Albert Mroz. "American Military Vehicles of World War I" (перевод отрывка из книги)
Northwest Military и Naval Academy в Lake Geneva, Wisconsin стали (в 1911 г) испытательным центром транспорта. Работы проводились под руководством Major Royal P. Davidson.
В это время автомобилей в армии США практически не было. В основном это были “escort wagons” Alden Sampson (Alden Sampson Manufacturing Company) и “officer’s roadsters” Autocar.
The Society of Automotive Engineers, (возглавляемое Howard Coffin) и Quartermaster Corps сформулировали Стандартные спецификации для грузового транспорта в 1913 г. с целью унификации, но эти предложения были отложены в связи технологической неразвитостью производства.
Военные в основном надеялись на пехоту и гужевой транспорт.
Within the next four years, the Northwest Military and Naval Academy in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, became the center for motor vehicle experimentation. The experimental work continued under Major Royal P. Davidson. His three-wheeler experiment was too unstable. The first three vehicles were not used in combat but only for training purposes, yet they became the inspiration for further development, especially in light of the fact that the newly invented machine gun developed by Hiram Maxim could spray a hail of powerful bullets at any group of unprotected soldiers. Speed, range, reliability andarmor became the key ingredients to any combat vehicle.
In 1911 there were approximately 25,000 trucks in America, out of which fewer than 30 were owned by the U.S. Army. A few of these were custom-built as “escort wagons” by Alden Sampson. There were also “officer’s roadsters” from Autocar. The Society of Automotive Engineers, headed by Howard Coffin, and the Quartermaster Corps formulated detailed specifications for a standardized U.S. Army truck in 1913, but the plans were put aside and lay fallow during this period of technological awakening.
The cavalry still held a prominent position in the hierarchy and was the primary factor in resisting modernization. Military men still firmly believed that battles would be fought on foot and on horseback, even if armies were transported from one general area to another by trains and across oceans by ship. But in the brutal competition for conquest, technology changed rapidly and many advances were made during World War I, especially in motor vehicle development.
View of Four Wheel Drive Auto Co Clintonville Wisconsin
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Badger-1908
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The Four Wheel Drive Company of Clintonville,
Wisconsin, was the builder of this vehicle dubbed “The Battleship” before the pioneering
enterprise built their well-known FWD trucks.
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Four-Wheel-Drive Auto Company in Clintonville, Wis
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В 1912 г прогрессивный воинский руководитель Captain Alexander E. Williams уговорил James B. Aleshire (Quartermaster) одобрить испытания разработанных для использования в обозе транспортные средства, произведенные Alden Sampson, Форд, Garford, Mack и White.
Затем Captain Williams увидел заметку об Ottow Zachow и William Besserdich из Clintonville (Wisconsin), которые запатентовали "Y-шарнир", позволявший приводить в движение 4 колеса повозки.
Captain Williams поехал в Clintonville и взял автомобиль Four Wheel Drive (FWD) Auto Company для испытаний, который преодолевал вспаханное поле, грязь, песок. Автомобиль преобразовали для военного использования.
Another more progressive military leader emerged in the person of Captain Alexander E. Williams. He persuaded Quartermaster General James B. Aleshire into approving an elaborate test in off-road military convoy conditions in 1912. He went to visit the factories of Alden Sampson, Ford, Garford, Mack and White.
The first two trucks to be purchased for such experimental purposes were a 11?4-ton Alden Sampson and a 11?2-ton White. Then Captain Williams noticed a small ad in a newspaper that would eventually lead to one of the most poignant success stories in truck development and production.
What Captain Williams discovered was a fledgling vehicle builder located in a small Wisconsin town named Clintonville. Ottow Zachow and his brother-in-law, William Besserdich, had patented the first double-Y universal joint encased in a drop-forged balland-socket, which was the basis for their four-wheel-drive concept. Other earlier designs using chain had failed or were.
Captain Williams took a train to Clintonville and was given a ride in the second vehicle that the Four Wheel Drive (FWD) Auto Company had built. It was a large touring car later transformed into truck iteration. The all-important test drive, which included wheeling through plowed fields, mud holes and sand pits and even up the steps of the local Lutheran church, so impressed Captain Williams that he purchased an FWD car for $1,900. (To be precise, some records show $1,904, others $1,940.) It was equipped with an army escort wagon box for military use.
