Bob Semple Tank: New Zealand's DIY Armored Tractor
When Japan threatened the Pacific in 1940, New Zealand had zero tanks and no way to import any. Public Works Minister Bob Semple took matters into his own hands, ordering his engineers to build armored vehicles from whatever was available. The result was corrugated iron armor bolted onto Caterpillar D8 tractor chassis, armed with six Bren light machine guns. The "Bob Semple Tank" was born, and it was terrible in almost every measurable way.
The vehicle weighed about 25 tons but could barely manage walking speed. The corrugated manganese steel armor would have been penetrated by heavy machine gun fire. Crew members operating the side and rear guns had to lie on mattresses placed over the engine, enduring heat, fumes, and vibrations that made accurate shooting essentially impossible. Only three were built before the program was mercifully cancelled. Yet the Bob Semple Tank earned an unlikely legacy: it proved that a country with nothing but determination and farm equipment would at least try to defend itself, and that spirit, if not the vehicle, deserves respect.
