Of the two remaining T19 halftracks in the USA one, number 230, was converted either during or after the war into a M3 troop carrier. It is now owned by Jon Philbrook who has restored it into a as good as new M3A1 as you can see. He has christened it 'Iron Man', quite a fitting name for a halftrack!
Another guy in the states has taken this scrap section of chassis from a T19 and turned it into a beautiful example of a halftrack. Words fail me as to the amount of work he had to do. All he needs to do now is to add the 105 and its finished! The problem is getting this kind of stuff back into the States when it has been overseas. If someone knows how this can be done legally, I stress legally, I'll pass the information on to him. As you can imagine he will be MOST happy to hear from you! When finished this halftrack will have to be seen to be believed. Perhaps someone in the US Military reading this might be able to pull a few strings to get this guy the 105 he needs. After all, the T19 is the precursor to the M109A6 Paladin and as such deserves its place in history to be recognized.
In January 2009 the long awaited 105mm howitzer arrived, so plans can now be made to get the inch thick steel platform fabricated to sit the gun on.
As an interesting aside, if you click on the photo of the rear of the gun you will see an enlarged version. Note the date of the photograph of the prototype - end of November 1941. Full scale production was only two months away. This was the advantage of the T19 - little research and development was required to get it into service.
I am also looking for some other parts to help in the restoration (see below). If you have any information or leads that I could follow up I would be most grateful if you would take time to email me using the contact below. Perhaps a member of your family served in one and has a photograph or a recollection, or you know of any surviving drawings. Acknowledgments of help and updates on the restoration will be posted here.
With the exception of the gun mount and windshield the T19 shares the same components as the M3 halftrack as built by White, Autocar and Diamond T. If you have access to the following parts please contact me using the link below: