Half-Track Motor Vehicle

Half-Track Motor Vehicle

 

a motor vehicle with front wheels and a chain-track drive system instead of rear wheels. The design results in an improved cross-country capability.

The first half-track motor vehicle was built in Russia in 1909 by the French mechanic A. Caigress. In 1916 the Putilov Plant became the first in the world to manufacture an armored halftrack motor vehicle, called the Austin-Putilovets-Caigress. During the 1920’s the Citroën-Caigress made its appearance in France and was used in the deserts of North Africa. Soviet versions of a half-track motor vehicle were the GAZ-60, manufactured from 1938 to 1942, and the ZIS-42, from 1942 to 1943. Subsequently, half-track motor vehicles were superseded by multiaxle vehicles with wide cross-section tires.