great war military vehicles

8/10/2019 Great War Military Vehicles

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12 MILITARY MACHINES INTERNATIONAL NOVEMBER 2014

LEFT...

Photographed in a London

Mews we see a line-up of

Brish Peerless trucks that

had been handed over to

the recently arrived

American forces. US

markings are just visible

on the bonnet.

RIGHT...

Photographed in Belgium

this Peerless truck was made

in Cleveland Ohio, purchased

by the Brish who loaned it

to the Australians!


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NOVEMBER 2014MILITARY MACHINES INTERNATIONAL 13

An arms race raged across

Europe in the years running up

to 1914 as the prospect of war

seemed inevitable and every

country readied itself for the ancipated

conflict. Having beer weapons than

your opponent was an advantage, but the

speed of mobilisaon was considered to

be absolutely crucial, and it was thought

that the country that could put an

organised army into the field before its

opponent would quickly win the war. At

the me the railways, supported by horse-

drawn wagons and steam tracon engines,

were considered to be the most effecve

way of moving the large amounts of

equipment and ammunion that would be

necessary for a European War, however,

this line of thinking changed shortly aer

1896 when Golieb Daimler designed

the first truck powered by an internal

combuson engine.

SUBVENTION SCHEMESThe German military experimented

with the Daimler truck in 1898 and

quickly realised its potenal. Aer

purchasing cars, motorcycles and trucks

for further tests, the military were

suitably enamoured with the idea of

mechanized transport, and in 1907 theyintroduced a subvenon scheme. Under

this scheme purchasers of a truck of

an approved design would receive an

inial cash subsidy on purchase followed

by a payment (if the vehicle had been

maintained in a sasfactory condion) at

the end of each year on the understanding

that they would hand it over to the Army

in me of naonal emergency. This gave

the army a large pool of well-maintained

trucks to draw upon in the event of war

without having to pay for them in advance,

and similar schemes were quickly adopted

by Austria and France, with the Brish WarOffi ce following suit in 1911.

When war broke out in 1914 the

subsidised vehicles were immediately

called up, but it was soon found that the

subvenon schemes had not provided the

volume of mechanical transport required,

and while the schemes were sound in

their operaon, they had simply not

been running long enough to register the

number of vehicles required so addional

trucks were sought from every other

available source.

Civilian vehicles were impressed,

domesc manufacture was stepped up

and vehicles were purchased from other

countries with surplus capacity. Belgium

and Russia had no established truck

industry to call upon so purchased trucks

from Britain, France and the United States

and by the wars end Britain had supplied

to Belgium 816 trucks, 352 cars and vans,

2,020 motorcycles and 22,861 bicycles.

Meanwhile Britain had supplied 1,126

trucks (mostly manufactured by AEC,

Ausn, Burford and Napier) while the

United States had provided predominantly

Garford, Locomobile, Packard and White

trucks to Russia. Britain went on to supply

vehicles to Italy, Rumania and France with

the largest number going to the United

States who received more from Britain

than had been supplied to all of the otherallied naons put together.

The end result was that the allies had

an incredibly diverse mixture of trucks,

which must have made their maintenance

very diffi cult. This arcle certainly could

not cover every single make of vehicle

used by the allies, but seeks to give an

insight into the most common types and

demonstrates how the allied naons

supplied trucks to each other, however,

further informaon on this subject and

a much more detailed account can be

found in the book Brish Military Trucks

of World War One that was recentlypublished by Tankograd Publicaons.

RIGHT...

Photographed

in Belgium

this Peerless

truck was

made in

Cleveland

Ohio,

purchased

by the Brish

who loaned

it to the

Australians!


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AECThe Associated Equipment

Company (AEC) was set up in

June 1912 by Londons largest

bus operator the London

General Omnibus Company

(LGOC) to build and repair

their London buses. In March

1915 the first Y Type truck

le the factory, but due to a

complicated agreement with

the rival bus builder Daimler,

the AEC built chassis were

fied with Daimler engines and

badged as Daimlers up unl

December 1917. Aer this date

they were fied with 7720cc

JB4 engines manufactured

by Tyler. By the wars end

6,334 AEC Y Types had been

supplied, a large number of

which went to the American

Expedionary Force such as this

convoy of mail trucks.

ALBIONEstablished in Glasgow in 1899 Albion trucks were chain drive,

that is power was transmied to the back wheels by chains

running from shas on each side of the gearbox to sprockets

on the inside of the rear wheels. This was not a preferred

system within the subsidy scheme and for which accreditaon

was not applied. Despite this, the War Department placed

large orders for this Model A10 and by the wars end 5,563

had been purchased. Other Albion models, the A3 and A6

also served having been impressed in small numbers from

private operators.

BELSIZEIn the early stages of the war it was quite common to see trucks painted

with patrioc slogans such as the Are we downhearted no and the This

way to Berlin slogan, which appears on this Belsize. The Manchester-based

Belsize Motors built a range of cars and trucks from 1897 up unl 1925

when it closed its doors for the final me. Belsize did not build trucks underthe subsidy scheme but they were purchased by the War Department to

help alleviate the shortage of mechanical transportaon. Although some

went to serve on the Western front the majority seem to have been used

for driver training in Great Britain.

GREAT BRITAIN & DOMINIONS

The Brish Army had the record for having

the largest number of trucks in service

by the wars end. Starng the war with

just 80 trucks, Great Britain finished

the conflict with 59,940. The subvenon or

subsidy scheme was very successful in selecng

trucks suitable for the military, however, by the

me the war started just 700 trucks had been

registered under the scheme. This number was

augmented by the Government taking control of

the motor industry, impressing trucks (and many

hundreds of London buses), and by purchasing

trucks from overseas, most notably the USA, but

also Switzerland and Italy.

The South African and ANZAC forces had

very lile mechanical transport of their own to

draw upon when they went to war and had to

rely on those loaned by their allies. The Brish

War Offi ce were allegedly not very generous

and provided trucks that had seen beer

days and were already in poor condion. The

ANZACs received trucks predominantly made by

Thornycro, Dennis, Lacre, Commer, Leyland,

Peerless and FWD.

Canada, with its proximity to the United

States predominantly purchased American-

built trucks such as Kelly Springfield, Peerless,

Packard and White. In addion to these the

Brish War Offi ce transferred large numbers

of trucks already in Brish service such as

Daimler, Seabrook Standard, Thornycro,

Halley, Locomobile, Leyland and Commer to

the Canadian forces.


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COMMERThe Luton-based Company of Commer Car produced a wide range of

different truck models most of which were impressed into service at some

stage through the war. The 3-ton RC model (such as this one) was found to

be parcularly suitable and despite being chain driven, the War Department

purchased in the region of 2,500 of them. The War Department was not

parcularly enamoured with the idea of chain drive as they felt them to be

too noisy and required regular cleaning. To overcome this problem Commer

enclosed the chain in a metal case, which protected it from flying dirt and

reduced noise levels very slightly. Commer, despite sll using chain drive, was

well ahead of its me by adopng a pre-selector gearbox, which necessitated

new drivers taking a special course to become proficient in its operaon.

CROSSLEYThe 4,531 cc engine in this Crossley gave it a top speed of 55mph,

which compared favourably to most other Brish army trucks at

this me, which had a top speed of just 15mph. The Manchester-

based Crossley Motors Ltd supplied approximately 6,000 of these

20/25hp chassis to the War Offi ce of which the majority went tothe Royal Flying Corps (RFC) who fied them with a body of their

own design and referred to them as Light Tenders. The Crossley

also made a handsome staff car of which two were assigned to

each RFC Squadron.

DENNISGuildford-based Dennis

manufactured approximately

3,500 of these 3-ton A Type

trucks under the subsidy

scheme and is now the

only surviving Brish truck

manufacturer from the

Great War, which sll makes

commercial vehicles today.

Fied with a 49.6bhp engine

manufactured by White and Poppe of Coventry, the Dennis had a good

reputaon for reliability with the excepon of the chassis which had a

habit of cracking, but this was more likely a result of the poor roads of

the Western Front when combined with the soldiers habit of overloading.

Also well known for producing the N Type fire engine, both this and the

A Type were used by Brish and American forces throughout the war.

HALLFORDHallford trucks

qualified for

treatment under the

War Department

subsidy scheme

and by the wars

end nearly 2,000

were in military

service. Readers

will note a similarity

with several other

trucks in this arcle, most notably the bonnet and radiator of the PierceArrow and that it is chain drive with the chains being protected from dirt

by the large cases inside the rear wheels. The radiator is protected from

accidental damage by the large metal plates each side which hold a heavy

metal bar in front of it.

