The Class-B Standardized Military Truck or "Liberty Truck" was a heavy-duty truck produced by the United States Army during World War I. It was designed by the Quartermaster Corps with help from the Society of Automotive Engineers in 1910 in an effort to help standardize the immense parts catalogue and multiple types of vehicles then in use by the US military, as well as create a truck which possessed all the best features of heavy truck technology then available. It was the first official standardized motor vehicle adopted and produced by the US Military.
The Liberty truck was designed by the Motor Transport section of the Quartermaster Corps in cooperation with the members of the civilian Society of Automotive Engineers. Prototype design of the 3–5 ton truck began in mid-1917, and the first two running prototypes appeared 69 days after the design was finalized in mid-1917. Both trucks were assembled and driven over 400 miles from their assembly locations to Washington D.C., arriving without any major breakages or halts on October 19, 1917 and presented to Secretary of War Newton D. Baker. Following its approval and subsequent small changes to some design and technical aspects, official production of the First-type truck began in January 1918 with parts being produced by 150 different suppliers and assembly contracts awarded to 15 companies.[1] The following are numbers produced in total prior to the signing of the Armistice of 11 November 1918:
Of the 9,364 produced prior to the Armistice, several made it to French shores all of the 1st Series variant with electric lights. The first trucks arrived in early October 1918 and steadily flowed into French ports before and after the Armistice.[3] Few made it into frontline service by wars end. Contracts for an additional 43,000 vehicles were canceled in December 1918 and production halted on trucks entirely by 1919. Following the war, many Class-B Liberty trucks were sold-off surplus to the civilian market and other militaries. Some trucks would see use by foreign armies such as the early Polish Airforce and Army during the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1920-21, as well as with the American Expeditionary Force, Siberia.[4] However, several trucks would continue service with the US Military into the lean days of the late 20s and early 30s receiving engine, body and tire upgrades transforming them into wholly different trucks. The trucks seem to have generally disappeared from military use by 1940.
First Series Liberty Truck in use by Polish AirForce ca. 1919-20First-series truck with AEF in Siberia near Narwa, ca. 1919
Variantsedit
Series I
Battery, generator and distributor with electrical lighting system, in addition to the independent magneto ignition
Ball and coil spring device to hold starter crank up in front
Primarily wooden spoke wheels vs. more robust steel wheels but Steel wheels were issued on 1st variant in later production (reference photo of Indiana manufacturing plant storage lot)
Single clamp hold-down radiator cap threaded in the center into the radiator
Electric side lights
Electric Guide lights up front on the frame horn members inside wheel area
Electric tail lamp
Electrical troubleshooting lamp plug in dash
Dual ignition switch on dash for battery and magneto ignition simultaneous operation.
Ammeter in dash switch cluster (lights/battery/mag, the gauge and a plug socket for a trouble light)
Single dash-mounted fuel tank which gravity fed the carburetor
Series II
Magneto only, (distributor, battery, generator and electrical light systems removed)Second-Series Liberty Truck showing oil side lamps and gas searchlight
Pressed steel spring clip to hold starting crank, vs. ball under spring clamp
Carbide Gas illuminated spot/driving light in the center of the dashboard powered by 'Solar' brand gas generator
Oil wick illuminated side lights (possible transition from electric as they dropped the battery system)
Oil wick rear taillamp
Spring-mounted oil fill caps raised to vertical level for easier filling on suspension
Oil filler for engine moved to rear of block
Radiator uses flip-type cap with hinge to rear and lock bolts on the sides
Reserve fuel tank under passenger seat
Manual fuel transfer hand pump on extreme right of cab for transferring fuel from the underseat-mounted reserve tank to primary dash mounted tank (co-driver job)
A 'Class-C' 6-wheeled truck based upon the Class-B Liberty design was also proposed, but never manufactured during WW1. The extension of the frame and addition of a 3rd axle was a common alteration made to several surplus Class-B trucks in civilian and industrial service. The truck was also commonly encountered in other civilian-built variations with frame-mounted equipment such as drills, cranes, and liquid transport tanks.
