RWD vs FWD?

I think that it is a space saving thing as you have to run the driveline thru the hull to the final drive though I dont know why no one designed a trans axel in WW@ but I could be wrong.

It was probably a limitation of the ability to have the shifting controls in the front and the actual transmission in the rear. Perhaps technology required the transmission controls to be near the actual point of final drive.

The drive sprocket did eventually go to the rear when the T26E3 Pershing was developed. That tank used the same basic layout as most US medium tanks through the M60 series.

The drive sprocket has also gone back to the front in the armored personnel carrier and self propelled howitzer world. But these vehicles have their engines up front as well.

The IDF Merkava series has the motor pac up front, this allow a small area in the rear for personnel and provides a small degree of added crew protection.

I think its to do with where you put the slack.

I work with a lot of conveyor belts, and as a rule, its better to pull a belt than push it, as you get more controle. If you have too much slack, then the belt is liable to jump and run off the sides. A tank track is basically nothing more than a glorified conveyor belt. In my best engineering guesstimate, I reckon the designers must have cottoned on to the fact that whan a tank rotates around its axis, its best to have the side with the most pressure on it (i.e. the bit on the ground) nice and tight, to prevent it from jumping the road wheels. The gears on a bicycle work in the principle that the part of the chain with slack can be used to change gears. Also, changing gear under power can make you jump gears. Anyone who's done this and landed on the crossbar will agree with me here. Keeping the slack on top and out of the way of lateral forces will probably keep it on the roadwheels longer.

Thats all some great info. Thanks guys.

I think Michael nailed it. It would especially be a problem on vehicles with "dead" tracks because the trasck would take quite a beating as load varied.

Almost forgot to add that the drive sprockets would have to push all the slack under the first road wheel. All the slack would be between these, as beyond that the track in motion would be reasonably tight. Ever try pushing a letter trough a letterbox from the very end of the letter? It bends and folds in every direction before it actually goes in.