HALLEYThe Glasgow-based

Halley Industrial Motors

is a name that most

readers would not be

familiar with, but in 1914

it was one of the ten

largest Brish vehicle

manufacturers. Halley

produced a wide range

of commercial vehicles and in 1914 the Government took over the control

of producon making the Company direct its efforts to building the Model

B35 (as seen here) and the producon of arllery shells. The Halley was

predominantly used on the home front for driver training purposes and to

assist in essenal war related industries such as munions producon.

DAIMLERDaimler trucks served on both sides of the trenches throughout

the war. Inially established in Germany by Goleib Daimler, the

patent for a two-cylinder engine was sold to a Frederick Simms

who established the Daimler Motor Car Company Ltd in Coventry

in 1896. No further relaonship existed between the companies.

The Brish Daimler started building luxury cars, but soon turned

its hand to buses and commercial vehicles. When war broke

out Daimler directed their services to the war effort. The MET

bus Company had 70 D Type buses commandeered and takento Belgium, which was followed by a further 247 most of which

were converted to trucks. A range of other models was to follow

including 2,507 3-ton Y Types (such as this one), nearly 2,000 of

the 30cwt CB model as well as ambulances and staff cars.


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LEYLANDNearly 6,500

Leyland trucks

served with the

Brish forcesduring World

War One. The

majority of these

were the WO

Subsidy Class

A Type 5000,

also known aer

the end of the

war as the RAF

Leyland. The

Company was formed in 1896 to make steam wagons and was originally

known as the Lancashire Steam Motor Company and made their first

petrol-powered truck in 1904 changing the name to Leyland Motors

three years later. Leyland supplied some of the earliest motor truckspurchased by the War Offi ce and in 1913 the newly designed A Type

Leyland was accepted under the subsidy scheme. In 1914 the subsidised

Leylands were called up into service alongside many impressed civilian

Leylands trucks.

KARRIERKarrier is another once famous Brish name that disappeared

in the early 1970s. Throughout the war Karrier provided nearly

2,000 of their trucks for military service, the majority being like

this, the three ton WDS Model subsidy lorry. At the start of the

war many of the cab over engine A Type and more convenonal

appearance B Type Karriers were impressed into military

service with most of these sll in service at the wars end. Like

several other Brish trucks the WDS Karrier was fied with an

engine manufactured by Tylor.

LGOCThe London General Omnibus Company (LGOC) was formed in 1855 to

operate the London bus routes. The LGOC inially used horsepower, but

from 1904 purchased a variety of motor buses before building their own

X Type in 1909 followed by the famous B Type in 1910. In October 1914

300 B Type buses were taken to France to be used for carrying troops,

although on landing many had their bus body removed and were fied

with a general service type body such as this one. By the wars end 1,319

B Types had gone to France with a further 300 staying in Britain. Many of

those that had gone overseas were sold back to the LGOC who refurbished

them and put them back on the streets of London.

MAUDSLAYThe Coventry based motor manufacturer of Maudslay designed a

3-ton truck to meet the specificaons of the subsidy scheme but

it broke down on both occasions that it was being tested. Despite

this setback it was accepted under the scheme with some of the

producon ulmately being contracted to the Meteor works of the

Rover Company also based in Coventry.

NAPIEROne of the most important Brish precision engineering companies

at this me was Napier. In the run up to the war they had developed

a reputaon for building engines, luxury cars and a range of

commercial vehicles. It is not surprising therefore that they receivedorders for the construcon of aero engines and commercial vehicles

in the 3 -ton, 1 -ton and - ton range. By the end of the war Napier

had manufactured for the War Department in the region of 2,000

trucks. This picture shows a line up of 3 -ton Model B74 trucks.

LACREThe Lacre Motor Car

Company was named

aer the locaon of its

London factory (Long

Acre). Formed in 1902 to

build cars and light vans

they started making a

range of trucks from 1909

and in 1914 producon

was taken over by the

War Department. Lacre

produced approximately

100 of these 35hp

O Types which were

used by the War

Department, Royal

Flying Corps and the

Royal Navy.


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TILLING STEVENSTilling Stevens of Maidstone were pioneers in the design of petrol-

electric vehicles. The rear wheels were powered by a tracon motor,

which received current from an electrical generator powered by the

engine. This method might seem long-winded, but it removed the

need for a gearbox and was therefore easier for novice drivers. A

variaon of the petrol electric

system was used on some 3-ton

Dennis trucks (creang the

Dennis Stevens) the generator

of which was ideal for thepowering of searchlights. Only

a handful of Tilling Stevens

trucks were used by the Brish

War Department although the

French Army purchased several

hundred (like this one) to use

for instrucng new drivers.

SEABROOK STANDARDIn 1896 brothers Herbert and Percy Seabrook set up a London business

to make bicycle parts. From 1911 they started imporng and selling

cars that had been made in Detroit by Regal. Just a few years later they

started imporng 2, 3 and 5-ton truck chassis made by the Standard

Motor Truck Company of Detroit, which they would assemble and

market under the name Seabrook Standard. Sharing common aributes

of many other American-

built trucks of this me it

has wooden wheels and

exposed drive chainsto the rear wheels.

The actual number

purchased by the Brish

War Department is

not recorded but was

probably in the low

hundreds.

WOLSELEYWolseley was a luxury

car manufacturer that in

the years just prior to the

war reintroduced truckmanufacturing and supplied

trucks under the War

Department subsidy scheme.

This 3-ton A Type Model CR6

displays the black cat emblem

of 818 Company Army Service

Corps and if the top tank of

the radiator is anything to go

by it has recently boiled over.

Wolseley was the smallest

supplier of trucks built under

the subsidy scheme with just

385 being produced during the

war. Wolseley also produced asmall number of 2-ton Model

CL trucks as well as the 12cwt

model CU that was really a car

with a basic pick up type body.

PAGEFIELDThe Pagefield N Type truck was made by the Wigan-based company

of Walker Brothers. Accepted by the War Department for inclusion

within the subvenon scheme shortly aer it was tested in 1913,

the N Type was the first truck registered under the subsidy scheme

to be taken into service in 1914. Walker Brothers was not a big

concern producing just two chassis a week in September 1916. Their

producon was taken over enrely by the War Department and

despite plans to increase producon less than 500 Pagefields were inservice by the wars end.

THORNYCROFTThe disncve disc wheels on the Thornycro J Type make it one

of the most instantly recognisable trucks of the Great War. With a

background in building steam ships, Thornycro started building

steam wagons in 1895, one of which was purchased by the Royal

Engineers in 1899 with 10 more subsequently being purchased for

use in South Africa. Thornycro went on to build trucks powered

by the internal combuson engine and it was their J Type that was

accepted under the subsidy scheme and of which approximately

5,000 were supplied to the War Department. This example has beenfied with both an unusual set of markings and body type.


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AUTOCARPhotographed here

while being tested

by the US Army on

manoeuvres is an

Autocar UF21 fied

with a Command

car type body. The

Autocar is best

remembered for its

use by the Canadian

Army, who purchased

20 for use by the 1st Motor Machine Gun Brigade (including eight

armoured versions each equipped with two machine guns), which

were used with great effect against the German offensive in March

1918. The Brish Army also used the Autocar in greater numbers.

Fied with a general service type body, 189 Autocars were used in

East Africa while a further 265 were fied with a rectangular tank and

used on the Western Front for carrying water.

FORDThe ubiquitous Model

T Ford chassis was

purchased in vast

numbers by the allies.

Predominantly used

as ambulances or

field cars, they were

also fied out as vans

or light trucks. Theirlight construcon

enabled them to travel through the muddy condions with much

more ease than the heavier trucks and if they did get stuck it was

fairly straighorward to manhandle them free. This Model T has been

fied with a very basic, locally made pick up type body.

FWDBuilt by the Four Wheel Drive Automobile Corporaon of Clintonville

Wisconsin the FWD Model B was the most successful four-wheel drive

truck of World War One. Power was transmied from the Wisconsin

6.39-litre engine through a central differenal to the front and back

axles. This differenal could be locked to prevent the power going to just

one axle. To meet demand the FWD was also made under licence by the

Companies of Peerless,

Premier, Mitchell and

Kissel. A copy of the

truck was also made

in the UK where it

was known as the

Brish Quad. By the

wars end over 16,000

FWDs had been built

for the allies.

GARFORDIn 1914 the Ohiobased Garford motor

truck company

supplied a number

of their 5-ton truck

chassis to the

Imperial Russian

Government who

fied them with 1

76.2mm gun and

an armoured car body made at Pulov. This 9-ton monster was the

excepon to the lighter trucks, which follow into military service.

