A military armored ( also spelled armoured ) car is a wheeled armoured fighting vehicle , historically employed for reconnaissance , internal security , armed escort, and other subordinate battlefield tasks. With the gradual decline of mounted cavalry , armored cars were developed for carrying out duties formerly assigned to light cavalry . Following the invention of the tank , the armoured car remained popular due to its faster speed, comparatively simple maintenance and low production cost. It also found favor with several colonial armies as a cheaper weapon for use in underdeveloped regions. During World War II , most armoured cars were engineered for reconnaissance and passive observation, while others were devoted to communications tasks. Some equipped with heavier armament could even substitute for tracked combat vehicles in favorable conditions—such as pursuit or flanking maneuvers during the North African campaign .
84-765: The T17 armored car , sometimes referred to as the M5 medium armored car and by the British as the Deerhound , was an American six-wheeled armored car produced during the Second World War . The T17 lost out to the T17E design for British use but 250 vehicles were produced as a stopgap for the United States Army until their preferred design, the M8 armored car was available. The T17 armored car
168-903: A Fordson truck in Egypt . By the start of the new war, the German army possessed some highly effective reconnaissance vehicles, such as the Schwerer Panzerspähwagen . The Soviet BA-64 was influenced by a captured Leichter Panzerspähwagen before it was first tested in January 1942. In the second half of the war, the American M8 Greyhound and the British Daimler Armoured Cars featured turrets mounting light guns (40 mm or less). As with other wartime armored cars, their reconnaissance roles emphasized greater speed and stealth than
252-561: A German-built Daimler motor in 1899. and a single prototype was ordered in April 1899 The prototype was finished in 1902, too late to be used during the Boer War . The vehicle had Vickers armor, 6 mm (0.24 in) thick, and was powered by a four-cylinder 3.3 L (200 cu in) 16 hp (12 kW) Cannstatt Daimler engine, giving it a maximum speed of around 9 mph (14 km/h). The armament, consisting of two Maxim guns ,
336-520: A Mannesmann-MULAG [ de ] armored car to break through the Germans' lines and force the Germans to retreat. The British Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Middle East was equipped with Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars and Morris tenders. Some of these vehicles were among the last of a consignment of ex- Royal Navy armored cars that had been serving in the Middle East since 1915. In September 1940
420-497: A closed space (e.g., combustion chamber , firebox , furnace). In the case of model or toy steam engines and a few full scale cases, the heat source can be an electric heating element . Boilers are pressure vessels that contain water to be boiled, and features that transfer the heat to the water as effectively as possible. The two most common types are: Fire-tube boilers were the main type used for early high-pressure steam (typical steam locomotive practice), but they were to
504-423: A common four-way rotary valve connected directly to a steam boiler. The next major step occurred when James Watt developed (1763–1775) an improved version of Newcomen's engine, with a separate condenser . Boulton and Watt 's early engines used half as much coal as John Smeaton 's improved version of Newcomen's. Newcomen's and Watt's early engines were "atmospheric". They were powered by air pressure pushing
588-717: A contract for a further 1,500 in June 1942. The T17E1 was also ordered in similar amounts. In the early 1940s the US Army was pursuing a number of heavy, medium and light armored car designs and, in an effort to reduce the number of competing programs, in October 1942 Headquarters Army Ground Forces commissioned the Special Armored Vehicle Board (known as the "Palmer Board" after its head Brigadier General W. B. Palmer ) to impose some standardization. After tests in winter of 1942–43,
672-588: A few cars with heavier guns. As air power became a factor, armored cars offered a mobile platform for antiaircraft guns. The first effective use of an armored vehicle in combat was achieved by the Belgian Army in August–September 1914. They had placed Cockerill armour plating and a Hotchkiss machine gun on Minerva touring cars, creating the Minerva Armored Car . Their successes in the early days of
756-438: A flywheel and crankshaft to provide rotative motion from an improved Newcomen engine. In 1720, Jacob Leupold described a two-cylinder high-pressure steam engine. The invention was published in his major work "Theatri Machinarum Hydraulicarum". The engine used two heavy pistons to provide motion to a water pump. Each piston was raised by the steam pressure and returned to its original position by gravity. The two pistons shared
