WW I
В 1911 г. Otto Zachow and William Besserdich построили свой первый полноприводный автомобиль. Выпускаемые машины предложили военным, те взяли несколько штук для испытаний. которые заинтересовали военное ведомство .
"At about that time, the U.S. Army was investigating how to replace horse power with trucks, and FWD entered its models in several Army trials. The company submitted two prototype trucks: a 1.5-ton Model G and a three-ton Model B. The Model B gave an outstanding performance, but the U.S. Government placed no large orders. With World War I looming in Europe, FWD saw an opportunity and sent two trucks to England for testing. Allied governments were so impressed with the Model B that they placed an initial order for 50 trucks, followed by a standing order for 200 trucks a month for the foreseeable future.
In 1916, the U.S. Army placed its first large order. With the United States' entry into World War I in April 1917, U.S. Government orders for FWD trucks surged. For a company that had built only about 25 vehicles in its four years of existence, the orders were overwhelming. Demand for the Model B was so high that FWD contracted with Premier Motor Corp., the Mitchell Motor Car Co., International Harvester, and the Kissel Motor Corp. to build the trucks under license.
In 1917, the Army estimated it would need 50,000 trucks a year, but when the war ended in November 1918, the estimate suddenly dropped to zero. Of the 15,000 trucks that FWD handed over to the government, more than 2,000 never left the United States. They were declared surplus after the war and were shipped to storage centers in Chicago, Indianapolis, and Fort Monroe, Virginia. These trucks were turned over to the Agriculture Department, which then distributed them to states and municipalities for use in road building and maintenance. Each state was allotted a minimum of two trucks, with one state reportedly receiving 48. "
Army's first test model (scout) , and here is caked in Georgia mud, becuase they gave it a 1500 mile torture test through the winter. It was last seen in San Diego being used by the Signal Corps. At the time, the Army had 100,000 head of horses standing by at Miramar (home of Top Gun until 1997, now a USMC airplane and helicopter base)
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After building only seven touring cars, FWD realized the market was not ripe for such a vehicle but reckoned the truck market was ready for a 4x4. No sooner had discussion begun when the company learned of a U.S. Army cross-country test. At that time, the Army owned 12 trucks. Army leadership was not sure about the new-fangled horseless carriages, but nonetheless, a test was undertaken to determine the feasibility of their use. FWD sweet-talked an Army representative, Captain A. E. Williams (seen below standing in front of the car), to the factory for a test drive.As a result, the Army purchased one of the FWD touring cars for the test. The car was stripped of its rear body, a flatbed was added, and it was called a 1-?-ton truck. The Scout Car, as it was later known, proved the benefits of all-wheel drive by outperforming the othe/r three surviving trucks by a large margin on the eight-week, 1,500-mile winter test early in 1912. It spent most of its time dragging the other rigs though mudholes.
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Alexander Williams test FWD truck In a stroke of luck, FWD was able to demonstrate one of its touring cars to a U.S. Army officer doing research on the military use of motor vehicles. Captain A.E. Williams was impressed and astute enough to know that if the U.S. Army was going to motorize, four-wheel-drive had best be a part of the picture. As a result, FWD sold the army its first 4x4 vehicle in late 1911 for use in a 1912 cross-country test from Washington D.C. to Ft. Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. The army bought a stripped touring car chassis, fitted it with an escort wagon rear body and called it a truck. Loaded with up to 2,000 pounds of gear, it finished that 1,500-mile torture test in 1912, proving the utility of four-wheel drive.By 1911, the army was using commercial trucks to move supplies at several of its posts, and that year the Quartermaster General put Capt. A.E. Williams in charge of two important new programs. One was to develop a truck capable of working with troops, thereby replacing horse- and mule-drawn wagons. The other was to work with manufacturers in an effort to have them make standardized trucks for the army. Given the nascent character of the automobile industry, Williams had little success in the latter program. Undaunted, he continued to have army units use various truck models in experimental field maneuvers to try to find appropriate rolls for motor vehicles.
