thedrifter
10-06-07, 11:39 AM
Man rebuilds tank forerunner from World War I
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Oct 6, 2007 10:16:16 EDT
DOUGLAS, N.D. — John Novodvorsky Jr. has been working for five years to rebuild a World War I 5-ton Holt crawler tractor, the forerunner of the tank. He’s had help from family members and neighbors to restore what he believes is the only one of its kind in North Dakota.
Novodvorsky’s grandson, David Novodvorsky, helped rebuild the crawler.
Everything is original on the crawler except a large part of the armor. Some of the original armor still has dents from being hit by bullets.
“It’s built according to spec — even the rivets are spaced accordingly,” Novodvorsky said.
His wife, Evernne, his grandson, David, and David’s two sisters, Jana and Kris Novodvorsky, did the riveting.
Novodvorsky said the crawlers mainly were used by the Army to pull artillery.
“After the war, they brought us all this stuff back and the government sold them out like to municipalities and counties,” Novodvorsky said. “It about broke the Holt company because the government was competing with Holt.”
He first thought of rebuilding the crawler about 10 years ago, but he knew it would take a lot of work.
“It was in pieces except the undercarriage. The engine was in pieces,” he said.
Eugene Field, a neighbor, helped with the tracks, Novodvorsky said.
Its speed is, “5 mph, maybe 10 mph,” David Novodvorsky said. “It’s too fast for farming.”
His grandfather, a member of the Military Vehicle Collectors Association, plans to show the crawler at the association’s show next June at the Dakota Territory Air Museum in Minot.
Novodvorsky said he farmed with crawler tractors for seven years.
“I’m still buying crawler tractors,” he said. “I’ve got them stacked all over. I’ve got a couple of them in the shop I’m going to finish.”
One at the top of his list is a Caterpillar R5 formerly owned by the government and used by the Civilian Conservation Corps. He plans to paint it green to honor the CCC.
The R, he said, stands for Roosevelt.
Ellie
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Oct 6, 2007 10:16:16 EDT
DOUGLAS, N.D. — John Novodvorsky Jr. has been working for five years to rebuild a World War I 5-ton Holt crawler tractor, the forerunner of the tank. He’s had help from family members and neighbors to restore what he believes is the only one of its kind in North Dakota.
Novodvorsky’s grandson, David Novodvorsky, helped rebuild the crawler.
Everything is original on the crawler except a large part of the armor. Some of the original armor still has dents from being hit by bullets.
“It’s built according to spec — even the rivets are spaced accordingly,” Novodvorsky said.
His wife, Evernne, his grandson, David, and David’s two sisters, Jana and Kris Novodvorsky, did the riveting.
Novodvorsky said the crawlers mainly were used by the Army to pull artillery.
“After the war, they brought us all this stuff back and the government sold them out like to municipalities and counties,” Novodvorsky said. “It about broke the Holt company because the government was competing with Holt.”
He first thought of rebuilding the crawler about 10 years ago, but he knew it would take a lot of work.
“It was in pieces except the undercarriage. The engine was in pieces,” he said.
Eugene Field, a neighbor, helped with the tracks, Novodvorsky said.
Its speed is, “5 mph, maybe 10 mph,” David Novodvorsky said. “It’s too fast for farming.”
His grandfather, a member of the Military Vehicle Collectors Association, plans to show the crawler at the association’s show next June at the Dakota Territory Air Museum in Minot.
Novodvorsky said he farmed with crawler tractors for seven years.
“I’m still buying crawler tractors,” he said. “I’ve got them stacked all over. I’ve got a couple of them in the shop I’m going to finish.”
One at the top of his list is a Caterpillar R5 formerly owned by the government and used by the Civilian Conservation Corps. He plans to paint it green to honor the CCC.
The R, he said, stands for Roosevelt.
Ellie