840-458: A four-cylinder 35 hp (26 kW) 4.4 L (270 cu in) engine giving it average cross country performance. Both the driver and co-driver had adjustable seats enabling them to raise them to see out of the roof of the drive compartment as needed. The Spanish Schneider-Brillié was the first armored vehicle to be used in combat, being first used in the Kert Campaign . The vehicle
924-423: A given cylinder size than previous engines and could be made small enough for transport applications. Thereafter, technological developments and improvements in manufacturing techniques (partly brought about by the adoption of the steam engine as a power source) resulted in the design of more efficient engines that could be smaller, faster, or more powerful, depending on the intended application. The Cornish engine
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#17328593061491008-416: A large extent displaced by more economical water tube boilers in the late 19th century for marine propulsion and large stationary applications. Many boilers raise the temperature of the steam after it has left that part of the boiler where it is in contact with the water. Known as superheating it turns ' wet steam ' into ' superheated steam '. It avoids the steam condensing in the engine cylinders, and gives
1092-748: A less threatening vehicle such as an armored car is more likely to be attacked. Many modern forces now have their dedicated armored car designs, to exploit the advantages noted above. Examples would be the M1117 armored security vehicle of the USA or Alvis Saladin of the post-World War II era in the United Kingdom. Alternatively, civilian vehicles may be modified into improvised armored cars in ad hoc fashion. Many militias and irregular forces adapt civilian vehicles into AFVs (armored fighting vehicles) and troop carriers, and in some regional conflicts these "technicals" are
1176-409: A partial vacuum by condensing steam under a piston within a cylinder. It was employed for draining mine workings at depths originally impractical using traditional means, and for providing reusable water for driving waterwheels at factories sited away from a suitable "head". Water that passed over the wheel was pumped up into a storage reservoir above the wheel. In 1780 James Pickard patented the use of
1260-405: A piston into the partial vacuum generated by condensing steam, instead of the pressure of expanding steam. The engine cylinders had to be large because the only usable force acting on them was atmospheric pressure . Watt developed his engine further, modifying it to provide a rotary motion suitable for driving machinery. This enabled factories to be sited away from rivers, and accelerated
1344-770: A section of the No. 2 Squadron RAF Regiment Company was detached to General Wavell's ground forces during the first offensive against the Italians in Egypt. During the actions in the October of that year the company was employed on convoy escort tasks, airfield defense, fighting reconnaissance patrols and screening operations. During the 1941 Anglo-Iraqi War , some of the units located in the British Mandate of Palestine were sent to Iraq and drove Fordson armored cars. "Fordson" armored cars were Rolls-Royce armored cars which received new chassis from
1428-433: A set speed, because it would assume a new constant speed in response to load changes. The governor was able to handle smaller variations such as those caused by fluctuating heat load to the boiler. Also, there was a tendency for oscillation whenever there was a speed change. As a consequence, engines equipped only with this governor were not suitable for operations requiring constant speed, such as cotton spinning. The governor
1512-522: A significantly higher efficiency . In a steam engine, a piston or steam turbine or any other similar device for doing mechanical work takes a supply of steam at high pressure and temperature and gives out a supply of steam at lower pressure and temperature, using as much of the difference in steam energy as possible to do mechanical work. These "motor units" are often called 'steam engines' in their own right. Engines using compressed air or other gases differ from steam engines only in details that depend on
1596-414: A steam jet usually supplied from the boiler. Injectors became popular in the 1850s but are no longer widely used, except in applications such as steam locomotives. It is the pressurization of the water that circulates through the steam boiler that allows the water to be raised to temperatures well above 100 °C (212 °F) boiling point of water at one atmospheric pressure, and by that means to increase
1680-445: A steam pump that used steam pressure operating directly on the water. The first commercially successful engine that could transmit continuous power to a machine was developed in 1712 by Thomas Newcomen . James Watt made a critical improvement in 1764, by removing spent steam to a separate vessel for condensation, greatly improving the amount of work obtained per unit of fuel consumed. By the 19th century, stationary steam engines powered
