I have a little project going and I am looking for any pictures of Germans fixing thrown or broken tracks...preferably on a Panther. I've got some general photos and have a pretty good idea of how I want to position the tracks and crew.

In particular, I'm looking for pictures of German track pullers...I believe that is the term....to use to scratchbuild an example. They are a type winch to pull the two track ends together. I've seen the ones used for modern tanks like the Abrams. I thought there was one mounted on the side of one of my Panther based tanks. I've checked them and my references and haven't found any thing.

Thanks in advance.

I believe they used the skinny cable (of a Panther) to wrap around the drive sprocket and winch the end of the track forward over the road wheels. MiniArt have a good set of Panzer troops repairing their track. You could use their box art as an example of the repair job.

I've seen pictures of them using the small cable. What I am talking about is a ratchet or turn-screw tool they attached to the track ends once they were pulled within a few inches of each other. The tool would be used to bring the two ends together and hold them in place while the pin is inserted.

I've seen a picture of it in-use. I don't know if it didn't work well or might have been disliked by the crews. For what I am planning it's just a minor detail. Unless I can find a reference for it I'll just leave it out.

Thanks though.

The name of the device is Kettenschliesser.