The double-ended Jeffery was designed for narrow paths and roads where there was no room for a U-turn to escape gunfire. Only a few prototypes were built in 1915. Two drivers, each with a steering assembly and full controls of the vehicle with one engine and four-wheel drive.
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49 grade Nash truck demonstration. Charles Nash bought the Jeffery Company in 1916, the trucks became known as Nash Quads.
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The Nash Quad joined the Four-Wheel-Drive (FWD) and Walter trucks as some of the most important 4x4 Allied vehicles of World War I.
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Аналогичные конструкции делались и раньше но они были сырыми и неэффективными. Конструкции FWD и Nash Quads впервые доказали работоспособность.
Первое транспортное средство компании, названное Z%26B, приводилось в действие паром и не было успешным. Второе транспортное средство, сделанное в 1910 и названное “The Battleship,” (Линейный корабль) оказалось достойным названия “привод на четыре колеса”. Джо Cotton, редактор Clintonville Tribune, предсказал - “Если недавно запатентованная конструкция привода соответствует ожиданиям, то это революционизирует автомобильный бизнес, а именами изобретателей, Zachow и Besserdich, будут называть улицы".
Wisconsin has been called the “badger state,” and the Badger Four Wheel Drive Auto Company of Clintonville, Wisconsin, revolutionized motor vehicle design one century ago. (The Badger name had been dropped in 1911 and the company became known as FWD.) FWD trucks of World War I, along with Nash Quads, made a very significant impact transporting soldiers and materiel in a widespread theater of war at a time when there were very few paved roads and four-wheel drive was essential to slog through mud and snow across Europe.Four-wheel-drive trucks had been built before those manufactured by FWD, but aside from the Jeffery Quad (Nash Quad, per subsequent purchase), earlier designs were very crude, inefficient and flimsy.The patent in 1901 for four-wheel drive by Gustave Hoffman in England was not viable, nor were a number of other patented designs, primarily due to engineering deficiencies regarding chain drive, durability, torque transfer and other mechanical disorders. It was Ottow Zachow with his brother-in-law, William Besserdich, who finally got it right. They owned a machine shop in Clintonville that had been started in 1891. The patents they filed in 1907 and that were granted the following year proved to be truly functional, and their two-man shop would become one of the great success stories in American ingenuity and productivity.
One of the patents they obtained was for the above-mentioned double-Y universal joint encased in a drop-forged ball-and-socket (U.S. Patent No. 882,986), in addition toa nother patent for a transfer case (U.S. Patent No. 907,940), which evenly divided the power to both front and rear axles.
The company started out on a shoestring budget and was further helped along in 1909 with the financial help of a local doctor whose name was W.H. Finney. He lost faith in the venture early on and withdrew his $1,800 investment.Th e company’s first vehicle, called the Z%26B, was powered by steam and was not a
success. The second vehicle, made in 1910 and dubbed “The Battleship,” proved itself worthy of being called “four-wheel drive,” and Joe Cotton, editor of the Clintonville Tribune, predicted, “If the recently patented drive lives up to expectations, it will revolutionize the automobile business and place inventors, Zachow and Besserdich, on easy street.” Only the first part of that statement was true.
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В 1910 компания была реорганизована. Как главный покровитель компании, Walter A. Olen, отвечал за продажи и маркетинг.Он бросил юридическую практику, чтобы посвятить себя новой компании.
Став генеральным директором в 1911 Walter Olen угадал, что будущее компании “four-wheel-drive” в коммерческой и воинской продукции. Olen уговорил скептичных акционеров на постройку среди первых 7 экипажей - FWD.
The Clintonville Advancement Association в том же году проводила соревнование, в котором автомобили Brush, Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Halloway, Hudson, Imperial конкурировали с FWD на песчаном грунте и уступили, - FWD пришлось их буксировать. Благодаря прилагаемым усилиям удалось построить фабрику для производства автомобилей (которыми впоследствии снабжались войска союзников).
Чутье не подвело Olen и оно пересеклось с прогрессивными взглядами Captain Alexander E. Williams, выпускника West Point. Он верил, что лошади и ослы остануться в прошлом, а будущее - за моторным транспортом. Свои взгляды он опубликовал в «Infantry Journal». Служба в Quartermaster Corps дала ему возможность подтвердить теорию.
