C-47 that flew us in and out. In 1962, Studebaker was still making cars; Douglas was still making airplanes; we expected it to always be thus. Somewhere in my archive I have some slides of the Weasels at work; will try to find them and get them scanned.

[Buzzard]

Thanks Skip for giving us your insight into these incredible pieces of history. I am proud to own and be able to preserve one.
Cheers, Bill

[Commander Eddie]

The WAAAM museum in Hood River Oregon has one which they use to give rides to visitors during their many events. They also use it during the winter in the snow. I hear it is loads of fun. I got a good look at it during one of their annual "Fly-ins" each September. I'd love to have one for my property as it is rough, sloped and could use a good plowing and scraping to make it easier to walk on and mow. Maybe the WAAAM will loan me theirs for a day.