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This is one of FWD’s first trucks , the one-and-a-half-ton prototype used on the U.S. Army’s late-1912 maneuvers. After these tests, the truck was sold and used for many years by the John Payne Company. FWD reacquired these trucks in about 1960. Photo Courtesy FWD Seagrave
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One of the earliest military Model Bs photographed in late 1915. Note the wooden wheels and early-style radiator with lots of brass. The body is an early version of a dual-purpose setup designed to haul cargo or personnel. The first bodies were reminiscent of wagon bodies.
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After the successful '12 test, FWD debuted its first real trucks. These 3-ton trucks would cement the company's reputation by participating in the Army's first military maneuvers involving motor trucks. A National Guard regiment was moved from Dubuque, Iowa, to Sparta, Wisconsin. The traditional Army mule and wagon was pitted against the motor truck in field conditions. Twelve trucks participated, including the old FWD Scout Car and the prototype FWD 3-ton Model B .One other 4x4 was in the group, a Kato, built in Mankato, Minnesota. but it proved largely unsuccessful in the Army's eyes. The Model B earned high praise in the test. FWD's first 3-ton Model B, along with its first 1-?-ton Model G, have survived in the FWD Museum.
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In the British Army the F.W.D. was mainly used as a gun tractor but it also saw service as a supply carrier for heavy or awkward loads.
Model B, built by the Four Wheel Drive Co. of Clintonville, Wisconsin, from whence the F.W.D. initials were derived. As its name implies, this was a four-wheel drive vehicle and very similar to its contemporary the Jeffrey-Quad (Plate So). Rated as a 3-tonner, the F. W.D. had a Wisconsin four-cylinder petrol engine with a three-speed gearbox and a two¬speed transfer gearbox. There was a shaft drive to each axle. On roads the F.W.D. was driven as a normal rearwheel drive vehicle, but for off road driving an additional gear lever was provided on the chassis side which controlled the low gears and connected up the drive to the front axle.The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company had been formed in 1912, and production of the Model B began, though very slowly at first, only 18 trucks being delivered in 1913. However the US Army had tested one of the very first F.W.D.s, and in 1916 they ordered 38 Model Bs for General Pershing's Mexican campaign against Pancho Villa. Meanwhile, with the outbreak of war in Europe, Model Bs were ordered by the British (for whom Peerless built 500) and Russian governments. In 1917 America entered the war, and US Army orders were so great that production had to be farmed out to three other companies.
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В 1913 г. началось серийное производство "FWD 3-ton Model" а с поступлением крупных военных заказов эти машины собирали также фирмы "Киссел" (Kissel), "Пирлесс" (Peerless) и "Премьер" (Premier). В армиях разных стран автомобиль "Фор Уил Драйв В" служил как многоцелевой грузовик, артиллерийский тягач, самосвал, автоцистерна, шасси для военного оборудования. В нескольких исполнениях он выпускался до 1937 г., получив 4-ступенчатую коробку передач, электрический стартер, закрытую кабину, дисковые колеса и пневматические шины.
После WW I
В 1928 г. британское военное министерство обратилось к компаниям «Гай» , «Лейленд» , «Скаммелл» , FWD и с предложением разработать тягачи с приводом 6x6 для возможной замены существующих тягачей «Хатхи». Этот тягач был разработан компанией «Торникрофт» совместно со Службой тылового обеспечения и оказался недостаточно мощным, чтобы буксировать тяжелые зенитные орудия или колесные прицепы. Военное министерство потребовало, чтобы тяговое усилие на крюке новых тягачей составляло 12 ООО - 15 ООО фунтов (5400 - 6800 кг).
FWD R6t model-850. Модель R6T была первым шасси этой компании с приводом 6x6, которое снабжалось шестицилиндровым двигателем «Дормен JUP» с боковыми клапанами. Тяговое усилие на все колеса передавалось посредством четырехступенчатой коробки передач, двухступенчатой раздаточной коробки и цилиндрических дифференциалов с колесными редукторами.
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Trial FWD R6T 6 wheel-drive (6 x 6) Artillery Tractor climbing a small bank showing the independent suspension at work on each of the three axles, 1929
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Компания FWD представила модель R6T . которая была разработана в 1927 г. ее предшественниками. Компания « Four Wheel Drive Motors», более известная под аббревиатурой FWD, была образована в городе Слау в 1929 г. в результате слияния компаний "British Four Wheel Drive Tractor-Lorry" Company и "Four Wheel Drive Tractor-Lorry Engineering Company Limited".