In 1910 the company was reorganized after Dr. Finney changed his mind. As the
company’s main promoter, Walter A. Olen stepped up to be head of sales and marketing.
Olen had settled in Clintonville and gave up his law practice to dedicate himself to the
new company.
The Clintonville Advancement Association, also formed that year, held a competition in which dozens of automobiles competed against an FWD in a sand pit. The list of contenders included a Brush, Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Halloway, Hudson and Imperial. All were humiliated when they had to be towed out by the FWD as a crowd of 7,000 cheered, “mad with enthusiasm” according to the local Tribune.
Once Walter Olen became general manager, he surmised correctly in 1911 that the future of both the company and four-wheel-drive would be in commercial and military vehicle production. Olen persuaded the skeptical stockholders that among the first seven FWD vehicles the company was to build, at least one should be a two-ton capacity truck, even though FWD number three was a 4x4 touring car sold to the Pinkerton Detective Agency in Chicago.
Olen’s gut feeling was correct, primarily due to the progressive outlook of Captain Alexander E. Williams, who was a graduate from West Point. He believed that the horse and mule were becoming obsolete and that it was time to adopt motor vehicles, according to a piece he published in the Infantry Journal. His four-year assignment with the Quartermaster Corps gave him time to develop his theory.
Badger FWD Car
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This FWD truck was part of the Army’s “road test” in 1912, which began in Washington, D.C., and
continued as far as Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana over more than 1,500 miles, most of which
was not road.
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Badger FWD Car for Army
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FWD field truck US Army
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The Four-Traction Auto Co. and built the Kato, the first American Automobile with four wheel drive. Ernest Rosenburger was a Mankato candy maker who founded Four-Traction Auto Co. in 1907. Rosenberger designed and patented his four wheel drive chassis to overcome wheel spin on Mankato's steep hills.
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The Kato was built as five and seven passenger Touring Cars. In addition 1 1/2 ton trucks, light truck and fire engines were produced by The Four-Traction Auto Co. of Mankato, MN, all with four wheel drive. Only about 15 automobiles and 25 trucks were built
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Williams не был единственным чиновником, хотевшим модернизации вооруженных сил. Major General Nelson A. Miles, (ветеран Гражданской Войны и Indian campaigns), взявший командование армией США в 1895, принимал во внимание использование грузовиков европейскими армиями, в то время как вооруженные силы в Соединенных Штатах оставались консервативными и неповоротливыми.
Он рекомендовал моторизовать некоторые службы в 1902 г, но его предложение только оскорбило чиновников от кавалерии.
Капитан Williams продолжал усилия по механизации, и, после закупки транспорта у Alden Sampson и White trucks, он также посетил различные заводы по производству грузовиков, такие как Mack and Garford, но не находил соответствующее транспортное средство для использования на бездорожье.
Although a rarity among Army brass, Williams was not the only officer to believe in modernizing the military. Major General Nelson A. Miles, who was a veteran of the Civil War and Indian campaigns, took command of the U.S. Army in 1895. Despite his senior status he was quite imaginative, even forming a bicycle troop in 1897. He took note of the use of trucks by European armies while the military in the United States remained stodgy
and conservative.
In 1902 the Ordnance Department bought a forge and battery wagon from the U.S. Long Distance Automobile Company, and the following year the surgeon general asked the White Sewing Machine Company of Cleveland to develop an experimental ambulance.
When Major General Miles retired in 1903, he recommended that at least five motorized regiments be organized to replace standard cavalry units. He foretold that “self-propelled transportation will be utilized in the next war” and recommended the improvement of roads across the nation. But the intransigent cavalry officers were only offended by such recommendations.
Captain Williams continued with his efforts at mechanization, and after buying the Alden Sampson and White trucks, he also visited various truck factories such as Mack and Garford where he did not find an appropriate vehicle for off-road use. However, both Mack and Garford were later to become of paramount importance during the war.
FWD sweet-talked an Army representative Captain Williams
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Alexander Williams
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FWD Test drive in mud
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Запланированные дорожные испытания зимой 1912 начались в Washington D.C. Маршрут был проложен через грязные дороги и целинные участки местности к Atlanta, и к Fort Benjamin Harrison at Indianapolis, протяженностью 1.509 миль. В испытаниях участвовали Autocar, Sampson и FWD. Каждое было нагружено тонной груза, плюс тонна с половиной балласта песка. У двигателя грузовика Sampson сгорели подшипники и он был оставлен. Другие 3 экипажа прибыли в конечный пункт 28-ого (началось испытание 8-ое февраля 1912).