The Brish War Department purchased the 0.75-ton Model 66

(as seen here receiving a fresh coat of paint) and the 1-ton model

75 in small numbers primarily for use as water tankers. While theUS Army purchased 1,010 of the 1 and a 1/2-ton trucks and 978 of

the standardised Liberty B trucks. Garford barely survived the

depression and was taken over in 1933 by Consolidated Motors

when the Garford name was dropped.

DODGEWith the construcon

of complete vehiclescommencing in 1915

Dodge was a relave

latecomer to the

automove industry

having since 1900

just manufactured

automove parts for

other Detroit based businesses. Dodges first military vehicle was a

Type 30 touring car, which was used with great success in the hunt

for Pancho Villa. With a reputaon for reliability by the end of the

war, the US Army had purchased 7,376 Dodge staff cars, 2,644 light

delivery trucks and 1,012 light repair trucks like this one.

FEDERALOnce a well-known

American quality

truck manufacturer,

the name of this

Detroit based

Company disappeared

in 1959. Federals

contribuon to the

war effort in WW2 is

well known, but its

greatest contribuon

during WW1 was the

construcon of 1,000 of the Heavy Aviaon trucks designed for theUS Air Service that carried the AS name on the radiator and the cab.

During the fighng on the Mexican border and throughout the war

Federal did provide some trucks in their own name comprising 53

5-ton trucks and 85 of their 3.5-ton trucks like this one.

UNITED STATES

Despite the intenon to remain neutral,

America was inexorably brought into the

conflict, declaring war on Germany on

April 6 1917. One year earlier the United

States had launched a punive expedion into

Mexico to hunt down the bandit Pancho Villa.

At that me the US Army had approximately

200 trucks and cars in service, a number that

immediately proved to be inadequate. Many

hundreds more were quickly purchased from

various manufacturers for use in the hosle

Mexican terrain. Leading the expedion

was General Pershing who developed an

understanding and appreciaon of mechanical

transport that proved crucial when he became

the leader of the American Expedionary Force.

Having access to the vast American

automove industry was of lile consequence as

the US Army was simply not able to transport all

the trucks required to France in me. To alleviate

the shorall the US Army borrowed trucks from

Britain (who supplied 4,306) and France, many

of which had actually been manufactured in the

United States and supplied to their allies. As a

result the United States had an incredibly diverse

range of vehicles comprising 294 different makes

and models.



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GMCThe most common

product of the

General Motors

Corporaon during

the war was the Model 16AA heavy ambulance of which 5,553 were

built by the wars end. This ambulance could carry four stretchersor eight seated passengers. This photograph shows a 1-ton GMC

model 23 of which 2,401 were used by the military. GMCs other large

contribuon was 1,888 Light Aviaon trucks, which were designed

and built to standardised specificaons specially for the Air Service by

GMC, Republic, Paige and Denby.

GRAMM BERNSTEINIf it wasnt for the name Gramm Bernstein, which appears on the

front cross member, you would not be able to idenfy the truck.

Gramm Bernstein was based in Lima, Ohio and sold a small number

of 1-ton trucks to the Brish War Department. These had a poor

reputaon for reliability and no more were purchased. The US army

desperate for trucks

of all sorts purchased

66 examples of the 3

-ton trucks like this

one unl the company

turned over its

producon capacity

to the producon

of the standardised

Liberty B of which

they built 1,000.

HEAVY AVIATIONOn May 24 1918 the Aviaon Secon of the United States Signal Corps

became the Air Service, the precursor to the United States Air Force.

To achieve an element of standardisaon the Air Service designed their

own 3-ton truck, which

they named the Heavy

Aviaon. It was built

to this standard design

by the Companies of

Velie, Kelly Springfield,

United, Standard and

Federal with the engine

being manufactured by

Connental.

HOLTThe caterpillar tractors

manufactured by Holt

were widely used by

the Brish, French and

American forces for

towing heavy arllery.

The Holt Company

dates back to 1883

and manufactured agricultural machinery but it was their model 75

tractor, which gained the approval of their first military customer

the Austrian Army! The allied naons were quick to follow and Holt

produced a range of different size tractors for their military customers,

with the US Army preferring the armoured 5-ton and 10-ton tractors.This parcular machine is a Holt 75 that has been transferred from

Brish Army service to the United States Army. You can just make out

the Brish WD symbol above the front wheel and US on the side of

the fuel tank.

INTERNATIONALHARVESTERInternaonal Harvester

of Akron Ohio (not to be

mistaken for Internaonal Motors of New York who owned Mack)

received a contract to make 1,125 of their 1.5-ton trucks for the US Army.

By 1 December 1918 just 485 had been delivered, none of which arrived

in France before the end of the war. Not much informaon is recorded

about this truck but it is interesng to see that it has the Renault-type

coal scule bonnet with the radiator being directly in front of the driver.

JEFFERYIn April 1915 the Thomas B

Jeffery Company announced

that they had provided the

French Army with 833 of

their four-wheel drive and

four-wheel steer Quad trucks

from their Wisconsin factory.

The French found that the

Quad met their requirements

for a gun tractor and converted 60 of them (including this one) into a

portee configuraon whereby the gun was carried on the back of the

truck. The Quad was designed to act as a competor to the FWD Model

B, which was being tested by the US Army. The first prototypes were

delivered to them in 1913 and by 1915 160 of them were in service on

the Mexican border. In July 1916 the Company was sold to Charles Nash

who connued producon but they were now known as Nash Quads.

KELLY SPRINGFIELDShortly aer the outbreak

of war the Canadian, Brish

and French Governmentspurchased trucks built by the

Kelly Springfield Motor Truck

Company of Springfield Ohio.

The French purchased the 2.5-

ton 22.5hp Model K35 while the Brish and Canadians went for the

3.5-ton 32.4hp model K40. The United States Army ordered 356 of the

worm drive 1.5-ton model K31 of which just 16 arrived in France by

November 1918. This photograph shows a K31 in US Army service but

on the body can be seen the leers WD showing that it had previously

served with the Brish. Kelly Springfields greatest contribuon to

the war effort was the construcon of 391 Liberty B and 1,725 Heavy

Aviaon trucks which did arrive in France before the end of the war.

LIBERTYDespite the US Army purchasing

vehicles for service on the

Mexican border, by the me

they entered the war they

were sll very short of trucks

and purchased whatever they

could get their hands on. In

order to develop a standardised

design a commiee was formed comprising representaves from the

Quartermaster Corps and fieen truck manufacturers, the first example

being designed and built in just 10 weeks. The end result was the 3.5-ton

Liberty B truck. Orders for 43,005 trucks by 29 different manufacturers

were placed before the end of the war of which 9,452 built by 15 of themanufacturers were actually delivered before orders were cancelled.

This photograph shows an early paern Liberty being tested. The

wooden wheels were replaced on later models with steel spokes and

the electric headlights would be replaced with kerosene lamps.



9/58

LOCOMOBILEThe Locomobile Company

of America was the

manufacturer of Americas

most luxurious cars, but

in 1912 built their first

truck the A Type (which

was of a cab-over-engine

design) was followed three years later by a more convenonal

appearing truck in the 3, 4, 5 or 6-ton models. A Brish buying

mission bought the 3-ton model with the US Army purchasing

67 for use on the Mexican border, followed by an addional

order for 3,690 when the United States declared war on Germany

in 1917. Although Locomobile had the reputaon for being the

best-built cars in America, the trucks had a number of problems

with cracking radiators and breaking half shas. Locomobile went

in to receivership in 1919 with truck producon ending three

years later.

MACKBuilt from 1916 to 1939

the Mack AC Bulldog has

the record for the longest

producon run of any of

the warme trucks. TheUS Army purchased 2,563

of the 5.5-ton and 368 of

the 3.5-ton versions for

use by the Corps of Engineers with the Brish War Department

purchased 150 of the 5.5-ton version. Like many other heavy

trucks of this me the 40hp engine transmied power to the back

wheels via chains running from jack shas to sprockets on the

inside of the rear wheels. The symbol on the front of the hood

is oen mistakenly thought to stand for Mack but the symbol is

actually IM for Internaonal Motor Company.

MORELANDOne of the more obscureUS Army trucks used

during the war were those

built by Moreland. This

company was established

in Los Angeles California

and marketed under the

slogan built in the West for Western work. The US Army placed

an order for 60 of the 4-ton chassis and 85 of the 1.5-ton chassis of

which 40 and 76 were delivered by December 1918, none of which

le the United States. This photograph shows the 4-ton version,

which has been fied with the standard B Type body.

