CHAPTER VII.MOTORIZED ARTILLERY.

Complete motorization of field artillery and its ammunition supply is almost certain to be one of the far-reaching and highly important results of our country's experiences in its participation in the war.

Practically all field artillery was of the horse-drawn type previous to our entry into the war, but with the evolution and perfection of the heavier siege artillery, 5-ton, 10-ton, and even heavier, traction engines were brought into play as means of motive power for the big guns and howitzers, with such success that the horse in the field artillery operations was being supplanted to a large degree by mechanical power.

Strictly speaking, the foundation for this departure had been laid before 1917, in the Mexican campaign of 1916 and in experiments that had been conducted at the Rock Island Arsenal. Insufficiency of funds, however, had prevented the experiments from being either thorough or extensive.

A consideration of the difficulties that vehicles of all sorts had to contend with in the battle areas of Europe made it evident at the outset that two general types of motor carriers would be required by the Army so far as ordnance was concerned—one type for far-advanced work, for hauling artillery over the worst possible kind of shell-torn and water-soaked earth, and the other for bringing up ammunition, supplies, equipment for repairs and the like in less advanced zones and areas, but over roads and country that had been cut and hacked and made almost impassible by the activities of the contending forces.

The standard four-wheel-drive commercial trucks, modified to meet the special needs of the service, were adopted immediately after war began, while experimental work was put under way to develop a standard type that would set this country far in advance of all others in this line of activity.

A total of 30,072 of the four-wheel-drive trucks was ordered, and before the armistice 12,498 of this number had been completed, while 23,499 had been turned out by the 31st of January, 1919.

In round numbers, 25,000 of these trucks were to be equipped with bodies for the hauling of ammunition, and the balance with special bodies and equipment suitable for artillery supply and repair, for repair of equipment, and for heavy mobile ordnance.

ARTILLERY SUPPLY TRUCK ON F. W. D. CHASSIS.This truck was designed with special bodies and loads for varied classes of artillery supply, and the bodies could be mounted on either Nash or F. W. D. chassis.

ARTILLERY SUPPLY TRUCK ON F. W. D. CHASSIS.

This truck was designed with special bodies and loads for varied classes of artillery supply, and the bodies could be mounted on either Nash or F. W. D. chassis.

ARTILLERY REPAIR TRUCK ON F. W. D. CHASSIS.This is another special body equipped with suitable machinery and tools for minor repairs and capable of being mounted on either F. W. D. or Nash four-wheel-drive chassis.

ARTILLERY REPAIR TRUCK ON F. W. D. CHASSIS.

This is another special body equipped with suitable machinery and tools for minor repairs and capable of being mounted on either F. W. D. or Nash four-wheel-drive chassis.

AMMUNITION TRUCK MOUNTED ON STANDARD ORDNANCE FOUR WHEEL DRIVE TRACTOR.This is the vehicle, designed by the Ordnance Department and civilian experts, that was intended to supersede both the Nash and the F. W. D. and become the standard Army wheeled tractor. It is shown here with standard ammunition body mounted thereon.

AMMUNITION TRUCK MOUNTED ON STANDARD ORDNANCE FOUR WHEEL DRIVE TRACTOR.

This is the vehicle, designed by the Ordnance Department and civilian experts, that was intended to supersede both the Nash and the F. W. D. and become the standard Army wheeled tractor. It is shown here with standard ammunition body mounted thereon.

ORDNANCE EQUIPMENT REPAIR TRUCK ON F. W. D. CHASSIS.Special body, carrying tools and machinery for doing repair work to harness, personal equipment, etc., and capable of being mounted on either F. W. D. or Nash four-wheel-drive chassis.

ORDNANCE EQUIPMENT REPAIR TRUCK ON F. W. D. CHASSIS.

Special body, carrying tools and machinery for doing repair work to harness, personal equipment, etc., and capable of being mounted on either F. W. D. or Nash four-wheel-drive chassis.

Special bodies were manufactured by these concerns:

The first contract for these trucks was placed on August 18, 1917, and 9,420 were shipped to the American Expeditionary Forces overseas by the date of the armistice.

It required considerable time to work out and perfect all the details of the special bodies and equipment, as most of these were exceedingly complicated, and in a number of cases there were as many as 700 items of equipment on a single truck.

