Calling all Treadheads!! (Wall of text alert!)
Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2023 10:58 pm
I need some help from any of the Armor and Mech. Infantry types who lurk here.
I’m trying to figure out what equipment to give the Texas Army / Marine Corps for upcoming parts of the third book in the ‘Republic of Texas Navy’ series. Hopefully y’all have read the first two books of the series. Here are my basic starting assumptions:
1. The Texas Army has a long tradition of operating as mounted infantry and horse artillery. They have always placed a premium on mobility because of the size of the area they need to cover and their likely opponents (bandits, un-settled Indians, Mexican Army, and U.S. Cavalry). The Marine Corps had been traditional sea-service troops. For constitutional reasons, large parts of the Army have been transferred to the Marine Corps for service overseas.
2. The Army & Marine Corps began modernizing in the early 1920’s, after reviewing the reports from observers on several fronts of the Great War.The Army had previously issued license-made Winchester 1873 and 1892 carbines in .44-40 along with Remington Rolling-Block rifles for long-range work. The Marines also used the Winchester carbines. Both services adopted a new rifle in 1925, a shortened M1917 Enfield (Texas bought the Remington-Eddystone tooling & jigs after that factory closed) in .300 Savage with detachable box magazines. They adopted a version of the Czech ZB-28 machine gun, (similar to the BREN gun), in the same chambering. They went for .300 Savage because their research & testing led them to conclude they could get sufficient effective range and stopping power in a much lighter, lower recoiling gun. The rifle and machine gun can share magazines, the rifle is usually issued with 15 round mags, the MG 40 round.
They also make the .50 Browning MG under license, mostly for aircraft but they are also usable on the ground.
For heavier stuff, Texas licensed production of the Flak 18 88mm (3.5”) anti-aircraft gun from the pre-Nazi government of Germany, including the control systems. They manufacture those, along with shortened and simplified versions as regular towed artillery. They also make a 5” (127mm) howitzer derived from the 5”/51 naval gun. Since they are spinning up production of an 8”/55 gun for a new class of cruisers, there is also the possibility for an 8” gun or howitzer in the near future. All of these guns have AP and HE rounds available. They recently developed recoilless rifles, in 88 and 127 mm versions.
Finally they make a 1” (25.4mm) auto-cannon, similar to the 25mm Bushmaster chain gun, designed to be mounted in aircraft and on vehicles. This has AP and HE rounds. There is a single-shot gun in this caliber that was made for testing and development of the cartridge that can also be used as a light anti-armor gun. This is the same round as used in the 1” motorized gatling guns that the Texas Navy uses for shipboard AA defense,
3. Texas is willing to buy foreign designs, but prefers to manufacture locally to minimize dependence on other countries.They have several home-grown motor vehicle manufacturers, as well as plants owned / operated by Ford and General Motors. Armor can be made in the same plants that make it for the shipbuilding industry, up to a maximum of 6” thick plates.
4. They prefer to use diesel engines wherever possible, to minimize the risk of fire / explosions.
I wrote all that so I can ask you this: If Texas started looking at mechanization in the early 1920’s, what would be reasonable for them to have in the way of troop transports and armored fighting vehicles by mid 1940? I was thinking of something like the deuce-and-a-half for the standard truck, with a half-tracked version of that for off-road use, along with armored cars mounting .50 cal MGs or 1” single-shot or auto-cannons.
For the scouting forces, I was thinking about a 3-wheeled motorcycle. Picture a Harley WLA crossed with a Can-Am Spyder. This would be able to pull a small utility trailer or a carriage for an MG, mortar, or recoilless.
Finally, what would be a reasonable tank for them to have in development but not quite ready for production at that time?
I’m trying to figure out what equipment to give the Texas Army / Marine Corps for upcoming parts of the third book in the ‘Republic of Texas Navy’ series. Hopefully y’all have read the first two books of the series. Here are my basic starting assumptions:
1. The Texas Army has a long tradition of operating as mounted infantry and horse artillery. They have always placed a premium on mobility because of the size of the area they need to cover and their likely opponents (bandits, un-settled Indians, Mexican Army, and U.S. Cavalry). The Marine Corps had been traditional sea-service troops. For constitutional reasons, large parts of the Army have been transferred to the Marine Corps for service overseas.
2. The Army & Marine Corps began modernizing in the early 1920’s, after reviewing the reports from observers on several fronts of the Great War.The Army had previously issued license-made Winchester 1873 and 1892 carbines in .44-40 along with Remington Rolling-Block rifles for long-range work. The Marines also used the Winchester carbines. Both services adopted a new rifle in 1925, a shortened M1917 Enfield (Texas bought the Remington-Eddystone tooling & jigs after that factory closed) in .300 Savage with detachable box magazines. They adopted a version of the Czech ZB-28 machine gun, (similar to the BREN gun), in the same chambering. They went for .300 Savage because their research & testing led them to conclude they could get sufficient effective range and stopping power in a much lighter, lower recoiling gun. The rifle and machine gun can share magazines, the rifle is usually issued with 15 round mags, the MG 40 round.
They also make the .50 Browning MG under license, mostly for aircraft but they are also usable on the ground.
For heavier stuff, Texas licensed production of the Flak 18 88mm (3.5”) anti-aircraft gun from the pre-Nazi government of Germany, including the control systems. They manufacture those, along with shortened and simplified versions as regular towed artillery. They also make a 5” (127mm) howitzer derived from the 5”/51 naval gun. Since they are spinning up production of an 8”/55 gun for a new class of cruisers, there is also the possibility for an 8” gun or howitzer in the near future. All of these guns have AP and HE rounds available. They recently developed recoilless rifles, in 88 and 127 mm versions.
Finally they make a 1” (25.4mm) auto-cannon, similar to the 25mm Bushmaster chain gun, designed to be mounted in aircraft and on vehicles. This has AP and HE rounds. There is a single-shot gun in this caliber that was made for testing and development of the cartridge that can also be used as a light anti-armor gun. This is the same round as used in the 1” motorized gatling guns that the Texas Navy uses for shipboard AA defense,
3. Texas is willing to buy foreign designs, but prefers to manufacture locally to minimize dependence on other countries.They have several home-grown motor vehicle manufacturers, as well as plants owned / operated by Ford and General Motors. Armor can be made in the same plants that make it for the shipbuilding industry, up to a maximum of 6” thick plates.
4. They prefer to use diesel engines wherever possible, to minimize the risk of fire / explosions.
I wrote all that so I can ask you this: If Texas started looking at mechanization in the early 1920’s, what would be reasonable for them to have in the way of troop transports and armored fighting vehicles by mid 1940? I was thinking of something like the deuce-and-a-half for the standard truck, with a half-tracked version of that for off-road use, along with armored cars mounting .50 cal MGs or 1” single-shot or auto-cannons.
For the scouting forces, I was thinking about a 3-wheeled motorcycle. Picture a Harley WLA crossed with a Can-Am Spyder. This would be able to pull a small utility trailer or a carriage for an MG, mortar, or recoilless.
Finally, what would be a reasonable tank for them to have in development but not quite ready for production at that time?