Powertrainedit
The Standard B "Liberty" truck's powertrain utilized a gasoline powered 425 cubic-inch L-head inline four cylinder engine that put out 52 horsepower, a 4 speed transmission, and a 4 X 2 drive setup. The Liberty's four-speed coupled with its engine gave the truck a top speed of about 15 miles per hour (24 km/h).[5] The engine was a collaboration amongst 5 different companies including the Buda Engine Co. (timing gear), Waukesha Engine (timing gear, governor, cylinders), Continental (cylinders, crank case), the Hercules Engine Company (pistons), and the Wisconsin Motor Manufacturing Company (timing gear, oiling system). This was just one example of the collaborative effort involved in designing the truck which helped to speed its production and design.[6]
Liberty Truck Engine, Offset right-side Cut-AwayLiberty Truck Engine, Right-side Cut-Awayshowing crankshaft and pistonsRestored Liberty Truck at the National Museum of the USAF in Dayton, OH
The engine consumed standard gasoline at a rate of about 3.5 to 7 miles per gallon depending on terrain, speed and driving ability. The truck has a maximum fuel capacity of around 22 gallons which includes the primary dash-mounted fuel tank and a larger reserve tank mounted under the right-hand side of the seat box.
Surviving examplesedit
Static:
There is one at the Fort Sill museum in Oklahoma (previously at the Fort Bliss museum)
One First-series truck in Dorset, UK under private ownership (restoration on-going) Cantigny Park Liberty Truck, 2018One First-series truck owned by the Texas Department of Transportation, restored to 1930s civilian configuration
^Mroz, Albert.American Military Vehicles of World War I: An Illustrated History of Armored Cars, Staff Cars, Motorcycles, Ambulances, Trucks, Tractors and Tanks, Jefferson N.C.: McFarland & Company Inc., 2009. pg. 232-4.
^Mroz, Albert.The Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Trucks and Commercial Vehicles, Iola, WI: Kraus Publications, 1996. pg. 246-7.
^The Stars and Stripes Newspaper, 'Liberty Truck, Americas Best, Reaches France'. October 4, 1918. Vol. 1, No. 35, p. 8.
^Tarczyński, Jan, Barbaski Krzysztof, and Jońka, Adam. Pojazdy w Wojsku Polskim: 1918-1939.Londyn: Komisja Historyczna b. Sztabu Głównego PSZ, Oficyna Wydawnicza "Ajaks", 1995.
^, National Museum of the US Air Force, archived from the original on 2010-07-29, retrieved 2009-11-24
^The New York Times.'New Army Truck Mechanical Marvel'. October 12, 1917.
Army Motors Issue No.100 (2002)
Motor Vehicles and trailers of the United States Army. Washington: Government Printing Office, July 1920. pg.14-15, 39.
M.T.C. Instruction Book: Class B Standardized Military Truck. Washington: Chas H. Potter & Co. Inc. October 1919.
Standardized Military truck Class B: Instruction Book Motor Transport Service, Quartermaster Corps. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1918.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Liberty truck.
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The Class B Standardized Military Truck or Liberty Truck was a heavy duty truck produced by the United States Army during World War I It was designed by the Quartermaster Corps with help from the Society of Automotive Engineers in 1910 in an effort to help standardize the immense parts catalogue and multiple types of vehicles then in use by the US military as well as create a truck which possessed all the best features of heavy truck technology then available It was the first official standardized motor vehicle adopted and produced by the US Military Standard B Liberty truckOverviewManufacturerVarious see below Production10 000 14 000Body and chassisClassB 3 to 5 short tons 2 7 to 4 5 long tons 2 7 to 4 5 t Body styleopen cab Cargo truckPowertrainEngineGasoline 425 cu in 6 960 cc 6 96 L L head 4 cycle 52 hp 39 kW Transmission4 speed 4X2 DimensionsWheelbase160 5 in 408 cm Length22 ft 671 cm Width7 4 ft 226 cm Height6 25 ft 191 cm 10 5 ft 320 cm with bows and canvasCurb weight10 400 lb 4 717 kg 3rd Division soldiers somewhere in France with First series Liberty truck 1918 Contents 1 History 2 Variants 3 Powertrain 4 Surviving examples 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory editThe Liberty truck was designed by the Motor Transport section of the Quartermaster Corps in cooperation with the members of the civilian Society of Automotive Engineers Prototype design of the 3 5 ton truck began in mid 1917 and the first two running prototypes appeared 69 days after the design was finalized in mid 1917 Both trucks were assembled and driven over 400 miles from their assembly locations to Washington D C arriving without any major breakages or halts on October 19 1917 and presented to Secretary of War Newton D Baker Following its approval and subsequent small changes to some design and technical aspects official production of the First type truck began in January 1918 with parts being produced by 150 different suppliers and assembly contracts awarded to 15 companies 1 The following are numbers produced in total prior to the signing