Representatives of the allied governments were not hesitant in asserting that the line of artillery repair trucks developed for our Army was the most complete and well worked out in detail that any army ever received.

These manufacturers did the work of turning out the special trucks:

About 4,000 of the 5,000 special body type of trucks were delivered before the middle of December, 1918.

There were developed five different types of four-wheeled trailers. Each type, being for a particular use, required a special study and individual design, with all the consequent specially prepared machines and specialized shop work.

For antiaircraft service, a 1½-ton and a 3-ton trailer were worked out; for the 75-millimeter field gun, a special 3-ton trailer; for the mobile repair shops, a 4-ton trailer; and for the small tank, a special 10-ton trailer.

By the middle of December, 2,157 of these trailers had been delivered of the 4,847 that had been ordered and put in production.

Concerns engaged in turning out trailers were:

It might also be stated at this point, too, that two special types of passenger motor vehicles were designed and built. One of these was for staff observation and the other for reconnaissance. Nearly all of the total of 2,250 that were ordered of these two types were completed by mid-December, 1918, delivery of them having started in the month of April, 1918.

It was found after a comprehensive study of the needs of the various branches of ordnance and the requirement of the big guns that five sizes of caterpillar tractors would be required—of capacities of 2½ tons, 5 tons, 10 tons, 15 tons, and 20 tons.

Commercial types of machines of the 15-ton and 20-ton sort, with only slight alterations, were found to be suitable, but special designs were made for those of 2½-ton, 5-ton, and 10-ton capacity. Our experience in Mexico and the experiments at the Rock Island Arsenal had taught us the need of the special designs of machines of those sizes.

In all, 24,791 of these five types of caterpillar tractors were ordered. The 5-ton machine reached production in the summer of 1918 and the 2½-ton machine in the fall. By the end of the following January, 5,940 of the tractors had been delivered. Manufacturers who had orders for the caterpillar tractors were:

Throughout the production of tractors during the war period there was continuous and persistent experimentation, and satisfactory solutions of many of the problems were being reached at the time of the signing of the armistice.

Self-propelled caterpillar gun mounts were the subject of the most important of these experiments. The self-propelled caterpillar gunmounts differ from the ordinary caterpillar tractors in that they have the guns mounted directly on them, the guns forming an integral part of the entire machine. Six types of these were being developed, and 270 had been ordered when the armistice came.

A 2½-ton tractor mounting a 75-millimeter gun and a 5-ton tractor containing a gun of the same size were far along the road to success in their first state of development.

Development of caterpillar cargo carriers or caissons for bearing supplies over any sort of terrain, no matter how rough the going might be and regardless of whether there were roads or not, was so far along the pathway of success that two sizes were about to go into production on November 11.

A 2½-ton ammunition trailer, a 2-ton 11-inch trench mortar trailer, and a 4.7-inch antiaircraft gun trailer were also in development, but not in production, at the time of the signing of the armistice.

So successful were the experiments with new types of four-wheel-drive trucks and tractors that orders for what would probably have proven the best type of four-wheel-drive truck and the best type of four-wheel-drive tractor ever produced had been placed, but the signing of the armistice forced cancellations of these orders. In the course of the experiments, all types of American four-wheel-drive vehicles were examined and two of the best French types.

The purchase of $365,000,000 worth of trucks, trailers, and tractors was obligated in about 3,000 separate orders.

In Europe, the French had been the only people to experiment with caterpillar mounts for guns. They produced the St. Chamond type, but this had not gone far beyond the experimental stages.

Prior to the early months of 1918, our own efforts along this line consisted in the building of one caterpillar mount, self-propelled by a gasoline engine and carrying an antiaircraft gun. Around this nucleus an ambitious caterpillar program was built.

An 8-inch howitzer was placed on this antiaircraft caterpillar mount and fired at angles of elevation varying up to 45°. Maneuvered over difficult ground, the machine withstood the firing strains and road tests in a highly satisfactory manner.

As a result of the success of these tests, orders were placed for three more experimental caterpillars to mount 8-inch howitzers. Tests of two of these completed units were so gratifying that it was felt they warranted quantity production. Accordingly, orders were placed for 50 units of the 8-inch howitzer caterpillars to cost about $30,000 apiece, for 50 caterpillar units mounting 155-millimeter guns, and for 250 units mounting 240-millimeter howitzers.