NASHWith the purchase of

the Thomas B Jeffery

Company in 1916 by

Charles Nash, the Jeffery

Quad was renamed the

Nash Quad (which was

cast in to the top tank of

the radiator) although it

was planned to bring truck producon to an end once the current

military contracts were fulfilled. With the United States entering

the war the following year producon was stepped up and 14,684

being ordered by November 1918. Orders for an addional 3,000

each were placed with Hudson Motor car Co, Naonal Motor

Co and Paige Motor Company although very few of these weredelivered before the end of the war. Photographed in a US Army

workshop on the Western Front, a Nash Quad is receiving a fresh

coat of paint. The Quad has an unusual appearance, as the driving

posion is approximately one third of the way back.

PACKARDOne of the most famous American

luxury car manufacturers was Packard.

Established in 1899 to build cars, their first

commercial vehicle was built in 1905. In

1914 Packard was well posioned to meet

the urgent demand for trucks from the

Britain, France and Russia who used them.

The US Army trialled the Packard in 1909

but did not have any in service unl a train load of 27 arrived on the Mexican

border on 27 March 1916, followed by a further 94, to join the expedion

hunng for the bandit Pancho Villa. Packard contributed to the development

of the Liberty B truck but manufactured only five examples. The US Army

were very pleased with the Packard and by the end of the war they had taken

526 1.5-ton, 3479 3-ton and 17 of the chain drive 5-ton trucks overseas.

PEERLESSWith over 10,000 examples in Brish

Army service, the American-built

Peerless TC4 was the most numerous of

all Brish trucks during the war. Peerless

was primarily a luxury car manufacturer,

which in 1911 diversified into making

trucks in the 2, 3, 4 and 5-ton range. The

US Army was quick to purchase some Peerless trucks and used them on theMexican border. During the war the Brish War Department cornered the

market and purchased every Peerless truck they could get except for 385 that

were ordered by the US Army and were taken to Europe. To help make up the

shorall in trucks used by the US Army, the Brish War Department supplied

them with some Brish Army Peerless trucks. The Brish markings were

quickly painted out and over painted with US markings.

PIERCE ARROWWith the assistance of two Brish engineers

(who had previously worked for Hallford

and Dennis) the New York based Company

of Pierce Arrow built their first 5-ton R

Type truck in 1911. The truck proved to bea great success and two years later Pierce

Arrow produced a scaled down 2-ton

version the X Type. The Pierce Arrow proved to be a reliable truck built at the

right me and found a ready market. They were purchased in large numbers

by the Brish, French and American forces with the Russians also taking them.

Between April 1914 and December 1918 Pierce Arrow built 11,350 R Types

and 7,051 X Types, and also built 975 of the Liberty B trucks for the US Army.

WHITEDuring the course of the Great War the

White Motor Company supplied in the

region of 18,000 trucks to the American,

Russian, French, Canadian and to a lesserextent the Brish forces. The largest

customer was the US Army followed by

the French who received White trucks

of all models. The 3-ton Model TC and larger trucks were chain drive with the

lighter trucks being worm drive. Here are a group of TC Whites (with Packard

trucks behind them) being prepared for transportaon to Russia.

WILLYSWillys is beer known for the producon

of the ubiquitous MB Jeep during WW2,

but during WW1 they supplied the

1-ton Model 65XT to the Brish War

Department. Fied with pneumac tyreson the front, solid tyres on the back and

powered by a 25.6hp engine the Willys could carry a useful load of 800lb. The

exact number they supplied is not known, but photographs of them are quite

rare and only show them in service within the United Kingdom.



10/58

ATLASOne of the more obscure types of trucks

used by the Americans in the war was the

Atlas. Although Atlas was also an American

truck company, the Atlas trucks used in

France by the Americans were built by

the French manufacturer. A small number

of these French trucks were obtained by

the American Expedionary Force, desperately short of trucks when it arrived.

They appear to have been predominantly used by the American engineers when

preparing the French ports for the arrival of the American Expedionary Force.

Unfortunately informaon on Atlas trucks is minimal, although there is one

surviving example at the Maurice Dufresne museum near Tours.

BERLIETWith many thousands of examples

purchased by the French Army, the Berliet

CBA was one of the most numerous trucks

in French Army service, although these

two were loaned to the United States

Medical Corps. This chain drive work-

horse had a 5,300cc engine that generated

30bhp and could carry a load of four tons. In common with many other French

truck manufacturers they painted the company name on the side of the canvas as

can just be made out here. Berliet went into administraon in 1921, but managed

to recover only to be taken over by Citroen in 1967 and then sold to Renault in

1974 with the Berliet name being dropped not much later.

CROCHATThe designers of Crochat must have

thought that having good visibility for the

driver was a neccessity as he appears to

be about six feet off the ground. Si ng

above the engine and behind the radiator

would have made the drivers posion

pleasantly warm in cold weather, but perhaps not so comfortable on hot days.

Many of these Crochats were purchased by the French Air Force (Aviaon

Militaire) who used them for special purposes such as this one, which has been

fied with a radio communicaons body.

DE DION-BOUTONThe disncve round radiator

on this French Army De Dion-

Bouton was manufactured by the

Company of Solex and appeared

as a proprietary part on a number

of trucks, including those made by

Crochat and Schneider. In 1900 De

Dion-Bouton was the worlds largest

automobile Company producing

400 cars a year and 3,200 engines, which they supplied to other automobile

manufacturers. De Dion Bouton supplied a range of trucks throughout the war

most commonly the 3.5-ton model FR but perhaps most interesng was thesix-cylinder autos-cannon de75 mobile an-aircra gun, which was used by the

French, the Americans and in small numbers by the Brish for the defence of

London from Zeppelins. To The right of the DeDion-Bouton is an American built

Pierce-Arrow in French Army service.

DELAHAYEThe French luxury

car manufacturer

Societe des

Automobiles

Delahaye is

beer known for

its racing cars

than its military

vehicles, but

throughout the war it built a range of cars, trucks and vans for

military service of which a handful survive. One of the most

interesng survivors is the balloon winch truck which resides

at the French air and space museum at Le Bourget in Paris.

It is rather easy to idenfy this truck as a Delahaye, but the

uniforms of the men alongside show that it is in Russian Army

service. Delahaye was taken over by Hotchkiss in 1954 and by

1956 the name had disappeared.

LATILThe Company

Avant Train

Lal built their

first four-wheel

drive truck

in Paris in

1911 and two

years later the

French Army

purchased an example, the TAR 01 (Tracteur dArllerie

Roulante) arllery tractor. This enormous truck weighed

nearly six tons and was used (alongside the Renault EG) for

towing the heavy Schneider 155mm gun. The TAR 01 was not

the only truck from the Lal stable as they also produced

the four-wheel drive TP, which when fied with a winch, was

adopted by the French and American balloon services for use

with observaon balloons. Aer the war Lal built trucks for

agriculture and forestry work before merging with Renault

and Somua to form Saviem.

MORSThis rather odd

looking machine

is a 20hp Mors.

A French-built

luxury car that

has been fied

with a rather

crude wooden

body, making a

rather useful light delivery truck. Photographs of the cars

appear in French Army service and it seems strange that the

French, who were desperate for vehicles of all kind, would

supply such a chassis to their allies. They were for a mebuilt under licence in the USA and were sold in the UK in

the lead up to the war so it is possible that it was either an

American import or came from a stock of chassis that had

already been imported into the UK when war broke out.

FRANCE

Much like Britain, France had a

minimal number of motor vehicles

(approximately 230) in military service

at the start of the war, but was able to

call up those that had enrolled within the subsidy

scheme and impress others. For the bale of the

Marne, 600 Paris taxis were mobilised to transport

French reserves to the bale. In addion to this

approximately 1,100 Parisian busses were pressed

into service, and to boost the number of trucks

in service the French purchased large numbers

of Fiats from Italy, Packard, Pierce Arrow, Jeffery

Quads and White trucks from the United States

and 1,171 trucks from Britain (predominantly built

by Star and Tilling Stevens).



11/58

ITALY

A

mongst all the belligerent naons

Italy was almost unique in being

able to meet all of their mechanical

transport requirements without

resorng to more than a handful of foreign

imports. In fact Italy supplied vehicles to

many of their allies such as Great Britain,

France and the United States. The Italian

motor industry was based around two

cies, Milan and Turin, the home of such

famous names as Fiat, Lancia, Spa and Isoa

Fraschini.

FIATOne of the most prolific truck manufacturers throughout the war

supplying trucks to the French, American, Brish and their own

Army was Fiat. Appearing in French army service is this chain drive

2.5-ton 18BL model, the chains being enclosed in a case much

like the Brish-built Commer. The French automobile secons

painted quite

elaborate

markings on

their trucks

and this is a

parcularly

fine examplewith what

appears to be

a clock painted

on the side.