1764-614: A steam rail locomotive was designed and constructed by steamboat pioneer John Fitch in the United States probably during the 1780s or 1790s. His steam locomotive used interior bladed wheels guided by rails or tracks. The first full-scale working railway steam locomotive was built by Richard Trevithick in the United Kingdom and, on 21 February 1804, the world's first railway journey took place as Trevithick's steam locomotive hauled 10 tones of iron, 70 passengers and five wagons along
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#17328593061491848-500: A tracked vehicle could provide, so their limited armor, armament and off-road capabilities were seen as acceptable compromises. A military armored car is a type of armored fighting vehicle having wheels (from four to ten large, off-road wheels) instead of tracks , and usually light armor . Armored cars are typically less expensive and on roads have better speed and range than tracked military vehicles. They do however have less mobility as they have less off-road capabilities because of
1932-593: A trio of locomotives, concluding with the Catch Me Who Can in 1808. Only four years later, the successful twin-cylinder locomotive Salamanca by Matthew Murray was used by the edge railed rack and pinion Middleton Railway . In 1825 George Stephenson built the Locomotion for the Stockton and Darlington Railway . This was the first public steam railway in the world and then in 1829, he built The Rocket which
2016-550: A very limited lift height and were prone to boiler explosions . Savery's engine was used in mines, pumping stations and supplying water to water wheels powering textile machinery. One advantage of Savery's engine was its low cost. Bento de Moura Portugal introduced an improvement of Savery's construction "to render it capable of working itself", as described by John Smeaton in the Philosophical Transactions published in 1751. It continued to be manufactured until
2100-473: A water pump for draining inundated mines. Frenchman Denis Papin did some useful work on the steam digester in 1679, and first used a piston to raise weights in 1690. The first commercial steam-powered device was a water pump, developed in 1698 by Thomas Savery . It used condensing steam to create a vacuum which raised water from below and then used steam pressure to raise it higher. Small engines were effective though larger models were problematic. They had
2184-431: Is cylinder condensation and re-evaporation. The steam cylinder and adjacent metal parts/ports operate at a temperature about halfway between the steam admission saturation temperature and the saturation temperature corresponding to the exhaust pressure. As high-pressure steam is admitted into the working cylinder, much of the high-temperature steam is condensed as water droplets onto the metal surfaces, significantly reducing
2268-453: Is said to be more compatible with tight urban spaces designed for wheeled vehicles. However, they do have a larger turning radius compared to tracked vehicles which can turn on the spot and their tires are vulnerable and are less capable in climbing and crushing obstacles. Further, when there is true combat they are easily outgunned and lightly armored. The threatening appearance of a tank is often enough to keep an opponent from attacking, whereas
2352-491: Is that they are external combustion engines , where the working fluid is separated from the combustion products. The ideal thermodynamic cycle used to analyze this process is called the Rankine cycle . In general usage, the term steam engine can refer to either complete steam plants (including boilers etc.), such as railway steam locomotives and portable engines , or may refer to the piston or turbine machinery alone, as in
2436-399: Is then pumped back up to pressure and sent back to the boiler. A dry-type cooling tower is similar to an automobile radiator and is used in locations where water is costly. Waste heat can also be ejected by evaporative (wet) cooling towers, which use a secondary external water circuit that evaporates some of flow to the air. River boats initially used a jet condenser in which cold water from
2520-542: Is vented up the chimney so as to increase the draw on the fire, which greatly increases engine power, but reduces efficiency. Sometimes the waste heat from the engine is useful itself, and in those cases, very high overall efficiency can be obtained. Steam engines in stationary power plants use surface condensers as a cold sink. The condensers are cooled by water flow from oceans, rivers, lakes, and often by cooling towers which evaporate water to provide cooling energy removal. The resulting condensed hot water ( condensate ),
2604-717: The B1 Centauro , the Panhard AML , the AMX-10 RC and EE-9 Cascavel , to carry a large cannon capable of threatening many tanks. During the Middle Ages, war wagons covered with steel plate, and crewed by men armed with primitive hand cannon , flails and muskets , were used by the Hussite rebels in Bohemia. These were deployed in formations where the horses and oxen were at the centre, and