The Standard Steel Car Co., Hammond, Ind., was to produce the 240-millimeter howitzer caterpillars, the Harrisburg Manufacturing & Boiler Co., Harrisburg, Pa., was to turn out the 8-inch howitzer caterpillars, and the Morgan Engineering Co., of Alliance, Ohio, was to produce the 155-millimeter gun caterpillars.

Mountings for the 8-inch howitzer and 155-millimeter gun were practically identical. Both utilized many of the standard Holt caterpillar parts. The only real change was in the carriage for the 155-millimeter gun. This was made sufficiently sturdy to carry higher-powered guns. A 194-millimeter gun is now being machined in France, and when finished it will be shipped to this country to be mounted upon the 155-millimeter caterpillar mount for experiment.

The 240-millimeter howitzer mounts were of two types—one following closely the St. Chamond type of the French and the other being a self-contained unit designed by Ordnance Department engineers. The self-contained type is a single unit that mounts both the power plant and the howitzer and for which it is necessary to provide additional cargo-carrying caterpillars to haul ammunition and fuel. Two units make up the St. Chamond type. One mounts the gun and electric motors; the other, a limber, mounts the power plant and carries ammunition.

In the battle area the St. Chamond type had the peculiar advantage that the power-plant unit could be run to shelter and be available for a rapid advance or change of location of the gun mount as the situation might demand. With the self-contained unit a direct hit by the enemy would put both gun and power plant out of commission.

Contracts for the caterpillar mounts called for the completion of the entire program not later than February, 1919. All the firms engaged on the work of production were putting forth every effort when the armistice was signed and there was every reason to believe deliveries would be as scheduled. The termination of hostilities caused all contracts to be reduced. Provisions have been made for only enough caterpillars of each type to provide for further experimental work.

Twenty mounts equipped with caterpillar treads and mounting 7-inch Navy rifles were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Co. for the Navy Department. These were so successfully operated that orders were placed for 36 similar units for the use of the Army, but since the signing of the armistice this order has been cut to 18.

The great gun on a caterpillar mount fires its death-dealing projectile, and almost before the shot has reached its destination the caterpillar mount has moved the gun to another point. With motor still running the gun is fired again and once more quickly moved on to another location, so that the enemy's artillery is unable to get its range.

TEN-TON ARTILLERY TRACTOR.

FIFTEEN-TON ARTILLERY TRACTOR.

TWO AND ONE-HALF TON ARTILLERY TRACTOR.

FIVE-TON ARTILLERY TRACTOR.

20-TON ARTILLERY TRACTOR.

STAFF OBSERVATION CAR.Special body for field touring on a White one-ton truck chassis.

STAFF OBSERVATION CAR.

Special body for field touring on a White one-ton truck chassis.

RECONNAISSANCE CAR ON WHITE CHASSIS.The machine-gun truck is similar except for the addition of gun racks under rear seat and on Commerce chassis.

RECONNAISSANCE CAR ON WHITE CHASSIS.

The machine-gun truck is similar except for the addition of gun racks under rear seat and on Commerce chassis.

CATERPILLAR TRACTOR WITH 3-INCH GUN MOUNTED ON IT.

ANOTHER VIEW OF CATERPILLAR TRACTOR WITH 3-INCH GUN.

CATERPILLAR TRACTOR MOUNTING AN 8-INCH HOWITZER WHICH HAS A RANGE OF 6 MILES WITH A PROJECTILE WEIGHING 200 POUNDS.

LIGHT REPAIR TRUCK ON DODGE CHASSIS.Special body with tools for making minor motor repairs.

LIGHT REPAIR TRUCK ON DODGE CHASSIS.

Special body with tools for making minor motor repairs.

THREE-INCH FIELD GUN TRAILER.A specially designed vehicle for carrying different loads, including a 3-inch field-gun carriage and limber in one load and two 3-inch field-gun caissons for another load.

THREE-INCH FIELD GUN TRAILER.

A specially designed vehicle for carrying different loads, including a 3-inch field-gun carriage and limber in one load and two 3-inch field-gun caissons for another load.

4-TON SHOP TRAILER CHASSIS.

3-INCH ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN TRAILER.

240-MILLIMETER TRENCH MORTAR TRUCK.

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