LANCIACommencing producon

in 1906, Lancia was a

high quality Italian car

manufacturer, which took up

the manufacture of trucks

shortly before WW1. The

1.5-ton model Z was used

by both the Italians and the

Brish, but the name Lancia

is more oen than not associated with the armoured car version, which was

constructed by Ansaldo on the Lancia truck chassis. The Lancia was used in

a variety of roles by the Brish War Department during the war, but at theend of the conflict a large number were used in Ireland where they were

fied with steel plate and used as armoured troop carriers. This Lancia has

been fied with fairly crude armour and a turret, which no doubt did lile to

improve its road handling characteriscs!

PANHARDNot easy to recognise in this posion but the

photographer recorded on the back of the

photograph that this is a Panhard that has

suffered the indignity of slipping off the edge of

the road, a fairly common hazard at this me.

This photograph gives a clear view of the chain

drive system. Just inside the rear wheels is a

chain that runs to jack shas protruding from the side of the centrally mounted gearbox

from which runs a prop sha to the engine. Panhards main contribuon to the war

effort was the enormous four-wheel drive Challon-Panhard heavy gun tractor.

SAURERThe now

defunct Swiss

Company of

Saurer has an

interesng

claim to

fame that of

being used

by both the

allies and central powers during the war. Saurer

trucks were built in the 2, 4 and 5-ton capacity(in both chain and worm drive) and were not only

manufactured in Switzerland, but also under licence

in the USA, France, Germany and Austria. The Brish

War Department purchased Saurers made under

licence in the USA while the French purchased those

built in Suresnes in France as well as those built in

Switzerland to stop them from being sold to the

Germans. This four ton Model B worm drive Saurer is

in French Army service.

SCHNEIDERIt is well known

that the LGOC

London buses

were taken off the

streets of London

for use on the

Western front, but

exactly the same

thing happened in Paris with the handsome single deck

buses made by De Dion, Brillie and Schneider being

taken for military service. All three manufacturers

produced very similar chassis (even using the same

round radiator manufactured by Solex) of which this,

a Schneider PB2, was the most numerous of the Paris

buses taken into service. The body on this Schneider

is not that of a bus, but that of a much simpler troop

carrier although the cab roof is idencal to that of a

Paris bus suggesng that it had been re-bodied.

PEUGEOTWith a background in building coffee grinders and bicycles

Peugeot diversified, and with an engine supplied by

Daimler, built their first internal combuson engine car

in 1891. Just five years later they were making their own

engines and a range of cars and motorcycles. Throughout

WW1 Peugeot supplied the French Army with motorcycles,

cars and trucks. This photograph shows a 4-ton Model

1525 being driven past an American MP. The 1525 Model

was introduced in 1917 with 4,084 being manufactured by

1920. The octagonal radiator is quite disncve with the

Peugeot badge just visible riveted to the top.

RENAULTProbably the most famous of all French

automove manufacturers was Renault, who

supplied the French Army with cars, vans, trucks

and tank transporters (the model FU, capable of

carrying the FT17 tank). This photograph shows a

four-wheel drive model EG gun tractor, which in

this instance has been lent to the US Army Corps

of Engineers for truck recovery work. It appears

that this Renault is being anchored into posion

so that it can pull another truck out of the mud

using the winch mounted at the rear. Almost the

enre width of the cab is the radiator, which is

located behind the engine. Renault gave their name to this style of bonnet, which was

copied on American built Mack, Kelly Springfield and Internaonal Harvester trucks.



12/58


13/58

The development of the first motorcycle

was completely dependent on the

creaon of the Safety Bicycle in the

late 1880s. The safety bicycle was so

called as it offered a safe and very welcome

alternave to the manly and quite hazardous

Penny Farthing and at a stroke, the world had

what we would, even now over 130 years later,

recognise as a modern bicycle. The design of

the original safety bicycle incorporated equally

sized wheels and a strong diamond shaped

frame, which made it perfect as a plaorm for

the creaon of the motorcycle.

It wasnt long before invenve people

started to marry small petrol and steam

engines with bicycles and in 1885 Golieb

Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach created their

Reitwagon or Riding Wagon, usually sited by

most people as being the worlds first true

motorcycle, although as with many such

claims, this is open to interpretaon. The

further development of the Safety Bicycle was

very slow as the machine had been such a

terrific creaon that it was just about right first

me and any modificaon or changes for the

beer were almost unnecessary. However, its

powered offspring, the motorcycle, had huge


Historian and author Richard Pullentakesa look at the development of two-wheeled

transport in the First World War

Bicycles and

Motorcyclesin the Great War


14/58


ABOVE...

The BSA Folding Bicycle ready for acon.

LEFT...

A Great War period Douglas adversing card

showing an ASC rider with his machine.

BELOW LEFT...

A mixed patrol of Belgian cyclists and

motorcyclists in early 1915. The motorcycle

is a Brish made Douglas.

BOTTOM LEFT...

The standard BSA Non-Folding Mk IV

Military Bicycle.

BELOW...

A member of the South African Motorcycle

Corps pictured here on his over-loaded BSA.

ABOVE...

A wonderfully restored Motor Machine

Gun Corps Matchless twin photographed at

Belton House in 2010 as part of a WW1 living

history display.

TOP RIGHT...

In an effort to boost the numbers ofmotorcycles available to the military, hundreds

of motorcycles were given away free to the

military in 1914 by their patrioc owners.

ABOVE RIGHT...

A despatch Rider pictured here on a Douglas

2.75hp motorcycle. Note the muff to keep the

hands warm fied to the end of the handlebars.

BELOW...

A motley looking crew of Dispatch Riders

photographed si ng astride their Triumph

motorcycles in mid 1917.


15/58

room for development and by the

outbreak of the First World War in

1914 the machine was unrecognisable

when compared to the early efforts

such as the Reitwagon.

The motorcycle was now an

established and relavely advanced

piece of machinery. There had

been a thriving racing scene in

the early 20th Century, which had

given impetus to the machines

development, and although to the

modern eye they may look primive

and fragile, this was very far from

the truth. Just before the war there

were well over one hundred different

motorcycle manufacturers and

assemblers in Great Britain alone

and although many of these did not

survive the economic rigours of the

war, the motorcycle as a vehicle

did very well out of the constant

need for stronger, faster or larger

machines. As a piece of military

hardware, the motorcycle became

invaluable for many different roles

such as message dispatch, convoy

work or even as mobile machine gun

or radio ouits.

In much the same way as early

motorcycles obviously owe their

existence to the Safety Bicycle,

the early army motorcyclist owed

his existence to the various Army

Cyclists Corps. In 1914, the Brish

army had over 14,000 men who were

experienced cyclists, fully equipped

with the latest military specificaon

bicycles. Although the idea of

soldiers riding into bale on bicycles

may seem quaint or even absurd to

us today, these men were actually

the fast moving Shock-Troops of

the me as they could be quickly

dispatched to engage with the

enemy and when needed, they could

jump onto their bicycles and fall back

just as quickly as they had advanced.

In August 1914 at Mons, these men

proved their worth, with French and

Brish cyclist baalions fighng a


ABOVE...

A Great War Despatch

Rider serving with the

Army Service Corps.

CENTRE...

A view showing the

BSA Folding MilitaryBicycle as part of a

mans marching kit.

ABOVE RIGHT...

10th Baalion

Signal Secon Royal

Engineers pictured in

France flanked by two

of their motorcycles.

Ge ng lost was a very serious business

for a Dispatch Rider, so constant study

of trench maps was essenal.


16/58

vital rearguard acon that helped slow the

advance of the German Army and giving the

Allies breathing room.

The First World War was to become a

mechanised war and many companies such

as Triumph, Sunbeam, Zenith, Rover, AJS,

Sunbeam, Premier, Raleigh, P&M, New

Hudson and Norton produced items for the

military, including bicycles and motorcycles,

but there is perhaps one maker that will

always be quite rightly associated with their

warme producon, Birmingham Small Arms,

beer known by their inials, B.S.A. The

company built all manner of items during

the war including the legendary .303 Lee

Enfield rifle, locks for Maxim Machine Guns,

Interrupter Mechanisms for fighter aircra,

high explosive shells and complete Lewis

Machine Guns, but it is for their two wheeled

transport that they are perhaps most famous.

The B.S.A. logo of three rifles, known as the

Piled Arms trademark, became one of those

rare, internaonally recognised symbols

that stood for quality and innovaon in any

language and the company sold their products

to every country imaginable.

OUTBREAK OF WARUnl not too long ago, it was quite common for

many companies to have a summer shut down

so that general maintenance and stock taking

could be done. B.S.A. always chose to have

their shut down in the early weeks of August,

which was usually just fine, but in August 1914

Great Britain went to war and all forms of

transport, both motorised and pedal powered

were urgently needed. B.S.A. were operang

on a skeleton staff and busy with general

upkeep of their machinery when the order

came through for 500 Military Specificaon

Bicycles, fully assembled with lamps front andrear, carriers front and rear, bells, rifle clips etc,

ready for riding and to be delivered within 24

hours. Messengers were sent to the homes

of the holidaying workers and gradually the

factory came up to strength and aer working

through the night and eang meals whilst

they stood at their machines, the company

managed to fill the order.