T17 Deerhound - Misplaced Pages Continue
2688-602: The Royal Naval Armoured Car Division reaching a strength of 20 squadrons before disbanded in 1915. and the armoured cars passing to the army as part of the Machine Gun Corps. Only NO.1 Squadron was retained; it was sent to Russia. As the Western Front turned to trench warfare unsuitable to wheeled vehicles, the armoured cars were moved to other areas. The 2nd Duke of Westminster took No. 2 Squadron of
2772-461: The Rumford Medal , the committee said that "no one invention since Watt's time has so enhanced the efficiency of the steam engine". In addition to using 30% less steam, it provided more uniform speed due to variable steam cut off, making it well suited to manufacturing, especially cotton spinning. The first experimental road-going steam-powered vehicles were built in the late 18th century, but it
2856-612: The United States Army Military Police Corps for patrol duties in the continental United States. The T17 armored car was a turreted 6x6 vehicle with a crew of five: driver, co-driver, gunner, loader and commander. The T17 and T17E1 both used the same turret designed by Rock Island Arsenal fitted with the combination gun mount from the M3 Lee medium tank, armed with a 37 mm M6 tank gun and coaxial .30-inch M1919 Browning machine gun . A second M1919 machine gun
2940-418: The beam engine and stationary steam engine . As noted, steam-driven devices such as the aeolipile were known in the first century AD, and there were a few other uses recorded in the 16th century. In 1606 Jerónimo de Ayanz y Beaumont patented his invention of the first steam-powered water pump for draining mines. Thomas Savery is considered the inventor of the first commercially used steam powered device,
3024-615: The tramway from the Pen-y-darren ironworks, near Merthyr Tydfil to Abercynon in south Wales . The design incorporated a number of important innovations that included using high-pressure steam which reduced the weight of the engine and increased its efficiency. Trevithick visited the Newcastle area later in 1804 and the colliery railways in north-east England became the leading centre for experimentation and development of steam locomotives. Trevithick continued his own experiments using
3108-448: The 1860s to the 1920s. Steam road vehicles were used for many applications. In the 20th century, the rapid development of internal combustion engine technology led to the demise of the steam engine as a source of propulsion of vehicles on a commercial basis, with relatively few remaining in use beyond the Second World War . Many of these vehicles were acquired by enthusiasts for preservation, and numerous examples are still in existence. In
3192-556: The 1960s, the air pollution problems in California gave rise to a brief period of interest in developing and studying steam-powered vehicles as a possible means of reducing the pollution. Apart from interest by steam enthusiasts, the occasional replica vehicle, and experimental technology, no steam vehicles are in production at present. Near the end of the 19th century, compound engines came into widespread use. Compound engines exhausted steam into successively larger cylinders to accommodate
3276-408: The 20th century, where their efficiency, higher speed appropriate to generator service, and smooth rotation were advantages. Today most electric power is provided by steam turbines. In the United States, 90% of the electric power is produced in this way using a variety of heat sources. Steam turbines were extensively applied for propulsion of large ships throughout most of the 20th century. Although
3360-524: The British Ferret are armed with just a machine gun. Heavier vehicles are armed with autocannon or a large caliber gun. The heaviest armored cars, such as the German, World War II era Sd.Kfz. 234 or the modern, US M1128 mobile gun system , mount the same guns that arm medium tanks. Armored cars are popular for peacekeeping or internal security duties. Their appearance is less confrontational and threatening than tanks, and their size and maneuverability
3444-707: The Palmer Board recommended the termination of all programs except the concurrent Ford T22, which in T22E2 form entered service as the M8 Greyhound . The Board recommended a utility car version of the T22 (M20) and allowed the completion of the 250 T17 already being produced. The British Purchasing Commission continued to show interest in the two medium designs and asked the US Army Desert Warfare Board to conduct trials of
T17 Deerhound - Misplaced Pages Continue
3528-1157: The RNAS to France in March 1915 in time to make a noted contribution to the Second Battle of Ypres , and thereafter the cars with their master were sent to the Middle East to play a part in the British campaign in Palestine and elsewhere The Duke led a motorised convoy including nine armoured cars across the Western Desert in North Africa to rescue the survivors of the sinking of the SS Tara which had been kidnapped and taken to Bir Hakiem. In Africa, Rolls Royce armoured cars were active in German South West Africa and Lanchester Armoured Cars in British East Africa against German forces to