Капитан Williams доказал, что такие транспортные средства могли использоваться на бездорожье в определенных ситуациях, хотя они имели поломки.
Во втором тесте использовались те же грузовики плюс Sampson, Kelly-Springfield, Kato (Four Traction Automobile Company), Mack, Saurer, Velie, Packard and a Graham. Второй маршрут был из Dubuque, Iowa, в Sparta, Wisconsin. Все машины были 4x2 кроме FWD и Kato.
The FWD became part of a planned “road” test that had been devised during 1911 by the Army brass. The road test course of winter 1912 started in Washington D.C., traversed across muddy dirt roads, trails and open land south to Atlanta, and then back up north to Fort Benjamin Harrison at Indianapolis, a total of 1,509 miles. The only trucks that were finally used in the test were an Autocar, the earlier bought Sampson, a White and the FWD. Each was loaded with a ton of supplies plus a ton and a half of sand ballast.To say that proving out the trucks in this way was grueling would be an understatement. The Sampson’s engine’s connecting rod bearings burned out, so it was left behind. The other three trucks finally made it to Fort Benjamin Harrison on March 28, having
started out February 8, 1912.
Even though all the trucks in the test had broken down at various points and had to be repaired along the way, Captain Williams proved that such vehicles could be used in the back country in certain situations. A second test from Dubuque, Iowa, to Sparta, Wisconsin, using the same trucks along with the repaired Sampson, plus a Kelly-Springfield, Kato, Mack, Saurer, Velie, Packard and a Graham, involved supplying a provisional regiment during the long practice march. All were two-wheel-drive except the FWD and the Kato.
Капитан Williams продолжал доказывать, что грузовики могут быть очень полезными для Армии, при условии устранения недостатков конструкции. Главная проблема состояла в том, что транспорт должен был двигаться со скоростью пехоты, что приводило к перегреву двигателей. Три грузовика, которые были отобраны из целой группы для дальнейшего использования были Mack, White и FWD. Kato был 4x4, но имел проблемы в трансмиссии. Хотя успехи механизации были неоднозначны, капитан Williams смог растопить лед и определенная часть военных стала присматриваться к новым идеям.
Captain Williams proved that trucks could be very useful to the Army, provided certain design deficiencies were overcome. The primary trouble was that all the trucks were required to amble along at the speed of the marching infantrymen, which was about 3 to 4 mph. This tended to overheat almost every motor. The three trucks that were selected out of the whole group for further use were the Mack, White and FWD. The Kato, although four-wheel-drive, had major power distribution problems due to inadequate transmission/transfer design. Although the rest of the “Army grey beards,” as Automobile Topics Magazine called them, were still uncertain of moving forward with mechanization, Captain Williams had broken the ice and opened a few minds to new ideas.
Loading Truck FWD
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FWD truck driven from factory to Shipment
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US Army FWD Truck Fort Myer Virginia 1917
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Война распространялась по всей Европе в 1914 и скоро стало ясно, что моторизация станет главным фактором в новом столетии.
Первый важный поворот событий произошел, когда известная армия “taxi-corps” генерала Gallieni спасла Париж в первом Сражении при Марне, опередив приближающуюся немецкую пехоту.
Это должно было быть призывом к действию для США. Но прозвеневший звонок не был услышан.
Walter Olen прикладывал определенные усилия для раширения бизнеса и это принесло свои плоды. Сначала автомобили продавали поштучто (1913) а затем целыми партиями (1915).Заказы шли из Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Portugal, Russia, Spain.
As war exploded across Europe in 1914, it soon became clear that motorization would become a major factor in the new century. The first momentous turn of events occurred when General Gallieni’s famous “taxi-corps” army saved Paris in the first Battle of the Marne, outrunning the approaching German infantry by using every available motor vehicle to arrive ahead of the enemy. Some 12,000 taxis and sundry vehicles hurried 4,985 troops 28 miles in that all-important battle. This should have been a wake-up call for the U.S.military, but somehow it was overlooked.
