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FIGHTING MOTORS

GREAT WAR MACHINES DESCRIBED

ONE IN NEW ZEALAND

MAY BE SENT TO THE FRONT

Some people may' be surprised to hear that there is at tho present moment a motor tractor in Hawke'a Bay which only needs to be armoured and fitted with guns to bo in all respects identical with the armoured cars, otherwise "tanks," which played such a splendidly .successful part in tho last groat British assault on tho Gorman lines in Franco. i.Tiis, however, is tho caso. Mr. W. 1?. Hyslop, managing director of tho Tourist Motor Company, Ltd., of Hastings, told a Dominion representative yesterday that his firm had recently imported a Holt caterpillar tractor, of the type whioh has boon manufactured for tho Allies. Though it lacks armour and armament, tho tractor is a war model. It may be mentioned that Mr. M'-Lean, the engineer of the Tourist Motor Company, returned not long ago from America-, where he visited tlie'- Holt Company's works and those of other lEfrgo manufacturing concerns, ?ud collected much, interesting information on the subject of war motors. The Holt Company has for somo time been declining orders for farm tractors, on the scoro of having to fulfil largo contracts for the British War Office, and Mr. M'Lean was told that eighty tractors a month were being dispatched 1 to Europe from this firm's works alone, to tho order-of the Allies. In one way and another Mr. Hyslop is possessed of a fundi of most interesting information relating'- to the slow-moving but powerful vehicles whioli lately created euch a stir on the Somme battlefront. Laying. Its Own Raits. The basic principle of tho caterpillar tractor, he stated, is that it negotiates difficult country by laying its own lino of rails.ahd running over thorp. Tho driving gear consists of a couple of endless bands of pointed, steel plates, two feert wido, and presenting a surface to t'lio ground about five feet long. This endless band) runs over a couplo of large whoels. The- rear one is toothed, and is the driver, wliilo tho weight of tho tractor is taken on each side by a scries of four flanged wheels, bearing upon rails on tho inner surface of tho endless band. In effect, therefore, /the machine runs on a pair of four-wheeled bogeys,'-travelling on tho set of 'rails carried on tho inner sidie of the jointed ;plates which grip, tho ground. Tho weight of tho maoliino is practically balanced on. tho track, and in front is a single pilot wheel. This is not used for steering and need not necessarily be in contact with tho ground' at alj. It is merely thero to prevent the nose of the car dipping down too far when descending a steep grade. The engine is an exceptionally big four-cylinder one, of soven-inch bore and nine-inch stroke. For ' farming purposes it can be run on distillate, but in military service it. is fed on the best of petrol. It develops 75 h.p. (Royal Automobile Club rating), and consumes a gallon of petrol per mile" when under "full load. It is fitted in the front part of tho chassis, and iscf the ordinary touring-car typo, with an' enormous radiator. There are two speeds forward', and one reverse. The top gear gives a speed of six miles an hour, and tho second and reverse aro each good for about two and a- half miles an- hour. The car mil climb almost any sort of a grade, short of perpendicular, will pull through- loose sand, clamber over trenches, amblo serenely through barbed wire entanglements, and break its way tlirough fences. The tractor in use in Hastings to-dfciy has hauled sixty tons of road metal in ono train. In addition to its enormous tractive powers, and its adaptability to any sort of country, the cateipillar has distinct military uses in the matter of digging trenches, etc., It can pull a trench plough, and with, equal facility, with another implement attached, it will fill up a trench already dug. ' Regarding the method) of armouring the cars, of course, nothing can be said. The tractor weighs nine and a lialf tons without armour, and half a dozen tons or so of armour would only improve its tractive capacity by ensuring a bettor grip on tho grounn. Tho platform on the chassis is a big and roomy one, and should provide accommodation for one or two fair sized l ma-chine-guns or small quick-firers, with adequate squads of men to serve them. Tlie War Caterpillar. Some inaccuracies appeared,.- Mr. Hyslop remarked,' in recent cable messages relating to the weight and liorse--power of tho Tho type which is armoured and used in attacking field fortifications is of 75 horsepower, and (without the armour) weighs nine and a half tons. Thero is a larger typo of 120 horse-power, weighing twelve and a' half tons, which is chiefly used in hauling big guns and in other heavy traction. The bigger tractors' have been sent in large numbers. to Russia and also to Salonika. •Since tho most" notable characteristic of these machines is their ability to drag enormous loads under conditions which no. ordinary vehicle could face, their presence in tho Russian theatre may profoundly influenco events in that area during tho coming winter. The tractors aro fitted to oarry ■ a three days' supply of fuel. As an indication of their powers it may be mentioned that the o«o now in Hawko's Bay dragged out of a river-bed a truck fully loaded with metal and 1 sunk to its axles. Tho loaded truck and tlie tractor were of about equal weight. Regarding tho tractir imported by bis firm, Mr. Hy&'op remarked that he thought it would bo considerably more useful at the'front 'than here. The cost of tho machine was £2000, and if three other donors would provido £500 each, his firm would bo prepared 1o allow it to bo sent to France as New Zealand's gift. Mr. Hyslop has communicated with the- Defence Department on the subject. Ho is returning to Hastings immediately, and hopes to speedily cohcludo arrangements for tho gift of the tractor on tho conditions stated. In tho event of tho gift being made, tho Defence Department will no doubt obtain instructions from the Imperial authorities as to its disposal.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19160922.2.33

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2883, 22 September 1916, Page 6

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,045

FIGHTING MOTORS Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2883, 22 September 1916, Page 6

FIGHTING MOTORS Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2883, 22 September 1916, Page 6

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