Davidson Auto Battery armored car
Encyclopedia
The Davidson Automobile Battery armored car was a further development of the Davidson-Duryea gun carriage
, but with steam power. It was built by Royal Page Davidson
and the cadets of the Northwestern Military and Naval Academy
in Highland Park, Illinois
. Davidson designed this vehicle in 1901. He and his students at the Northwestern Military and Naval Academy built two of these partially armored military vehicles. They were armed with Colt .38 caliber machine guns. The vehicles were powered by a tubular steam boiler. They had difficulty in going up hills because of changes of the water level in the boiler. Davidson made these lightly armored military vehicles of one thousand pounds at the Academy campus in Highland Park, Illinois. These two partially armored military vehicles were labeled No. 1 and No. 2. Presently No. 2 is at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry
.
The Peoria Rubber and Motor Vehicle Manufacturing Company in Peoria, Illinois
manufactured Davidson's armored military vehicles. They built them from the patent specifications of Charles Duryea
of the Duryea Motor Wagon Company
. The Automobile Battery armored vehicle front steam boiler is connected to a six horsepower Duryea Motor Wagon Company three-cylinder steam engine
. The front bulletproof shield to protect the driver was detachable. There was a vertical opening in the metal shield surrounding the machine gun. The machine guns on the vehicles could fire 480 shots a minute, rotate 180 degrees, and had a firing range of 2000 yards.
The Davidson Automobile Battery armored vehicle’s fuel tank and engine were covered with armor and a metal bulletproof removable shield added to the front to protect the passengers. Davidson had his cadet
s add the Colt automatic machine gun as part of the School's Manual Training Department's program. The military vehicle was intended to be a scout car
. These prototypes that Davidson with his cadets manufactured were never produced commercially, however they would become the armored car as we know it today as well as the armored tank
used in modern warfare. It is the forerunner of today's anti-aircraft gun carriers. The curved front body section had a Colt machine gun mounted on top for the front passenger to use, while the driver drove the military vehicle. There was cargo space available underneath the carriage of the armored vehicle. The Davidson Automobile Battery partially armored vehicle was further developed to the first fully armored vehicle in the U.S.
Davidson-Duryea gun carriage
The Davidson-Duryea gun carriage was a 3 and 4 wheeled armed armored vehicle manufactured in 1898 and 1899 for military use.- Development history :...
, but with steam power. It was built by Royal Page Davidson
Royal Page Davidson
Royal Page Davidson was an American educator and inventor.- Early life :Davidson was born in Somerville, New Jersey on October 9, 1870. His early basic education was in a country public school.- Mid life :...
and the cadets of the Northwestern Military and Naval Academy
Northwestern Military and Naval Academy
Northwestern Military Academy was a high school in Linn, Wisconsin which was founded by Harlan Page Davidson. Originally located in Highland Park, Illinois, the school was relocated to the town of Linn, Wisconsin on the south shore of Geneva Lake near the city of Lake Geneva in 1915 and was...
in Highland Park, Illinois
Highland Park, Illinois
Highland Park is a suburban municipality in Lake County, Illinois, United States, about north of downtown Chicago. As of 2009, the population is 33,492. Highland Park is one of several municipalities located on the North Shore of the Chicago Metropolitan Area.-Overview:Highland Park was founded...
. Davidson designed this vehicle in 1901. He and his students at the Northwestern Military and Naval Academy built two of these partially armored military vehicles. They were armed with Colt .38 caliber machine guns. The vehicles were powered by a tubular steam boiler. They had difficulty in going up hills because of changes of the water level in the boiler. Davidson made these lightly armored military vehicles of one thousand pounds at the Academy campus in Highland Park, Illinois. These two partially armored military vehicles were labeled No. 1 and No. 2. Presently No. 2 is at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry
Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)
The Museum of Science and Industry is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA in Jackson Park, in the Hyde Park neighborhood adjacent to Lake Michigan. It is housed in the former Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...
.
The Peoria Rubber and Motor Vehicle Manufacturing Company in Peoria, Illinois
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
manufactured Davidson's armored military vehicles. They built them from the patent specifications of Charles Duryea
Charles Duryea
Charles Edgar Duryea was the engineer of the first-ever working American gasoline-powered car. He was born near Canton, Illinois, the son of George Washington Duryea and Louisa Melvina Turner and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but spent most of his life working in Springfield, Massachusetts...
of the Duryea Motor Wagon Company
Duryea Motor Wagon Company
The Duryea Motor Wagon Company, established in 1895, was one of the first American firms to build gasoline automobiles.Founded by Charles Duryea and his brother Frank, they built a one-cylinder "Ladies Phaeton", first demonstrated on September 21, 1893 in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Taylor...
. The Automobile Battery armored vehicle front steam boiler is connected to a six horsepower Duryea Motor Wagon Company three-cylinder steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
. The front bulletproof shield to protect the driver was detachable. There was a vertical opening in the metal shield surrounding the machine gun. The machine guns on the vehicles could fire 480 shots a minute, rotate 180 degrees, and had a firing range of 2000 yards.
The Davidson Automobile Battery armored vehicle’s fuel tank and engine were covered with armor and a metal bulletproof removable shield added to the front to protect the passengers. Davidson had his cadet
Cadet
A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...
s add the Colt automatic machine gun as part of the School's Manual Training Department's program. The military vehicle was intended to be a scout car
Scout car
A scout car is a of military armored reconnaissance vehicle, capable of off-road mobility and often carrying mounted weapons such as machine guns for offensive capabilities and crew protection...
. These prototypes that Davidson with his cadets manufactured were never produced commercially, however they would become the armored car as we know it today as well as the armored tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
used in modern warfare. It is the forerunner of today's anti-aircraft gun carriers. The curved front body section had a Colt machine gun mounted on top for the front passenger to use, while the driver drove the military vehicle. There was cargo space available underneath the carriage of the armored vehicle. The Davidson Automobile Battery partially armored vehicle was further developed to the first fully armored vehicle in the U.S.
Davidson-Cadillac armored car
The Davidson-Cadillac armored car of 1915 was developed on a Cadillac chassis by Royal Page Davidson and the cadets of the Northwestern Military and Naval Academy in Highland Park, Illinois...
Sources
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- Hunnicutt, R.P., Armored Car: A History of American Wheeled Combat Vehicle, Presido Press (2002), ISBN 0-8914177-7-X
- Kane, Joseph Nathan, Famous First Facts - A Record of First Happenings, Discoveries and Inventions in the United States, The H. W. Wilson Company (1950)
- Marquis-Who's Who (1950), Who was who in America. 1943-1950, New Providence, New Jersey
- Marquis-Who's Who (1967), Who was who in America: A Companion Biographical Reference Work to Who's who in America
- Quaife, Milo Milton, Wisconsin: Its History and Its People 1634-1924, Volume 4, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company (1924)
- Randall, Frank Alfred, Randall and Allied Families, Raveret-Weber printing company (1943)
- St. John's Military Academy, A History of Excellence: St. John's Northwestern Military Academy, Delafield, Wis., self-published (2002)
- Stern, Philip Van Doren, A Pictorial History of the Automobile: As Seen in Motor Magazine 1903-1953, Viking Press (1953)
- Tucker, Spencer, Tanks: An Illustrated History of Their Impact, ISBN 1-5760799-5-3
- Willcox, Cornélis De Witt, The International Military Digest Annual: A Review of the Current Literature of Military Science for 1915-1918, Cumulative Digest Corporation (1916)