3612-475: The atmosphere or into a condenser. As steam expands in passing through a high-pressure engine, its temperature drops because no heat is being added to the system; this is known as adiabatic expansion and results in steam entering the cylinder at high temperature and leaving at lower temperature. This causes a cycle of heating and cooling of the cylinder with every stroke, which is a source of inefficiency. The dominant efficiency loss in reciprocating steam engines
3696-404: The boiler and engine in separate buildings some distance apart. For portable or mobile use, such as steam locomotives , the two are mounted together. The widely used reciprocating engine typically consisted of a cast-iron cylinder, piston, connecting rod and beam or a crank and flywheel, and miscellaneous linkages. Steam was alternately supplied and exhausted by one or more valves. Speed control
3780-401: The efficiency of the steam cycle. For safety reasons, nearly all steam engines are equipped with mechanisms to monitor the boiler, such as a pressure gauge and a sight glass to monitor the water level. Many engines, stationary and mobile, are also fitted with a governor to regulate the speed of the engine without the need for human interference. The most useful instrument for analyzing
3864-492: The factories of the Industrial Revolution . Steam engines replaced sails for ships on paddle steamers , and steam locomotives operated on the railways. Reciprocating piston type steam engines were the dominant source of power until the early 20th century. The efficiency of stationary steam engine increased dramatically until about 1922. The highest Rankine Cycle Efficiency of 91% and combined thermal efficiency of 31%
3948-458: The force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder . This pushing force can be transformed by a connecting rod and crank into rotational force for work. The term "steam engine" is most commonly applied to reciprocating engines as just described, although some authorities have also referred to the steam turbine and devices such as Hero's aeolipile as "steam engines". The essential feature of steam engines
4032-487: The gunner. One of the first operational armored cars with four wheel (4x4) drive and partly enclosed rotating turret, was the Austro-Daimler Panzerwagen built by Austro-Daimler in 1904. It was armored with 3–3.5 mm (0.12–0.14 in) thick curved plates over the body (drive space and engine) and had a 4 mm (0.16 in) thick dome-shaped rotating turret that housed one or two machine-guns. It had
4116-575: The higher ground pressure. They also have less obstacle climbing capabilities than tracked vehicles. Wheels are more vulnerable to enemy fire than tracks, they have a higher signature and in most cases less armor than comparable tracked vehicles. As a result, they are not intended for heavy fighting; their normal use is for reconnaissance , command, control, and communications, or for use against lightly armed insurgents or rioters. Only some are intended to enter close combat, often accompanying convoys to protect soft-skinned vehicles. Light armored cars, such as
4200-463: The higher volumes at reduced pressures, giving improved efficiency. These stages were called expansions, with double- and triple-expansion engines being common, especially in shipping where efficiency was important to reduce the weight of coal carried. Steam engines remained the dominant source of power until the early 20th century, when advances in the design of the steam turbine , electric motors , and internal combustion engines gradually resulted in
4284-429: The late 18th century. At least one engine was still known to be operating in 1820. The first commercially successful engine that could transmit continuous power to a machine was the atmospheric engine , invented by Thomas Newcomen around 1712. It improved on Savery's steam pump, using a piston as proposed by Papin. Newcomen's engine was relatively inefficient, and mostly used for pumping water. It worked by creating
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#17328593061494368-399: The nature of the gas although compressed air has been used in steam engines without change. As with all heat engines, the majority of primary energy must be emitted as waste heat at relatively low temperature. The simplest cold sink is to vent the steam to the environment. This is often used on steam locomotives to avoid the weight and bulk of condensers. Some of the released steam
