Steam tank (vehicle)
Encyclopedia
The Steam Tank was an early U.S. tank
design of 1918 imitating the design of the British Mark IV tank
but powered by steam
.
The type was designed by an officer from the U.S. Army's Corps Of Engineers. The project was started by General John A. Johnson with the help of the Endicott and Johnson Shoe Company and financed by the Boston bankers Phelan and Ratchesky (it cost $60,000). Expertise was called in from Stanley Motor Carriage Company in Watertown, Massachusetts
, that produced steam cars. The engines and boilers of two Unit Railway Cars were built in. Earlier fighting vehicles projects had employed steam power because petrol engines were not yet powerful enough; the Steam Tank however used it for the main reason that it was meant to be a specialised flame thrower to attack pillboxes and the original design had this weapon driven by steam. When the main device to build up sufficient pressure became a 35 hp auxiliary gasoline engine, the two main 2-cylinder steam engines with a combined power of 500 hp remained, each engine driving one track to give a maximum speed of 4 mi/h. The transmission allowed two speeds forward and two in reverse. The steam engines used kerosene
for fuel.
The flame thrower, located in the front cabin, had a range of 90 feet (27 m); additionally there were four 0.30 inch machine guns; two in a sponson at each side. The length of the vehicle was 34 feet 9 inches, the width 12 feet 6 inches and the height 10 feet 4.5 inches. The tracks were 24 inches wide. Each track frame carried mud clearing spikes, sometimes mistaken for battering rams. The tank had a weight of about fifty short ton
s. There was to have been a crew of eight, on the assumption there were a commander, a driver, an operator of the flame thrower, a mechanic and four machine gunners.
Only one was completed in Boston and demonstrated in April 1918, in several parades also, on one occasion breaking down in front of the public. The prototype was in June shipped to France to be tested — with much publicity to bolster allied morale — and was named America. The flame thrower nozzle was moved to a rotating turret on the roof of the cabin. There was also another steam-powered AFV project (the Steam Wheel Tank
) that didn't use tracks but was three-wheeled, hence the designation "(Tracked)" or "(Track-laying)". The design combined serious cooling problems with a dangerous vulnerability due to its two steam boilers and large fuel reservoirs needed to heat the two main engines, and feed both the auxiliary engine and the flame thrower.
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
design of 1918 imitating the design of the British Mark IV tank
Mark IV tank
The British Mark IV tank was a British tank of the First World War. Introduced in 1917, it benefitted from significant developments on the first British tank the intervening designs being small batches used for training...
but powered by steam
Steam
Steam is the technical term for water vapor, the gaseous phase of water, which is formed when water boils. In common language it is often used to refer to the visible mist of water droplets formed as this water vapor condenses in the presence of cooler air...
.
The type was designed by an officer from the U.S. Army's Corps Of Engineers. The project was started by General John A. Johnson with the help of the Endicott and Johnson Shoe Company and financed by the Boston bankers Phelan and Ratchesky (it cost $60,000). Expertise was called in from Stanley Motor Carriage Company in Watertown, Massachusetts
Watertown, Massachusetts
The Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,915 at the 2010 census.- History :Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from England...
, that produced steam cars. The engines and boilers of two Unit Railway Cars were built in. Earlier fighting vehicles projects had employed steam power because petrol engines were not yet powerful enough; the Steam Tank however used it for the main reason that it was meant to be a specialised flame thrower to attack pillboxes and the original design had this weapon driven by steam. When the main device to build up sufficient pressure became a 35 hp auxiliary gasoline engine, the two main 2-cylinder steam engines with a combined power of 500 hp remained, each engine driving one track to give a maximum speed of 4 mi/h. The transmission allowed two speeds forward and two in reverse. The steam engines used kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
for fuel.
The flame thrower, located in the front cabin, had a range of 90 feet (27 m); additionally there were four 0.30 inch machine guns; two in a sponson at each side. The length of the vehicle was 34 feet 9 inches, the width 12 feet 6 inches and the height 10 feet 4.5 inches. The tracks were 24 inches wide. Each track frame carried mud clearing spikes, sometimes mistaken for battering rams. The tank had a weight of about fifty short ton
Short ton
The short ton is a unit of mass equal to . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton or the long ton ; rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S...
s. There was to have been a crew of eight, on the assumption there were a commander, a driver, an operator of the flame thrower, a mechanic and four machine gunners.
Only one was completed in Boston and demonstrated in April 1918, in several parades also, on one occasion breaking down in front of the public. The prototype was in June shipped to France to be tested — with much publicity to bolster allied morale — and was named America. The flame thrower nozzle was moved to a rotating turret on the roof of the cabin. There was also another steam-powered AFV project (the Steam Wheel Tank
Steam Wheel Tank
The Steam Wheel Tank was the official US Army name for the vehicle also known as the three-wheeled steam tank, the Holt Steam Tank and the Holt 150 Ton Field Monitor. It was an early U.S. produced tank built by the Holt Manufacturing Company sometime between late 1916 and early 1917. It was the...
) that didn't use tracks but was three-wheeled, hence the designation "(Tracked)" or "(Track-laying)". The design combined serious cooling problems with a dangerous vulnerability due to its two steam boilers and large fuel reservoirs needed to heat the two main engines, and feed both the auxiliary engine and the flame thrower.