Meanwhile, since the American military brass were still experimenting, FWD hadt o find its own civilian markets to continue its tentative existence. No assembly line meant that FWD cars and trucks were hand-built one by one, resulting in a very narrow profit margin. In 1912 FWD trucks were sold to the Silver City Beer and Ice Company of Denver, Colorado, and other 1.5-ton and 3-ton trucks were sold in 1913. The trucks were powered by a 36.1 hp Wisconsin engine and were capable all of 16 mph when shod with the standard 42-inch hard rubber tires.
Financial uncertainties plagued FWD’s first years, and Walter Olen became master at convincing the people of Clintonville not to relinquish the small but reputable FWD factory. He feverishly pursued his quest to meet the capitalization needs of a quarter million dollars in a town of about 2,000 inhabitants. The nearby city of Appleton tried to lure the FWD company away, but Clintonville citizens and the company directors resisted. Once the war began in Europe, the firm of Gaston, Williams and Wigmore bought two FWD trucks and shipped them to England. Within four weeks an order for 50 more arrived, and the company was doing business like never before. The single order for 50 trucks was more than all the vehicles the company had built up to that time.
By the end of 1915, the factory output capacity had to be doubled and then doubled again, with a new building added. Orders came in from Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Portugal, Russia, Spain and elsewhere. For that year 400 trucks were shipped with a standing order of 200 per month from the military alone
1916 FWD Army Military Truck In Mexico (Pershing)
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После того как Pancho Villa пересек границу и атаковал Columbus, New Mexico, 9-ого марта 1916, Quartermaster Corps затребовал поставить 147 грузовиков FWD. Правительство США приказало отозвать уже погруженный для отправки в Англию транспорт и грузовики срочно закамуфлировали в штатные цвета Армии США (хотя в этом не было необходимости). Затем партия грузовиков была отправлена в Гонолулу для укомплектования войск. В 1917 году большой заказ был сделан для Армии США.
Между тем в тылу назрел скандал между Ottow Zachow, Walter Olen Besserdich за правообладание патентами, приведший к судебным процессам. Besserdich в результате покинул компанию и организовал собственную, названную Oshkosh, также ставшую крупным производителем внедорожных грузовиков для Армии США.
Армия в конце войны покупает патенты у FWD за 400 000 $.Эти патенты были использованы для создания многих других 4x4 транспортных средств во Второй мировой войны.
After Pancho Villa crossed the border and attacked Columbus, New Mexico, on March 9, 1916, the Quartermaster Corps ordered 147 FWD trucks. The U.S. government demanded shipment under the National Defense Act, and trucks painted gray for shipping to England, already loaded onto trains, were unloaded and repainted green as U.S. Army vehicles (although there was little greenery in New Mexico and northern Mexico in which to be camouflaged with those colors).
With FWD trucks proving themselves in the pursuit of Pancho Villa (although he was never caught), another order came for a trainload of FWD 3-ton trucks to be shipped to Honolulu for the 8th Regiment of the Artillery, which became the first unit of the U.S. Army to be completely equipped with motor transport.
Then in 1917, FWD received the largest contract for trucks ever ordered by the U.S.Army: 3,750 trucks to be shipped at a rate of 175 per month at a total contract of $12 million. The company struggled to keep up with production quotas. Because so many men went off to war, many women worked at the factory in assembly and as test drivers.
Although FWD was striving valiantly to fill their orders, mishaps, damage and even sabotage dogged shipments. A few trainloads of FWD trucks were sabotaged by German sympathizers, who poured sand into the crankcases and transmissions. This came as quite a shock to the American public when the news hit the headlines, and backlash soon followed. As an example, Kissel Kar dropped the “Kar” during World War I because it sounded too German, according to a statement by a company official after the war. Also, in 1918 seven FWD trucks fell into the hands of the enemy when the ship Suchan was captured
by the German navy, and another shipment fell victim to German submarine torpedoes.
On the home front, while FWD prospered, the two key founding figures did not fare
well at all. Ottow Zachow had cashed in his original 350 shares early on, assigned to him for his patent rights. He had received $9,000 and went back to his machine shop. William Besserdich had sold out by 1913, but along with several other impatient stockholders, who had become disillusioned early on, he brought a lawsuit against Walter Olen and the company directors. The plaintiffs charged that Olen’s group had conspired to defraud them by concealing the British orders in the summer of 1914, but the courts settled in favor of the defendants. Consequently, Besserdich organized a rival company to build 4x4 trucks called Oshkosh in the nearby city by that name. It turned out to be one of the largest manufacturers of off-road and specialty vehicles for the U.S. military. The soundness of the 4x4 design could not have gotten a more certain tribute than by having the U.S. Army buy out the basic patents of the Four Wheel Drive Auto Company for the sum of $400,000 just before the end of World War I. These patents were used to build numerous other 4x4 vehicles through World War II.