Later in the war, contracts of 500 units

would become commonplace and their

warme producon figures usually ran to

more bicycles being built in a single day than

would have been produced in a week prior

to 1914. The B.S.A. folding bicycle is usually

more associated with the Second World War,

when the company made them for airborne

troops, but the company actually started to

produce a collapsible machine in mid WW1.

With the release of two bolts, the folding

B.S.A. could be transformed from bicycle tobackpack in less than 90 seconds leaving the

soldier free to operate his rifle unhindered.

The other two-wheeled wonder that the

company had great success in supplying to

the Army was the B.S.A. 4 HP Motorcycle.

Many were bought by the Brish, French

and Russian military and 400 were sent to

the South African Motorcyclist Corps for use

in the inhospitable terrain of East Africa. In

their aempts to locate and engage with

the elusive German General von Leow-

Vorbeck, the South African Motorcyclist

Corps undertook an expedion of 2,800

miles through swamps, across rivers and

along rough bush tracks. Each motorcycle

carried 140lbs of equipment, plus the rider

and according to post war adversing from

the company, every single one of the B.S.A.

machines completed the journey successfully.

Another manufacturer who became vital in

supplying motorcycles to the war effort was

Douglas. In 1906, the Douglas Engineering

Company of Kingswood, Bristol bought the

research, drawings and prototypes for an

engine designed by Mr. W. Barter. He had

tried to produce the engine himself, but his

company had not been a great success and

Douglas hoped they could do beer. Unl

now, Douglas had been producing casngs

for drain covers, lampposts and so on, but in

1907 their motorcycle entered the market and

soon became a much sought aer machine.The Douglas 2 3/4hp was an excellent creaon

and was renowned for being Vibraonless

due to the horizontal twin arrangement.

With the outbreak of war in 1914, the Brish

Army needed thousands of motorcycles,

cars, lorries and other vehicles. Many were

commandeered and many were simply given

to the army by patrioc owners. Douglas

became one of the main suppliers to the War

Offi ce and they eventually produced around

70,000 2hp and 4hp motorcycles for the

military. The Douglas 4hp was especially

useful and, with the addion of a sidecar,

saw acon as mobile machine gun units andeven as fully kied out Marconi radio ouits.


ABOVE LEFT...

A soldier of the South African Motorcycle Corps

on his BSA with full kit.

ABOVE...

Despatch Riders of the Royal Sussex Regiment.

ABOVE RIGHT...

ot much is known about this image except that

it shows Captain Harvey on his Sunbeam.

BELOW LEFT...

A late war Douglas motorcycle, very nicely

restored to its military trim.

BELOW RIGHT...

This would have been familiar sight in WW1;

the motorcycles had a hard life and would

have needed constant upkeep.


17/58


The smaller 350cc Douglas 2 leant itself

perfectly to other motorcycle dues such as

dispatch and convoy work in every theatre of

the war, from France and Belgium to Salonika

and East Africa.

Aer the war, Douglas bought many of

their old worn out and bale weary WD

machines back from the army. The old

motorcycles were recondioned and sold on

again, this me to civilian buyers. This may

sound like a bit of a scam as the new owners

would have thought that they were ge ng

a brand new machine, but these machines

were completely refurbished and it was

standard procedure aer the war, with most

motorcycle, lorry and other vehicle makers

doing exactly the same thing.

The Douglas must be one of the most

well-known and prolifically photographed

motorcycles to see service during the Great

War, but a very close second must be the

Trusty Triumph. The company was one of

those, like Daimler, with a very complex history

intertwined with a German factory. Despite

this, their 550cc Model H was chosen to be

one of the motorcycles deemed suitable for

military use and was therefore supplied to the

War Offi ce in large numbers. At the outbreak

of war in 1914, Triumph was producing

around 4000 of their Type A single-cylinder

motorcycles every year and by 1915 the

company was almost completely dedicated to

military producon. By the end of the war they

had made over 30,000 motorcycles for the

Allied forces.

The Model H was a very comfortable,

very well built motorcycle which could be

worked on by just about anyone and could be

stripped using very rudimentary tools. The

Type H is oen described as the first modern

motorcycle as it had a chain driven primary

drive, three speed gearbox, a clutch and a

kick-starter. The kick starter and clutch may

sound like they should have been standard

equipment on every motorcycle, but this was

not the case and many motorcycles of the

me had to be run off to get them started and

were fied with a crash box and no clutch.

Two-wheeled transport in war rarely

receives the aenon it deserves, oen being

overlooked by historians in favour of aircra,

tanks or baleships, but it is undeniable that

many men owed their lives to the trusty Don-R

racing through shot and shell or guiding their

convoy through the pitch black of night.

ABOVE LEFT...

This is not a mobile Machine Gun ouit,

the sidecar is just being used to move a

Lewis Gun and boxes of magazines around.

ABOVE RIGHT...

Men of the Automobile Associaon march

through London with their bicycles beforebeing formed up into an acve service.

Lile is known about this image except

that it was taken early in the war

somewhere in England.

ABOVE...

No 4 Platoon H.C. Divisional Cyclists Corps line

up outside the Church in Hildenborough in Kent

prior to being sent to France.

LEFT...

This photograph is signed from Frank and shows

him and his pals with their military bicycles in

November 1914.

RIGHT...

Whilst training these troops use their V Twin

Zenith sidecar ouit as an improvised rest for

a Lewis Gun.


18/58


19/58

The struggle to build a

viable tracked armoured

fighng vehicle was one ofthe most vitally important

arms races ever to face the military

world, due in no small part to the

stalemate on the balefields of

Europe. The Brish were the first

to create a tank and the rapid pace

of development resulted in such a

speedy evoluon that by the end

of the war, just two years later, it

was a quite different machine to

the first lumbering monster that

struggled with the terrain. Not only

did the tank change and adapt to meet new

challenges and encompass new technology,but the idea of the tracked AFV was taken

onboard and given a twist by other countries,

with France, Germany, Russia, America and

Italy all producing tanks. Despite the fact that

some were too late to see acon and others

would have been useless if they had ever

been put into bale, the tank as a balefieldweapon had nevertheless made its mark and

as a balefield weapon was here to stay. In

hindsight, it is easy to pile scorn on efforts

like the American Steam Tank or the giant

Great Warhistorian and authorRichard Pullendelves into someof the facts and

figures surroundingsome of the most

important and most

interesting tanksof the Great War


TANKS OF THE


20/58

Brish Flying Elephant, but they all go to

show how the designers were vying for

a workable design, oen using untriedtechnology to create an answer to a

problem that many thought unsolvable

and as a result the variety of tank designs

in those early days offer a fascinang

insight into those early days of mechanised

warfare, so while the tank wasnt an

immediate success, and some experiments

were perhaps less than praccal, it did shape

the weapon that has become universally

known as the Tank and so far at least, haslasted nearly 100 years. As to whether it lasts

another 100 years is anybodys guess, but

for the me being it shows no signs of being

dropped from the balefield.


GREAT WAR


21/58

GREAT BRITAIN

MK I HEAVY TANK & MK II - III TRAINING TANKSA crew of 8 men, Male tanks equipped with 6-pounder cannon and

three Hotchkiss .303 machine guns, Female tanks equipped with five

Vickers .303 machine guns with armoured jackets. Mk III Female armed

with five .303 Lewis Guns. Fully loaded weight was 28-tons (Male), 27-

tons (Female). Maximum armour thickness of 12mm, Mk II and III weretraining tanks constructed from unarmoured Boilerplate. The radius

of acon was just 23 miles, at a maximum speed of 3.7mph. Powered

by Daimler sleeve valve petrol engine giving 105hp at 1000rpm.

Total of 150 Mk I tanks produced, 37 Male by Wm Foster and Co.

of Lincoln and 113 Male and Female machines by the Metropolitan

Wagon and Finance of Birmingham.

Total of 50 Mk II tanks produced, 25 Males by Fosters of Lincoln and25 Females by Metropolitan in Birmingham. One Mk I and one Mk II

survive, both at the Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset.

MK IV HEAVY TANKCrew of 8, Male tanks equipped with shortened 6-pounder

cannon and three .303 Lewis machine guns, Female tanks

equipped with five .303 Lewis Guns. Unditching gear

fied, probably only at Central Workshops in France.

Fully loaded weight was 28-tons (Male), 27-tons (Female).

Maximum armour thickness of 12mm. The radius of

acon was just 35 miles at a maximum speed of 3.7mph.

