I attend a writers’ critique group. One of the other members is writing a novel about a character working in a National Guard motor pool after WWII. He mentions a Fox halftrack. Internet research tells me that US halftracks were built by White, Diamond-T, and Autocar, plus a few by International Harvester. Was there ever a Fox halftrack?
No. In fact, half-tracks were phased out fairly quickly after the war in favor of full-tracked vehicles.
The only thing I can think of would be Rommel’s half - track; you know, Rommel, the Desert Fox. Probably not, though.
Thanks for verifying my research.
I am sure some National Guard units would have had halftracks after the war–they always get the old stuff.
Robert
Somehow, I don’t think so. And yot, I’ll have to ask the writer. But, I can’t imagine how a US National Guard unit would wind up with a German halftrack.
Robert
The postwar British army had a Fox armored car - a 4x4. There was also the postwar German Fuchs, which was another armored car, this time a 6x6.
The WW2 US Army did not generally name its vehicles - the British named what they received under Lend-Lease and the names became popularized during and after the war. For instance the wartime British-named Sherman tank was usually just known as an M-4 in the US military. The wartime US half tracks were called halftracks or M-2, M-3, etc.
It never occurred to me that it might be a nickname (like the duck, weasel, alligator, etc.). But I haven’t found any reference to a US vehicle called a fox.
Robert
As the poster above says, The Fox was an armoured car and was made by Alvis. (My brother bought one and restored it)
There is a Centaur half-track, which is a hybrid of an Alvis Scorpion and a Land Rover.
Don’t assume that when someone talks of a “half-track”, they actually mean “vehicle with tracks and wheels”. The term might be a hangover from the days when it meant just that, but used by old-timers who are actually referring to the APC (Armoured Personnel Carrier) which superceded the half-track.
At the end of the War, lots of surplus vehicles were swiped by the victorious Allies - Panzer tanks were sold off to the Israelis, others were used as target practice on firing ranges, for example.
Perhaps some German Half-tracks were shipped home for domestic use and given the generic name “Fox”, so as to disguise their origins as war booty?
That doesn’t seem likely to me. German halftracks came in a few different designs, but most or all of them were so different from American halftracks that it would have been impossible to hide their origin.
Robert