By the end of World War I, over 15,000 Model B three-ton FWD trucks had been built, and many survived to continue work for road building, snow plowing, construction and many other applications.
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FWD’s 56 bhp motor powered all four wheels through a central three-speed transmission that had a transfer shaft driven by a 5-inch Morse silent chain splitting the power to front and rear shaft drive.The transfer case provided part-time four wheel drive and high and low ratios.
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FWD with a later cushioned seat
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FWD Drive Auto Co had a Kitchener plant on Union Boulevard near York Street
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1921-FWD-Pump
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Four Wheel Drive Auto Co Clintonville Wisconsin
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There was such a demand for the Model B FWD trucks that they were built under license, such as these assembled at the Kissel factory.
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Многочисленные грузовики, использовавшиеся и после войны, требовали запасных частей и была открыта фабрика в 1919 г в Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. FWD купило еще 2 завода в Menominee в 1921 и в Wisconsin. Конструкция грузовика FWD 3-ton Model B была довольно удачной - двигатель приводил в движение с помощью 3-хступенчатой трансмиссии и затем через раздаточную коробку колеса с помощью карданных валов к главным передачам передней и задней оси". Эти автомобили наводнили Америку и Европу и FWD заключило контракт на постройку аналогов с фирмами Peerless, Kissel (участвовала в сборке полноприводных грузовиков FWD), Premier and Mitchell Model B
With many hundreds of FWD trucks shipped to New Mexico for the Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa, and thousands across the Atlantic during World War I, and many more doing duty at home, the FWD company’s strategy after the war was to begin a large program of manufacturing spare parts for the glut of surplus trucks already out in the field. Many of the FWD trucks were disbursed by the government for road building, snow plowing, construction, fire fighting, oil drilling, logging and other applications. A second factory at Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, was opened in 1919, and FWD purchased
one of two companies named Menominee in 1921, yet another Wisconsin firm.
By the end of World War I, FWD had built 15,000 Model B trucks for the military, making the company the largest producer of 4 x 4 trucks in the world. Most of them had been shipped to Europe and most of them were shipped back. That number was astounding in that it was such a large proportion of an estimated total of 35,000 trucks shipped from the U.S. to Europe once America was directly involved in the “war to end all wars.” Of that number, 24,000 were engaged in supply and general cargo, and about 4,200 were involved in supplying ammunition. The Kahn-Wadsworth Bill after World War I allowed for the distribution of thousands of surplus trucks such as FWD for road building in America. Sergeant E.V. Rickenbacker, who had been a famous pilot and was also a chauffeur
for General Pershing, testified after the war about FWD trucks:
I can only say, and will be backed up by some of the most eminent engineers of Europe and America, that it was one of the greatest factors in the defense of Verdun, Chateau-Thierry and even Paris. The FWDs were found everywhere, hurrying supplies of all descriptions, where most needed, and at the right time, frequently turning the tide of battle, for without it our armies in the field would have been nothing for want of ammunition and supplies.
By the end of the war, production had risen to $48 million. The 3-ton Model B FWD’s 56 bhp motor powered all four wheels through a central three-speed transmissionthat had a transfer shaft driven by a 5-inch Morse silent chain splitting the power to front and rear shaft drive. The use of vanadium steel in the ladder-type chassis with straight channel-section side members was quite advanced. The truck could carry its own weight in load. Some of the FWDs shipped to the front were FWD–built artillery supply trucks, artillery repair trucks and ordnance repair trucks, which carried ammunition, gun spares,
lathes, welding equipment and other machining equipment that could be carried into the field. It was one of the most useful trucks of World War I. With so many orders to fill for the military, FWD contracted other companies—Peerless, Kissel, Premier and Mitchell—to build the Model B.
Once the war began, France bought a number
of Jeffery Quad trucks, but even the tough 4x4 could get mired in mud, as shown here at the
front in 1916.