Powered by a Daimler sleeve valve petrol engine giving

105hp at 1000rpm. Some late producon tanks had125hp engines.

A total of 1245 Mk IV tanks were produced, 640 by

Metropolitan as tanks and 180 as Supply Tanks, 100 by

Wm Fosters, 100 by Armstrong Whitworth and Co. Ltd

of Gateshead, with the remaining 225 built in Glasgow

by the Coventry Ordnance Works, Mirrlees

Watson Co. and William Beardmore Co.

Just seven Mk IV tanks survive in variousmuseums around the world, including

Bovington, Museum of Lincolnshire Life,

Ashford in Kent, as well as Belgium, France,

Australia and USA.



22/58

THE MK V HEAVY TANKLike the previous tanks, the Mk V had a crew

of 8 men. Male tanks equipped with shortened

6-pounder cannon and four .303 Hotchkiss

machine guns, Female tanks equipped with

six .303 Hotchkiss machine guns. Fully loaded

weight was 29-tons (Male) 28-tons (Female)

with a maximum armour thickness of 14mm.

Radius of acon 45 miles with a maximum

speed 4.6mph. The Mk V was powered by aRicardo 6-cylinder petrol engine developing

150hp at 1000rpm. A total of 700 Mk V

tanks were produced, all by Metropolitan in

Birmingham and a total of eight Mk V tanks

currently survive in various museums around

the world, including the example at Bovington,

which is sll in running order.

MEDIUM A WHIPPETThe Whippet had a crew of 3 or 4 men and was equipped with four

.303 Hotchkiss machine guns. The fully loaded weight was 14-tons,

with a maximum armour thickness of 14mm. The radius of acon was

45 miles with a heady top speed of 8.3 mph courtesy of twin Tylor JB4Petrol Engines, each developing 45hp. Some 200 Medium A tanks were

produced, all by Wm Fosters of Lincoln. Five Medium A tanks survive in

various museums around the world.



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MEDIUM B AND CBoth had a crew of 4 men and both were equipped with four .303

Hotchkiss machine guns. Male variants were planned, but never

produced. The Medium B weighed 18-tons fully loaded while the

Medium C weighed 19.5-tons fully loaded. Both had a maximum

armour thickness of 14mm. The radius of acon for the Medium

B was 45 miles, while the radius of acon for the Medium C was

approximately 75 miles, though Wm Foster and Co. quoted 120 miles.

The Medium Bs maximum speed was 8.5 mph, while the Medium Cs

maximum speed was 8 mph. The Medium B was powered by a Ricardo

4-cylinder petrol engine developing 100hp at 1200rpm, while the

Medium C used a Ricardo 6-cylinder petrol engine, which developed

150hp at 1200rpm.

Just 60 Medium B tanks were produced by Metropolitan in

Birmingham, Coventry Ordnance of Glasgow and North Brish

Locomove in Glasgow, while 36 Medium C tanks were produced by

William Foster and Co of Lincoln. Neither tank saw acon in WW1 and

of the two machines, the Medium C is regarded as the superior of the

two. No Medium B or C tanks survive.



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MK I AND IIGUN CARRIERSA crew of 4 plus gun crew of another 4

men. Equipped with one .303 Hotchkiss

machine gun for defence. They carried

either a 6-inch Howitzer + ammunion or

a 60-pounder Field Gun + Ammunion.

Loaded weight with a 6-inch gun was

31-tons, and with a 60-pounder gun

34-tons. The unloaded weight was 27-tons. Maximum armour thickness was

12mm, and the radius of acon was

approximately 35 miles with a maximum

speed of 3.7 mph. The Gun Carriers

were powered by a Daimler 6-cylinder

petrol engine that developed 105hp at

1000rpm. The gun carriers were not true

Tanks, being used instead to transport

large calibre guns. A total of 48 Gun

Carriers were produced as well as two

salvage variants, all by Kitson and Co. of

Leeds. None survive today.

ANGLO-AMERICANMK VIII LIBERTY

HEAVY TANKThe massive Mk VIII had a crew of

12 men, the Brish version was

equipped with a pair of 6-pounder

cannon and six .303 Hotchkiss

machine guns, while the American

version was equipped with a pair of

6-pounder cannon and six .30 Cal

Browning machine guns.

The fully loaded weight was

approximately 37-tons with a

maximum armour thickness of

16mm. The radius of acon was 52 miles, with a maximum speed 5.7

mph. The Brish version of the Mk VIII was powered by a Ricardo

V12 300hp petrol engine, while the American Version was powered

by a Liberty V12 300 hp petrol engine. A total of eleven Mk VIII were

produced in Great Britain by North Brish Loco Works in Glasgow, withseveral more produced aer the war from parts. One hundred were

produced by the Rock Island Arsenal between 1918 and 1920. Two

American Mk VIII tanks are known to survive, both in the USA. One

Brish-made Mk VIII survives at the Tank Museum at Bovington.



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RENAULT FT-17The diminuve Renault FT-17 had a crew of just 2 men. Male tanks were

equipped with a 37mm Cannon in a fully rotang turret, while Female

tanks were equipped with a single 8mm Hotchkiss machine gun in a fully

rotang turret. Fully loaded the Male and Female weighed 6.5-tons with a

maximum armour thickness of 22mm. The radius of acon was 22 miles, with

a maximum speed of 5mph. The tank was powered by a Renault 4-cylinder

35 hp petrol engine. A total of 3694 Renaults were produced by various

factories with Renault as the primary manufacturer, but were also produced

or used by many other countries including America, Russia, Great Britain,

Norway and even Nazi Germany. Around 20 FT-17s or variants thereof,

survive in various

museums around

the world.

SAINT-CHAMONDThe French St Chamond tank had

a crew of 8 or 9 men and was

equipped with a 75mm main

gun and four 7.62mm Hotchkiss

machine guns. Fully loaded the

tank weighed 23-tons and had

a maximum armour thickness

of 17mm. The radius of aconwas approximately 36 miles with

a maximum speed of 7.5mph.

The tank used coil sprung Holt

type tracks and was powered

by a Panhard-Levassor 4-cylinder 90hp petrol engine. A total of 400 Saint

Chamond tanks were produced by Compagnie des Forges at Acieries de la

Marine at dHomecourt, today only one Saint-Chamond survives at the

Muse des Blinds in Saumur.

FRANCE


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SCHNEIDER CA1The Schneider had a crew of 6 men and was equipped with a 75mm Blockhaus

Schneider cannon and two 8mm Hotchkiss M1914 machine guns. Fully loaded it

weighed 13.6-tons and had a maximum armour thickness of 11mm. Like the St

Chamond, the Schneider also used coil sprung Holt type tracks. It had a radius

of acon of approximately 50 miles with a maximum speed of 8.1mph. The tank

was powered by a Schneider 4-cylinder 60 hp petrol engine. 400 Schneiders were

built by Socit doullage mcanique et dusinage darllerie otherwise known as

SOMUA, only one Schneider CA-1 survives at the Muse des Blinds in Saumur.

A7V STURMPANZERWAGONThe German A7V had a crew of 18 men and was equipped with a 57mm

Maxim Nordenfelt cannon as its main armament and six, 8mm Maxim

machine guns. Fully loaded it weighed in at 31-tons and had a maximum

armour thickness of 30mm. Like the French Schneider and St Chamond

tanks it used coil sprung Holt type tracks. Operaonally

it had a radius of acon of around 40 miles and a

maximum speed of 9mph. The A7V was powered by a

pair of German Daimler-Benz 4-cylinder petrol engines

with a combined output of 200hp. Just 20 A7V tanks

were built by Daimler-Moteren-Gesellscha, Daimler-Benz, at Marienfelde, and today only one A7V survives at

the Queensland Museum in Australia, however, in 2013,

another possible surviving A7V was found in the Wieprz

River in Poland.


GERMANY


27/58


LITTLE WILLIETANK PROTOTYPERegarded as the forerunner to the tanks that

took to the balefield, Lile Willie was projected

to have a crew of 6 men with a proposed

armament of a 2-pounder cannon and up tofour .303 Hotchkiss machine guns. In terms of

weight, sources differ with quoted fully loaded

weights of between 16 and 28-tons. The vehicle

was constructed from unarmoured Boilerplate

of a maximum thickness of 6mm. Radius of

acon was ancipated to be approximately 25

miles with a maximum speed of 3.5mph. Lile

Willie was powered by a Daimler sleeve valve

petrol engine developing 105hp at 1000rpm.

Only one example was ever built by Wm Foster

and Co. of Lincoln in 1915, which sll survives at

the Tank Museum Bovington, Dorset.

