Convertible Medium Tank M1.
This vehicle is prepared for wheeled movement. The tracks are stowed above and below the fenders by chains. Note that the driver has a steering wheel for wheeled travel, and that the front road wheels are turning towards the camera. When the tracks were installed steering was performed by levers and the steering wheel was removed from the steering column, while a lock prevented the steering column from turning the front road wheels. Although not mounted, the .50cal machine gun would be on the turret's right side, and the .30cal MG would be on the turret's left. The assistant driver's hatch is open as well, but the bow machine gun prevents him from having a hatch in the sloping front plate. (Picture from Development of Armored Vehicles, volume 1: Tanks.)
The tracks are installed on the vehicle in this shot. (Picture from Tank Data, vol. 1.)
The tank is seen from the opposite side with the tracks fitted. The turret featured a pistol port and vision slit on both sides and the rear.
The hull upper rear was dominated by air grating and the engine's exhaust pipes and mufflers. The right-side exhaust piping would typically enter the larger aperture in the louvres similar to the left pipe. The rear pistol port and vision slit can be seen.
The underside of the hull is seen from the front.
The underside of the hull is seen from the rear.
The driver was provided with a downward-hinged door in the hull in addition to his upward-hinged door for vision, but the assistant driver only had the latter due to the ball machine gun mount. Note the padlock hasp on the driver's vision door.
The .30cal M2HB machine gun is installed in the ball mount M8 in the right front hull, with a headlight and siren visible as well. (Picture from Weapon Mounts for Secondary Armament.)
The turret and front hull is seen from the right front. The assistant driver's side door is ajar, and a pistol port and vision slit are visible on the turret side. Note the bullet splash guards on the hull front under the drivers' doors.
A closer view of the drivers' doors is provided here. The hull side plates were attached with slotted screws.
The turret side pistol port and vision slit are highlighted in this image. The badge above the pistol port would show the crossed rifles of the Infantry branch.
A single hatch is present in the turret roof.
The machine above is shown during restoration by the US Army Armor and Cavalry Collection. The driver's doors are open, as well as the assistant driver's side door. The fenders have been dismounted, but their supports as well as the track retaining chains remain. At the rear, the engine and transmission louvres are raised.
The road wheel arms were provided with slots in the side armor to allow for their generous vertical travel.
Details of the drive sprocket and single-pin tracks are provided here.
Looking into the open engine compartment, the engine's cooling fan is visible to the front while its linkage to the transmission and the transmission itself are in the foreground.
With the bulkhead removed, the engine can be seen from the fighting compartment of the hull.
The instrument panel was located to the driver's left. The large white dial to the front is the tachometer, a temperature gauge is above and behind this, and the speedometer is the large dial at the rear. Note that the housing for one of the suspension springs is visible to the rear.
The driver's controls are shown here. The column pointing towards the driver was for the steering wheel when the tracks were stowed, and a lock for the wheel is at the end. Steering levers for tracked movement flank the steering column. The round, stubby parking brake handle is down and to the right of the steering column, and to the right of this pointing up and to the right is the gear shift lever. The driver's pedals can be seen as well, the clutch pedal to the left of the steering column, and the brake and accelerator to the right.
A brighter shot of the controls is provided in this image. Visible again are the steering wheel column and lock; steering levers; clutch, brake, and accelerator pedals; and the parking brake handle to the lower right.
The turret has been dismounted for the restoration. The aperture in the shield for the .50cal machine gun on the turret's right is obviously larger than that for the .30cal machine gun mounted on the left side of the turret. Holes for sighting are above the openings for the machine guns.
Looking up into the interior of the turret reveals the aperture for the roof hatch and details of the mounts for the .30cal machine gun on the left and the .50cal machine gun on the right.
The caliber .30 machine gun turret mount is seen from both the left and right. A mounting plate that was secured to the turret front contained elevation trunnions, while traverse was accomplished via a pintle at the base of the rotor. A locking device on the right trunnion could hold the gun at a desired elevation. A telescopic sight M1918 was attached to the machine gun, and a shield with outward-bent top and bottom edges was on the gun barrel casing. (Picture from Weapon Mounts for Secondary Armament.)
The caliber .50 machine gun turret mount was similar to that of the caliber .30 machine gun. However, on the .50cal mount the gun pintle socket was in a plate attached to the base of the rotor instead of being part of the rotor base itself; a traverse locking mechanism was connected to the crossbar of the triangular cradle extension attached to the base of the rotor; a shoulder rest, secondary grip, and trigger extension were used; the telescope mount had two points of contact instead of one; and the larger shield was flat. (Picture from Weapon Mounts for Secondary Armament.)
The barbette superstructure is shown here. A .30cal machine gun was mounted in each side and the rear of the superstructure in addition to the twin machine guns mounted in the front. The bow machine gun was also retained. The turreted vehicles were initially designated as the convertible medium tank T4 and the barbette-topped tanks were T4E1, but in spring 1939 both types were standardized as M1. (Picture from Development of Armored Vehicles, volume 1: Tanks.)
The bow machine gun is isolated in this image. The superstructure reached out over the tracks, and the fenders were extended from its front and rear corners. (Picture from Weapon Mounts for Secondary Armament.)
