The 'Semple' Tractor Tank

Amidst the chaos of the early months of World War II, an unconventional vehicle emerged from the unlikely setting of the islands of New Zealand, a nation with no tank building industry. This vehicle was a tank, born from more humble origins as a bulldozer used by the Public Works Department. Transformed from a humble civilian bulldozer to a tank for the army, this vehicle is now one of the most recognisable, albeit poorly understood vehicles of the war. The tank's name for many is even synonymous with failure as the 'Bob Semple' tank.

This impression, however, does not do justice to a vehicle designed at a time when many in New Zealand felt exposed and vulnerable and with few armoured alternatives. Like its contemporary tank from New Zealand: the Schofield Truck Tank - the production of the Semple tank is a tale of design and innovation in the face of shortages and opposition. The Semple Tank, rather than a failure is a testament to the will of New Zealand to fight and defend itself.

In this book, Andrew Hills provides a detailed and lengthy investigation into the remarkable story of this tank. How a group of skilled engineers managed to produce this vehicle despite a lack of resources and at times, public scorn and what happened to them. This is the complete story of the Semple Tank.