AMERICAN STEAM TANKThe American Steam Tank had a crew of 8 men and was equipped with a

forward mounted flame-thrower and four .30 Cal Browning machine guns.

Fully loaded it weighed approximately 51-tons and was constructed from

unarmoured Boilerplate of a maximum thickness of 13mm. The radius

of acon is unknown, but it did have a maximum speed of 4mph and was

powered by a pair of Kerosene burning 2-cylinder steam engines

producing 500bhp. One example was built by the US Army Corpsof Engineers and the Stanley Motor Carriage Co. of Massachuses

in 1918, with the tank being sent to France in mid to late 1918

for tesng, however, it never went into producon nor did it see

acon. The Steam Tank does not survive.

FLYING ELEPHANT TANKThe Flying Elephant was to have a crew of 8 men and be equipped

with a either a 6-pounder or more probably a 12-pounder cannon

depending on sources, and six .303 Hotchkiss machine guns.

Fully loaded the weight was to be approximately 100-tons with

a maximum armour thickness of 75mm. The radius of acon is

unknown, as is the maximum speed. The tank was to be powered

by a special version of the Daimler 105hp petrol engine, consisngof two units running from a common crank and producing around

200hp. The prototype was almost finished by Wm Foster and Co.

of Lincoln in December 1916, but later scrapped in favour of

Mk I producon.

CARRO FIAT TIPO 2000Italys contribuon to the tank world in WW1 was the Carro Fiat Tipo

2000, which had a crew of 10 men and was equipped with a 65mm

cannon and seven 8mm Revelli machine guns. Fully loaded it weighed 40-

tons and had a maximum armour thickness of 20mm. The radius of acon

was 47miles and the maximum speed 4.5mph. The tank was powered

by a Fiat 6-cylinder petrol engine producing 240hp. Two examples of this

decepvely good tank built by Fiat in late 1918 (some sources say a total

of 6 had been built by 1920) and while the tank never saw acon in the

Great War, it stayed in service unl 1934. None survive today.

PROTOTYPES, ONE OFFS AND SPLENDID ODDITIES


28/58

Despite the raging ware,

which threatened Frances

very existence, the design

and producon of Frances

tanks of the First World War was

subject to a great deal of in-fighng

and polical controversy. Wrangling

between those associated with the

projects, together with disputes as

to how the projects were apparently

railroaded through the design

and acceptance process, wouldeventually result in two of the most

famous French tank designs of the

war, but the path from design to

producon was far from smooth, and

fighng in the boardrooms between

the two rival design teams would

match the fierce fighng the tanks

would encounter on the balefield!

It all started in January 1916

when a commiee was set up with

the backing of General Joffre to

decide how best to design and build

the machinery necessary to try and

break the stalemate of the trenches

on the balefields of France, more

specifically tanks. The commieewas composed of Lieutenant

Colonel Cordier, Squadron Leader

Ferrus, Captain Delaunay Belleville

and Lieutenant Fouch and from

the outset, the American Baby Holt

tractor, which used tracked running

gear, was earmarked as a suitable

basis for the designs.

Two different projects evolved,

which eventually became the

Schneider and Saint-Chamond

tanks. The designs of the two tanks

differed in their approach, not least

the size of the machines, with theSt Chamond becoming the larger

of the two designs, however, both

ulized modified variaons of the

Holt tractor running gear.

Having been pushed through

the design process in favour of the

Saint-Chamond, the Schneider tank

was tested at Vincennes on February

21, 1916, in the presence of General

Mourret, director of automove

service. The tests were found to be

sasfactory, with the tank crossing

wide trenches, but it was discovered

that the steel pins and barbed wire

used on the balefield could get

tangled in the running gear, however,the defect was seen as being easy to

fix and the Schneider was approved

for producon, which could have

sealed the fate of the larger Saint-

Chamond, however, the authories

sll had a preference for heavy

tanks and following a great deal of

bureaucrac wrangling regarding

the way the Schneider was pushed

through the approval process, it was

eventually decided that work on the

Saint-Chamond should connue.

NEW THINKINGThe way in which the Schneider had

been pushed through the design and

approval process annoyed many of

those involved, and Colonel Emile


Pascal Danjoulooks at the First World War French St Chamond Heavy Tank

Saint-ChamondABOVE...

This Saint-Chamond

tank is one of the very

first models, and isnt

even fied with the

later cylindrical outlet to

evacuate the fumes from

the 75mm gun, which was

later posioned between

the two observaon

cupolas.

BELOW...This example of the French

Saint-Chamond HeavyTank (Number 62 593) has

the later pitched roof, but

sll lacks viewing ports

and retains its model 1912,

75 mm gun.


29/58

Rimailho, who directed the design

of the Saint-Chamond, vowed that

the new tank would be bigger and

beer than the Schneider in every

way. As a result of this the Saint-

Chamond used an undercarriage that

was much longer than the standard

Holt tractor chassis and comprised of

three suspension unit elements in an

effort to increase the trench crossing

capacity of the vehicle.

The massive machine had a crew

of nine men, which comprised of

a commander, a Sergeant gunner,

two main gunners, four machine

gunners and a mechanic. Compared

with smaller Schneider, the Saint-

Chamond had much more room

inside and was therefore a lile

more comfortable for the crew.

The armoured box-like hull was

huge in comparison with Schneider,

with an elongated front end that

extended forward of the tracks to

accommodate the larger 75 mm

main gun posioned at the front of

the tank. This extra length inially

caused some problems on the

balefield, with the gun digging in,

but a small roller was eventually

fied to allow it to glide over the

ground more easily.

The design of the Saint-Chamond

hull evolved many mes over

the years it was in service, with

changes to the angle of the roof, the

vision cupolas and the addion of

extra armour plate to combat the

increased calibre of the German

weapons, the end result saw the

original design weight of just under

20-tonnes increasing to more than

24-tonnes by the end of the war!

In an effort to make the

increasingly cumbersome tank more

drivable on the balefield, changes

were made to the running gear,

increasing the track width and adding

skids to help it cope with addional

weight, but none really made any

great difference and the massive

Saint-Chamond, which measured 8.9

metres in length 2.7 metres wide and

2.4 metres high, was never an agile

vehicle on the balefield. Despite

these drawbacks an order for 400

units was placed in April 1916.

The Schneider was deemed to be

diffi cult to drive so it was decided

to fit the Saint-Chamond with a

petrol-electric transmission made

by Crochat Collardeau to give tank

greater flexibility. Propulsion was

provided by a Panhard 100hp petrol

engine, which provided power to the

generator that supplied current to

each of the two electric motors, one

for each track. Although the system

was complex, it was the only one


ABOVE...

Faced with delays in the producon

and development of the tank gun, a

number of Saint-Chamond tanks wereproduced as supply vehicles instead,

without the main gun fied, as shown

here, however, they did parcipate in

the first French tank bale at Berry au

Bac together with the Schneider.

BELOW LEFT...

Photograph of a Saint-Chamond taken during training. The angle of the photo shows off well the two

observaon cupolas between which is the cylindrical outlet to evacuate the fumes from the 75 mm main gun.

BELOW RIGHT...

Saint-Chamond tank number 62 792 was one of the last models tanks to be received and included some of the

later addions such as beer vision for the tank commander and the model 1897 version of the 75 mm gun.


30/58

exisng at the me that allowed the complete

transmission of the power and torque

required without the need for heavy and

physically demanding driver controls normallyassociated with the first tanks. Despite this,

the driver controls were sll complex, but did

at least allow the tank to turn on the spot and

duplicate controls were also provided at the

rear of the tank to allow the driver to reverse

the huge vehicle more easily.

Unfortunately right from the outset it

appears that the Saint-Chamond was not very

good on rough terrain, with the shedding of

tracks and breakages in the undercarriage

a frequent occurrence, and as a result was

rarely able to cross trenches wider than

1.8 metres, despite being designed to cross

much wider trenches. In terms of weapons,it was decided to increase the size of the

main gun for the Saint-Chamond to a 75 mm

model 1912 cavalry gun with a higher muzzle

velocity, which was more powerful than that

of Schneider. This gun was used

for the first 165 vehicles built,

with the 75 mm gun model 1897

replacing it for the remainder of

producon. In addion to the main

gun the Saint-Chamond was fied

with four Hotchkiss Model 1914

machine guns.

Addional changes to the tank

included a modificaons to the

original flat roof to an angled roof

because it was found that the flat roof was a

trap for grenades! Unfortunately what should

have been an improvement actually created

producon delays,and the decision to

simplify the roof

construcon by

removing the raised

cupolas turned

out to be a serious

error, not least

because it reduced

the visibility for

the crew! The first

tanks with pitched

roof were delivered

ten days aer the

bale of Berry auBac, with the new

developme

great war military vehicles

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