4452-709: The only combat vehicles present. On occasion, even the soldiers of national militaries are forced to adapt their civilian-type vehicles for combat use, often using improvised armor and scrounged weapons. In the 1930s, a new sub-class of armored car emerged in the United States, known as the scout car . This was a compact light armored car which was either unarmed or armed only with machine guns for self-defense. Scout cars were designed as purpose-built reconnaissance vehicles for passive observation and intelligence gathering. Armored cars which carried large caliber, turreted weapons systems were not considered scout cars. The concept gained popularity worldwide during World War II and
4536-509: The pace of the Industrial Revolution. The meaning of high pressure, together with an actual value above ambient, depends on the era in which the term was used. For early use of the term Van Reimsdijk refers to steam being at a sufficiently high pressure that it could be exhausted to atmosphere without reliance on a vacuum to enable it to perform useful work. Ewing 1894 , p. 22 states that Watt's condensing engines were known, at
4620-456: The performance of steam engines is the steam engine indicator. Early versions were in use by 1851, but the most successful indicator was developed for the high speed engine inventor and manufacturer Charles Porter by Charles Richard and exhibited at London Exhibition in 1862. The steam engine indicator traces on paper the pressure in the cylinder throughout the cycle, which can be used to spot various problems and calculate developed horsepower. It
4704-451: The piston axis in vertical position. In time the horizontal arrangement became more popular, allowing compact, but powerful engines to be fitted in smaller spaces. The acme of the horizontal engine was the Corliss steam engine , patented in 1849, which was a four-valve counter flow engine with separate steam admission and exhaust valves and automatic variable steam cutoff. When Corliss was given
4788-406: The reciprocating steam engine is no longer in widespread commercial use, various companies are exploring or exploiting the potential of the engine as an alternative to internal combustion engines. There are two fundamental components of a steam plant: the boiler or steam generator , and the "motor unit", referred to itself as a "steam engine". Stationary steam engines in fixed buildings may have
4872-417: The replacement of reciprocating (piston) steam engines, with merchant shipping relying increasingly upon diesel engines , and warships on the steam turbine. As the development of steam engines progressed through the 18th century, various attempts were made to apply them to road and railway use. In 1784, William Murdoch , a Scottish inventor, built a model steam road locomotive. An early working model of
4956-578: The river is injected into the exhaust steam from the engine. Cooling water and condensate mix. While this was also applied for sea-going vessels, generally after only a few days of operation the boiler would become coated with deposited salt, reducing performance and increasing the risk of a boiler explosion. Starting about 1834, the use of surface condensers on ships eliminated fouling of the boilers, and improved engine efficiency. Evaporated water cannot be used for subsequent purposes (other than rain somewhere), whereas river water can be re-used. In all cases,
5040-636: The south. Armored cars also saw action on the Eastern Front. From 18 February - 26 March 1915, the German army under General Max von Gallwitz attempted to break through the Russian lines in and around the town of Przasnysz , Poland, (about 110 km / 68 miles north of Warsaw) during the Battle of Przasnysz (Polish: Bitwa przasnyska ). Near the end of the battle, the Russians used four Russo-Balt armored cars and
5124-412: The steam plant boiler feed water, which must be kept pure, is kept separate from the cooling water or air. Most steam boilers have a means to supply water whilst at pressure, so that they may be run continuously. Utility and industrial boilers commonly use multi-stage centrifugal pumps ; however, other types are used. Another means of supplying lower-pressure boiler feed water is an injector , which uses
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#17328593061495208-437: The surrounding wagons were chained together as protection from enemy cavalry. With the invention of the steam engine , Victorian inventors designed prototype self-propelled armored vehicles for use in sieges, although none were deployed in combat. H. G. Wells ' short story " The Land Ironclads " provides a fictionalized account of their use. The Motor Scout was designed and built by British inventor F.R. Simms in 1898. It
5292-489: The temperature of the steam above its saturated vapour point, and various mechanisms to increase the draft for fireboxes. When coal is used, a chain or screw stoking mechanism and its drive engine or motor may be included to move the fuel from a supply bin (bunker) to the firebox. The heat required for boiling the water and raising the temperature of the steam can be derived from various sources, most commonly from burning combustible materials with an appropriate supply of air in
