FWD Test

Alexander Williams test FWD trucks QuadV 4x4
"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 condition* in 1912. He went to visit the factories of Aldcn Sampson, Ford, Garford, Mack and White.
The first two trucks to be purchased for such experimental purposes were a 1 1/4-ton Aldcn Sampson and a 1 1/2-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-forced ball-and-socket, which was the basis for their four -wheel-drive concept. Other earlier designs using chain had failed or were so limited in steering capability they were essentially useless in any road conditions.
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 S1,900. (To be precise, some records show SI,904. others 51,940.) It was equipped with an army escort wagon box for military use.
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."
The Scout Car, òàê îí áûë ïîçæå íàçâàí, äîêàçàë âûãîäû ïîëíîãî ïðèâîäà fwd test test fwd truck test FWD B-type truck 1917 Aberdeen Proving Grounds. FWD truck test
Four-wheel-drive trucks had been built before those manufactured by FWD, but aside from the Jeffery Quad Quad (Nash Quad, per subsequent purchase), earlier designs were very crude, inefficient and flimsy.
"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, Saurcr, 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.
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.
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 Gallienis 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 rhe U.S. military, but somehow it was overlooked."
Îòðûâîê èç êíèãè American Military Vehicles of World War I: An Illustrated History of Armored, American Military Vehicles of World War I: An Illustrated History of Armored, , Albert Mroz ïåðåâîä îòðûâêà, Êíèãè.
Test truck FWD FWD truck driving in mud FWD R6T 6 x 6 Artillery Tractor FWD R6T 6 x 6 Artillery Tractor on block at the company factory showing the independent suspension on each of the three axles New Proving Grond and Demonstation Field FWD (1941)
Âíåäîðîæíûå òðàíñïîðòíûå ñðåäñòâà (Land Locomotion – Mechanical Vehicle Mobility LL-MVM) Home