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Once the war began, France bought a number
of Jeffery Quad trucks, but even the tough 4x4 could get mired in mud, as shown here at the
front in 1916.
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When Charles Nash bought the Jeffery Company in 1916, the trucks became known as Nash Quads,
shown here on a road in France in 1918.
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Thomas Jeffery также сделал важный вклад в строительство военных грузовиков используемый в WW I. Его компания построила Jeffery Quad в 1913 в Kenosha, Wisconsin, к тому времени перешедшая к сыну Charles.
История сделала резкий поворот 7 мая 1915, когда немецкая субмарина торпедировала Lusitania. Charles Jeffery был борту корабля в качестве сопровождающего Nash Quads в Европу. Он был один из 761 оставшихся в живых, 1 198 погибли в Атлантике. После возвращения в США Charles Jeffery продал свою компанию Charles Nash в июле 1916, и Jeffery-Quad стали Nash-Quad. Потопление Lusitania склонило общественное мнение к вступлению США в войну.
Thomas Jeffery made an equally important contribution regarding military trucks used in World War I. His company had built the Rambler automobile in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and it also introduced the Jeffery Quad 4x4 truck in 1913. The company built 3,096 Quads in 1914, but that year was marred by the sudden passing of Thomas Jeffery from a heart attack. His son Charles took over and continued to lead the prosperous enterprise.
One of the first revolutionary purpose-built vehicles the Jeffery company built for the military would be Armored Car No. 1. It has been considered by military vehicle historians to be top-heavy a nd clumsy. It was basically a large quantity of .20-inch armor plate riveted at right angles to a square cage made of structural steel on a 4x4 Jeffery truck of 1914, probably completed in early 1915.
Despite its real shortcomings, the Jeffery armored car would be a platform from which further development continued. However, as impressive as the vehicles appeared, the issue of armor for armor’s sake would be complicated by the problem of speed, maneuverability, steering, traction and visibility for the driver. Lack of good roadway, pavement or even solid ground precluded most armored cars from being at all effective in real combat situations until these problems were solved with deflection shape for lighter materials, large tires with heavy tread pattern, periscope vision and bullet-proof glass, multiple-drive axlesand wheels, and other utilitarian features.
History took a dramatic turn when on May 7, 1915, a German submarine torpedoed the Lusitania. Charles Jeffery was on board escorting some Nash Quads to Europe. He was one of the 761 survivors on the day 1,198 others perished in the North Atlantic. Isaac Trumbull, accompanying 40 Trumbull cyclecars, perished among the other passengers. After returning to the U.S., Charles Jeffery sold his company to Charles Nash by July of 1916, and the Jeffery-Quad became the Nash-Quad. Therefore, before America entered the war, numerous submarine attacks on ships crossing to England, and the sinking of the
Lusitania, helped truly galvanize public sentiment in the United States to enter World War I.
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4wd car
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The Ordnance Department tested the standardized Militor truck in Nyack, New York, by towing a Nash Quad and Renault truck uphill at Hook Mountain.
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The Militor 4x4 was thoroughly tested by the Ordnance Department at Hook Mountain in August of 1918 but never went into mass production before the war ended. The 1918 Militor was the culmination of efforts by the Society of Automotive Engineers and the Ordnance Department after the U.S. military had used several different makes of 4 x 4 trucks.
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In August of 1918, the Ordnance Department wrote a complete evaluation of the Militor using detailed photos such as this one of the rugged
internal gear drive, which performed very well.
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Были и другие компании производившие полноприводные конструкци такие как Golden West Motors, Militor но до массового или серийного производства они не дошли.
В 1917 г. U.S. Ordnance Departmen проводил тестирование американских грузовиков.
Армия США определила стандартизированныйг рузовик заменяющий 4x4 - аналог FWD, Winther, Duplex, Walter и Nash Quad.
Две компании получили контракт на их постройку - Militor Corporation, Jersey City и Sinclair Corporation, New York City.
Заказы были анулированы после окончания войны.