5376-476: The term is understood today, as they provided little protection for their crews from enemy fire. At the beginning of the 20th century, the first military armored vehicles were manufactured by adding armor and weapons to existing vehicles. The first armored car was the Simms' Motor War Car , designed by F.R. Simms and built by Vickers, Sons & Maxim of Barrow on a special Coventry -built Daimler chassis with
5460-482: The time, as low pressure compared to high pressure, non-condensing engines of the same period. Watt's patent prevented others from making high pressure and compound engines. Shortly after Watt's patent expired in 1800, Richard Trevithick and, separately, Oliver Evans in 1801 introduced engines using high-pressure steam; Trevithick obtained his high-pressure engine patent in 1802, and Evans had made several working models before then. These were much more powerful for
5544-709: The two designs, which were completed in February 1943, the Chevrolet T17E1 design emerging as the clear winner. Despite this, the US Army authorized Ford to complete 250 vehicles as a stopgap until production of the M8 commenced. The first 32 T17s were produced in 1942, the remaining 218 were completed in 1943. In US Army service the T17 was sometimes referred to as the 'M5 Medium Armored Car', despite never being standardized. All vehicles had their 37 mm main guns removed and were assigned to
5628-548: The vehicles provided by a local shipbuilder. In London Murray Sueter ordered "fighting cars" based on Rolls-Royce, Talbot and Wolseley chassis. By the time Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars arrived in December 1914, the mobile period on the Western Front was already over. More tactically important was the development of formed units of armored cars, such as the Canadian Automobile Machine Gun Brigade , which
5712-788: The war convinced the Belgian GHQ to create a Corps of Armoured Cars , who would be sent to fight on the Eastern front once the western front immobilized after the Battle of the Yser . The British Royal Naval Air Service dispatched aircraft to Dunkirk to defend the UK from Zeppelins. The officers' cars followed them and these began to be used to rescue downed reconnaissance pilots in the battle areas. They mounted machine guns on them and as these excursions became increasingly dangerous, they improvised boiler plate armoring on
5796-648: Was carried in two turrets with 360° traverse. It had a crew of four. Simms' Motor War Car was presented at the Crystal Palace , London , in April 1902. Another early armored car of the period was the French Charron, Girardot et Voigt 1902 , presented at the Salon de l'Automobile et du cycle in Brussels , on 8 March 1902. The vehicle was equipped with a Hotchkiss machine gun , and with 7 mm (0.28 in) armour for
5880-622: Was demonstrated and published in 1921 and 1928. Advances in the design of electric motors and internal combustion engines resulted in the gradual replacement of steam engines in commercial usage. Steam turbines replaced reciprocating engines in power generation, due to lower cost, higher operating speed, and higher efficiency. Note that small scale steam turbines are much less efficient than large ones. As of 2023 , large reciprocating piston steam engines are still being manufactured in Germany. As noted, one recorded rudimentary steam-powered engine
5964-546: Was developed by Trevithick and others in the 1810s. It was a compound cycle engine that used high-pressure steam expansively, then condensed the low-pressure steam, making it relatively efficient. The Cornish engine had irregular motion and torque through the cycle, limiting it mainly to pumping. Cornish engines were used in mines and for water supply until the late 19th century. Early builders of stationary steam engines considered that horizontal cylinders would be subject to excessive wear. Their engines were therefore arranged with
6048-570: Was developed by the Ford Motor Company . and was one of two designs submitted to meet a 1941 Ordnance Department requirement (which also met a British Army Staff requirement) for a medium armored car for Armored Force , the other being the Chevrolet four wheel drive T17E1 armored car . A contract for one pilot model each of the T17 and T17E was placed. Testing of these led to production contracts for 2,260 T17 armored cars in January 1942 with
6132-450: Was either automatic, using a governor, or by a manual valve. The cylinder casting contained steam supply and exhaust ports. Engines equipped with a condenser are a separate type than those that exhaust to the atmosphere. Other components are often present; pumps (such as an injector ) to supply water to the boiler during operation, condensers to recirculate the water and recover the latent heat of vaporisation, and superheaters to raise
6216-519: Was entered in and won the Rainhill Trials . The Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened in 1830 making exclusive use of steam power for both passenger and freight trains. Steam locomotives continued to be manufactured until the late twentieth century in places such as China and the former East Germany (where the DR Class 52.80 was produced). The final major evolution of the steam engine design
