Massey Discussion Forums > Massey Talk > M-H Tanks/Racine
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RE:M-H Tanks/Racine

Here are the last two photos of my Massey-Harris tank story.

One shows an M5 sat in the long grass as if waiting to pounce on an unexpecting enemy.

The second is a line up of four tanks.  The two on the left are T24s which were apparently the prototypes of the M24 "Chaffee" tank.  The two on the right are M36s.  I am not sure of the origins of these - they might not be M-H and just brought in for comparison.  However they were classed as "tank destroyers" and not a medium tank.  Note that famous water tower in the background!

There's a lot I don't know about this tank classification and terminology - it would be nice if a military man out there could educate us.

Now we urgently and anxiously await Gary's visit to Racine to see the tank near there and look for the water towers, and that M5 he has found in IN.

Back on the UK front I have stablished contact with the UK's major tank museum at Bovington Park in Dorset.  They have an M5 Stuart and an M24 Chaffee but both made by Cadillac and not M-H unfortunately; also an M5 made by American Car and Foundry Co.

If I learn any more about MH tanks I will be back on here. In the meantime maybe the Canadians can spring a surpise on us and have an M-H tank on parade at the Massey National  Paisley in August - a sight to behold!!!!!

John
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RE:M-H Tanks/Racine

This is an artist's impression of the M-H Racine Tank factory.  The photo here is slightly cropped because the original would not totally fit my scanner.

M-H acquired the factory from Nash-Kelvinator when it was lying unused.   This original factor is probably the main block of factory.  I believe that the two long sheds in the foreground may well be additional warehousing  constructed by M-H to enable them to fulfill their post war contract for the production of the M44 self propelled Howitzers.  I have read talk of a "feeder warehouse" for this operation.

Now then you Racine and Wisconsin folks - please get round the old tank and tractor factory sites and let us know what is left please with some photos.  This is real M-H history.

John
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RE:M-H Tanks/Racine

John,
You've made me very curious.  Racine is about 100 miles from me, but I took a do-it-yourself, virtual satellite tour this morning on www.map.google.com and Google Earth.  By searching on 2302 Mead St, Racine (an address of J.I.Case PlowWorks found on a 1919 ad), I located what may be the factory site.  From that address, go 2 blocks south and you'll see a site several city blocks in size that appears to be a razed factory site.  Only concrete foundations and floors - no structures remaining. 

Nearby (slightly to the east) there is a concrete oval track that has several low buildings and some red tractors (Case/IH?) parked nearby.

By playing with the controls on the page, you can get down to nearly street level view and scan the jorizon.  Sadly, there are no water towers nearby.......

Also on the subject of tanks, www.preservedtanks.com may be helpful for those looking for something new to take to the shows this summer.  It's an international registry.  Maybe some are available?
Jerry Thomas

Batavia, IL

RE:M-H Tanks/Racine

Thanks for the map info.

Last night I did a Google - Massey Harris Racine - and up came a useful site with a good map of the Racine area.  Maybe this would mean something to you and to correlate with.

As regards the water towers there was a solitary tall one there when Malcolm and I passed by in 1997 after the 150th anniversary show.  It had Massey Ferguson or MF boldly painted on it.  We were only doing a quick drive past so to speak as we were on our way from the show back to the airport and we didn't really know where we were or what we were looking for in those days.

Maybe I can yet get someone to scavenge me a brick from the factory to add to my extinct Massey factory bricks collection?  I additionally have an aluminium fire hydrant hose nozzle (here they call them branches for some reason unknown to me) marked MF out of the recently demolished MF tower block headquarters building in Coventry.  If I had got there earlier then I could have salvaged more but I was only a week before they blew it up.

John

RE:M-H Tanks/Racine

This M-H tank thread has really brought out into the open some very rare and interesting information with photogrpahs of Massey's involvment with the War Effort.


Whilst John is away this week I thought I had better keep his interesting thread going, over the next few days we will look at one of my favourite pieces of M-H Wartime Literature with the detail of how Massey Harris quickly turned their agricultural machinery manufacturing facilities into production for War Effort, it is amazing the amount of manufacturing they achieved.

This is a 10 X 8 inch brochure and the first photo's are the lovely embossed front cover and inside front pages.


Malcolm. 

   
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RE:M-H Tanks/Racine

For todays contribution we will start to look inside this piece of M-H literature and with this thread being focused on the tanks here is the tank and ammunition section.

Malcolm.
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RE:M-H Tanks/Racine

Moving onto more Massey Factory War Production and the manufacture of Naval gun mounts, wings for Mosquito fighter bombers and Avro Anson training aeroplanes.

Malcolm.
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RE:M-H Tanks/Racine

Today we look at other War Effort Massey Harris factories and employees were busy with, making many diverse items such as metal bodies for trucks, personnel carriers, anti aircraft carriers, radio trailers, even 1,200 ambulance bodies were made and much more.
I wonder if all these items had a Massey  Harris tag on? with any surviving today?

Of course there was also their Agricultural War Efforts too which we are more familiar with.

Malcolm.
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RE:M-H Tanks/Racine

Just to bring the week to a close and finalise this lovely piece of Massey Harris War Effort literature, attached is the page of how the Company kept their staff entertained and as happy as they could be in their work and leisure time, from theatre to singing and dancing and much more!!

Now John is back home hopefully he will keep this great tank thread moving along.

Malcolm.
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RE:M-H Tanks/Racine

Malcolm:

I think the picture with the combine may be reenacted someday with John in the leading tank and Triston and grandson in the next two cruising the streets of Bethesda. If you look close you can see the tower of St. Anne's in the backround. It could happen, I heard there were remains of a Massey Harris tank laying in Texas.

Joe