John Deere WWII contribution

[greenmachine86]

Take a look at these tractors.. there are some that John Deere modified with the intent of using them as war machines. I'd like to read more on it, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot out there... anyone found anything else on them?

Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah's Military Guys.. - Tired tractors posing as tanks...

 

[mfreund]

The A's originally were a project by Deere and the war department to see if a tractor could be easily made in to a suitable tank. The Deere tractors were too under powered and sank like rocks off of concrete. The project was abandoned. Deere's war effort returned to helping farmers make more food for the nation.

These were recreated by Paul Leyman of Perry Ia. He used a picture saved from the Aberdine Proving Grounds. Deere has no pictures in their archives. He used the size of the rear tires to gauge how to make the sides. The steel was made by a talented machine shop in central Ia. Both turants turn and the guns are real. They have been the feature of the Two Cylinder Club show in Waterloo. They have been shown at the Iowa State Fair and other fairs around the midwest. I also saw the wide front at the Farm Progress show in Boone Ia a few years ago. I think there is a list of where they will be on one of the owners web site.


Here is a link to one of the owners of the two tractors.

1940 JD Armored | Knapp-Tedesco Insurance Agency Inc, Auto, Life, Health, Homeowner, Renters, Quote, Independent, Ames, IA

 

[William Draper]

I don't know details but John Deere made transmissions for tanks to support the war effort. They were sold under the name of Iowa Transmission Company rather than John Deere.

The Two Cylinder Club might be able to provide more details.

 

[mfreund]

In the may/june 2006 and the sept/oct 2006 Two Cylinder magazine there are pictures of them. There may be more issues with more details.