6300-808: Was equipped with two machineguns and built from a bus chassis. An armored car known as the ''Death Special'' was built at the CFI plant in Pueblo and used by the Badlwin-Felts detective agency during the Colorado Coalfield War . A great variety of armored cars appeared on both sides during World War I and these were used in various ways. Generally, armored cars were used by more or less independent car commanders. However, sometimes they were used in larger units up to squadron size. The cars were primarily armed with light machine guns, but larger units usually employed
6384-744: Was especially favored in nations where reconnaissance theory emphasized passive observation over combat. Examples of armored cars also classified as scout cars include the Soviet BRDM series , the British Ferret , the Brazilian EE-3 Jararaca , the Hungarian D-442 FÚG , and the American Cadillac Gage Commando Scout . Steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid . The steam engine uses
6468-411: Was improved over time and coupled with variable steam cut off, good speed control in response to changes in load was attainable near the end of the 19th century. In a simple engine, or "single expansion engine" the charge of steam passes through the entire expansion process in an individual cylinder, although a simple engine may have one or more individual cylinders. It is then exhausted directly into
6552-522: Was mounted in the bow of the hull. Armored car (military) Since World War II the traditional functions of the armored car have been occasionally combined with that of the armoured personnel carrier , resulting in such multipurpose designs as the BTR-40 or the Cadillac Gage Commando . Postwar advances in recoil control technology have also made it possible for a few armoured cars, including
6636-479: Was not until after Richard Trevithick had developed the use of high-pressure steam, around 1800, that mobile steam engines became a practical proposition. The first half of the 19th century saw great progress in steam vehicle design, and by the 1850s it was becoming viable to produce them on a commercial basis. This progress was dampened by legislation which limited or prohibited the use of steam-powered vehicles on roads. Improvements in vehicle technology continued from
6720-492: Was routinely used by engineers, mechanics and insurance inspectors. The engine indicator can also be used on internal combustion engines. See image of indicator diagram below (in Types of motor units section). The centrifugal governor was adopted by James Watt for use on a steam engine in 1788 after Watt's partner Boulton saw one on the equipment of a flour mill Boulton & Watt were building. The governor could not actually hold
6804-746: Was the aeolipile described by Hero of Alexandria , a Hellenistic mathematician and engineer in Roman Egypt during the first century AD. In the following centuries, the few steam-powered engines known were, like the aeolipile, essentially experimental devices used by inventors to demonstrate the properties of steam. A rudimentary steam turbine device was described by Taqi al-Din in Ottoman Egypt in 1551 and by Giovanni Branca in Italy in 1629. The Spanish inventor Jerónimo de Ayanz y Beaumont received patents in 1606 for 50 steam-powered inventions, including
6888-534: Was the first armed petrol engine-powered vehicle ever built. The vehicle was a De Dion-Bouton quadricycle with a mounted Maxim machine gun on the front bar. An iron shield in front of the car protected the driver. Another early armed car was invented by Royal Page Davidson at Northwestern Military and Naval Academy in 1898 with the Davidson-Duryea gun carriage and the later Davidson Automobile Battery armored car . However, these were not "armored cars" as
6972-589: Was the first fully mechanized unit in the history. The brigade was established on September 2, 1914, in Ottawa , as Automobile Machine Gun Brigade No. 1 by Brigadier-General Raymond Brutinel . The brigade was originally equipped with eight Armoured Autocars mounting two machine guns. By 1918 Brutinel's force consisted of two motor machine gun brigades (each of five gun batteries containing eight weapons apiece). The brigade, and its armored cars, provided yeoman service in many battles, notably at Amiens. The RNAS section became
7056-438: Was the use of steam turbines starting in the late part of the 19th century. Steam turbines are generally more efficient than reciprocating piston type steam engines (for outputs above several hundred horsepower), have fewer moving parts, and provide rotary power directly instead of through a connecting rod system or similar means. Steam turbines virtually replaced reciprocating engines in electricity generating stations early in
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