Four Wheel Drive НН6 4x4 1930
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FWD M7 4x4 1930.jpg
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Экспериментальный образец был испытан и одобрен военным министерством в 1929 г. Затем тягач вернули на завод компании FWD, где его оборудовали новым кузовом. В конце года компания получила контракт на выпуск еще девяти машин. В эти машины были внесены некоторые изменения, из которых самым значительным была замена двигателя и коробки передач «Дормен» на двигатель АЕС А136 с верхними клапанами объемом 6,126 л и коробку передач АЕС. Изменения коснулись также кабины и кузова; в частности, новая кабина с двумя рядами сидений была оборудована шестью задними местами и еще двумя местами рядом с водителем.
В середине 1932 г. компания FWD (Брит) была поглощена компанией АЕС. и модель R6T стала именоваться «АЕС. модель 850». Всего компания FWD построила в Слау 24 тягача R6T, и еще 33 тягача построила в Саутхолле» в 1932 - 1936 гг. компания АЕС. Следовательно, общее число машин составило 57 штук.
Помимо артиллерийского тягача, некоторое число шасси было оборудовано под эвакуаторы, которые использовались артиллерийско-технической службой сухопутных войск. Известны случаи, когда тягач использовали для транспортировки танков.
В 1927–30 гг. в армию США поступали 2-тонные военные грузовики НН6 и 5-тонные М7 (4x4)
с вынесенным в передний свес рамы силовым агрегатом и крупными фарами, укрепленными по бокам кабины. Их комплектовали 6-цилиндровыми двигателями "Уокеша" мощностью 73 и 127 л.с. соответственно, 4-ступенчатыми коробками передач "БраунЛайп" (Brown-Lipe), мостами "Фор Уил Драйв" или "Висконсин".
WW II
Prime Mover (FWD SU-COE Special) based on the SU-COE truck, built from 1940-43 only for the US Marine Corps in the Pacific Theatre.
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FWD WW II truck 1942
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Four Wheel Drive HAR
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1942 FWD SU COE Gun Tractor
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Four Wheel Drive HAR-03 4x4 1942
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Наиболее известными военными автомобилями "Фор Уил Драйв" стали бескапотные 5-тонные машины серии SU (SU-COE), выпускавшиеся в 1943–45 гг. для США и союзных стран.
За два последних военных года фирма собрала также около 200 грузовиков "Уайт-666" (White) и шасси "Брокуэй С666" (Brockway) .
После WW II
В 1955–58 гг. по заданию военного ведомства фирмой был разработан опытный транспортер ХМ357 "Терракрузер" (Terracruzer) 8x8
на двух 4-колесных тележках с ведущими эластичными катками низкого давления системы "Роллигон" (Rolligon) диаметром 1068 мм и шириной 1524 мм.
FWD Terracruzer MM1
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Пототип FWD джипа, построенного в 1954 г. для замены машин "Виллис" (Willys).
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FWD Modular Military Vehicle prototype 1979
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Heavy Equipment Hauling (HET) Tractor -седельныq тягач RB662158 (6x6) для буксировки полуприцепов с танками М60А1 или М1 "Абрамс" (Abrams) при полной массе автопоездов 70–86 т
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FWD принимала участие в разработке перспективного многоцелевого автомобиля, будущего "Хаммера" (FWD в 1954 участвовал в программе по замене Виллиса). Она разработала собственный "модульный военный автомобиль" MMV (Modular Military Vehicle) 4x4 оснащенный 100-сильным дизелем "Дойц" (Deutz) воздушного охлаждения, механической 4-ступенчатой коробкой, дифференциалами повышенного трения и гидроусилителем рулевого механизма.
В конце 70-х и в 80-е гг. фирма поставила в вооруженные силы США и азиатских стран небольшие партии армейских капотных грузовиков и тягачей серии "Трэкшенир". Среди них были 7,5-тонный тактический грузовик RB441644 (44CT4) 4x4 .
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