In addition to FWD and Jeffery/Nash, by the beginning of World War I there were only a few manufacturers in the field of four-wheel-drive vehicles. Around the turn of the century there had been only three notable patents awarded for four-wheel drive—to GustaveHoffma n in England during 1901, and in the U.S. to William Bard in 1904 (in addition to the third being Zachow-Besserdich at FWD).As World War I ignited in Europe, among the competitors building four-wheel-drive vehicles were Couple-Gear, C.T., Duplex, Morton, Nevada, Walter and Ware. To be more specific, C.T. (which stood for “commercial truck” at one point) only built battery-powered trucks. Morton, the predecessor of Hurlburt, lasted only until 1916, and its biggest customer was the Russian government. Hurlburt lasted until 1927 but did not build 4 x 4s. Nevada built trucks under license from Four Wheel Traction Automobile Company, which became Kato. All were defunct by 1913. Couple-Gear built battery-powered as well as gasoline-electric hybrid trucks and buses before World War I.
By that time, the Four-Wheel-Drive Wagon Company, the American Motor Truck Company, Cunningham Engineering Company, Aultman & Company, the Four Traction
Automobile Company (Kato) and the Cleveland Motor Truck Manufacturing Company had each tried their hand at building 4 x 4s and had not succeeded. Kato - Four Traction Automobile Company.
One out-of-the-ordinary exception was Golden West Motors of Sacramento, California. In addition to being a vehicle manufacturer on the West Coast, among only a very few at the time, the company was founded by an inventive engineer named Edward Robinson and several wealthy investors. However, they could not agree on the company’s direction or proper management. Robinson had obtained four patents by 1914, including one for four-wheel steering.
At the time of the genesis of Golden West Motors in 1913, Sacramento and vicinity were growing rapidly. Nearby Stockton was also developing as an industrial deep-sea port city via canal to San Francisco. Sampson had started to build farm equipment, including tractors in Stockton, and Holt of Caterpillar fame also had its origins there, along with Best of crawler tractor fame in nearby San Leandro.
The first two Golden West trucks were both four-wheel drive and four-wheel steer. They were both powered by a Continental engine mounted on a subframe. The transfer case included Whitney silent chains, another innovation. All in all, Golden West Motors was a “golden goose” for Sacramento and its new industry. Cross-country tests were undertaken for 7,500 miles and a truck polo match was organized in front of the capitol for publicity.
However, due to stockholders’ discontent and much wrangling among the key players, by 1916 the company was now called Robinson. That year the 8th Artillery Regiment in Honolulu, Hawaii, bought 36 four-wheel-drive trucks, but they were all built by FWD in distant Wisconsin. A group of Sacramento businessmen associated with the Globe Iron Works began negotiating with the federal government to assemble the Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” airplane. This did come to fruition and Mather Field opened just outside Sacramento city limits as a flight training center. But because of further internal strife at Golden West, the company faded away, missing an enormous opportunity whether or not they would contribute to the military needs of the U.S. Army during World War I. There was also
much need for this type of vehicle in the enormous California Central Valley agricultural fields.
The Golden West four-wheel-drive was well engineered and the four-wheel-steering feature was great for open terrain, but very problematic when in the city next to a building, curb, tree or other object, as the vehicle’s aft turned inward, colliding with any adjoining obstacle. The next iteration of the company, named Big Four, abandoned fourwheel steering, but it was too late and the entire enterprise completely faded out soon after the war.
The final testing of American World War I trucks was conducted by the U.S. Ordnance Department beginning late in 1917. The U.S. Army had specified a standardized truck to replace the 4x4s such as FWD, Winther, Duplex, Walter and Nash Quad. Two companies received a contract to build this heavy duty 4x4—the Militor Corporation of Jersey City and the Sinclair Corporation of New York City. The Militor also had its radiator behind the engine, used a 36 hp Wisconsin four-cylinder power plant and a fourspeed transmission with internal gear drive.
Meanwhile, grueling tests at Hook Mountain in Nyack, New York, were set up during which the Militor truck prototypes had to tow a Nash Quad and a Renault uphill, dig themselves out of wheel-high mud and climb stairlike boulders. The trucks performed very well but after 150 were built, orders were canceled as the war ended. Militor merged with Knox in order to survive and moved to their facilities in Springfield, Massachusetts.
В 1929 году Freeman разработал оригинальную систему полного привода управляемой передней и задней оси
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Freeman имел также дополнительную к рессорам систему сглаживания колебаний на неровностях "Gruss Air Springs". Аналогичная система использовалась на автомобилях Marmon Herrington модель A30-6 (1933 г.) и других моделях (Marmon-Herrington THD-315-6, Lumberjack truck)
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1910 Kato Four Wheel Drive Truck
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