of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 Bethlehem Motor Truck Corporation of Allentown PA 675 Brockway Motor Company of Cortland NY 589 Diamond T Motor Car Company of Chicago IL 638 Garford Motor Truck Co of Lima OH 978 Gramm Bernstein Company of Lima OH 1 000 Indiana Motor and Vehicle Co of Indianapolis IN 475 Kelly Springfield Motor Truck Company of Springfield OH 301 Packard of Detroit MI 5 Pierce Arrow Motor Car Company of Buffalo NY 975 Republic Motor Truck Company of Alma MI 967 Selden Motor Vehicle Company of Rochester NY 1 000 Service Motor truck Company of Wabash IN 337 Sterling Motor Truck Company of Milwaukee WI 479 United States Motor Truck Company of Covington KY 490 Velie Motors Corporation of Moline IL 455 2 Of the 9 364 produced prior to the Armistice several made it to French shores all of the 1st Series variant with electric lights The first trucks arrived in early October 1918 and steadily flowed into French ports before and after the Armistice 3 Few made it into frontline service by wars end Contracts for an additional 43 000 vehicles were canceled in December 1918 and production halted on trucks entirely by 1919 Following the war many Class B Liberty trucks were sold off surplus to the civilian market and other militaries Some trucks would see use by foreign armies such as the early Polish Airforce and Army during the Polish Bolshevik War of 1920 21 as well as with the American Expeditionary Force Siberia 4 However several trucks would continue service with the US Military into the lean days of the late 20s and early 30s receiving engine body and tire upgrades transforming them into wholly different trucks The trucks seem to have generally disappeared from military use by 1940 nbsp First Series Liberty Truck in use by Polish AirForce ca 1919 20 nbsp First series truck with AEF in Siberia near Narwa ca 1919Variants editSeries I Battery generator and distributor with electrical lighting system in addition to the independent magneto ignition Distributor and magneto systems with independent sparkplugs and wires two per cylinder Ball and coil spring device to hold starter crank up in front Primarily wooden spoke wheels vs more robust steel wheels but Steel wheels were issued on 1st variant in later production reference photo of Indiana manufacturing plant storage lot Single clamp hold down radiator cap threaded in the center into the radiator Electric side lights Electric Guide lights up front on the frame horn members inside wheel area Electric tail lamp Electrical troubleshooting lamp plug in dash Dual ignition switch on dash for battery and magneto ignition simultaneous operation Ammeter in dash switch cluster lights battery mag the gauge and a plug socket for a trouble light Single dash mounted fuel tank which gravity fed the carburetor Series II Magneto only distributor battery generator and electrical light systems removed nbsp Second Series Liberty Truck showing oil side lamps and gas searchlight Pressed steel spring clip to hold starting crank vs ball under spring clamp Carbide Gas illuminated spot driving light in the center of the dashboard powered by Solar brand gas generator Oil wick illuminated side lights possible transition from electric as they dropped the battery system Oil wick rear taillamp Spring mounted oil fill caps raised to vertical level for easier filling on suspension Oil filler for engine moved to rear of block Radiator uses flip type cap with hinge to rear and lock bolts on the sides Reserve fuel tank under passenger seat Manual fuel transfer hand pump on extreme right of cab for transferring fuel from the underseat mounted reserve tank to primary dash mounted tank co driver job A Class C 6 wheeled truck based upon the Class B Liberty design was also proposed but never manufactured during WW1 The extension of the frame and addition of a 3rd axle was a common alteration made to several surplus Class B trucks in civilian and industrial service The truck was also commonly encountered in other civilian built variations with frame mounted equipment such as drills cranes and liquid transport tanks Powertrain editThe Standard B Liberty truck s powertrain utilized a gasoline powered 425 cubic inch L head inline four cylinder engine that put out 52 horsepower a 4 speed transmission and a 4 X 2 drive setup The Liberty s four speed coupled with its engine gave the truck a top speed of about 15 miles per hour 24 km h 5 The engine was a collaboration amongst 5 different companies including the Buda Engine Co timing gear Waukesha Engine timing gear governor cylinders Continental cylinders crank case the Hercules Engine Company pistons and the Wisconsin Motor Manufacturing Company timing gear oiling system This was just one example of the collaborative effort involved in designing the truck which helped to speed its production and design 6 nbsp Liberty Truck Engine Offset right side Cut Away nbsp Liberty Truck Engine Right side Cut Awayshowing crankshaft and pistons nbsp Restored Liberty Truck at the National Museum of the USAF in Dayton OH The engine consumed standard gasoline at a rate of about 3 5 to 7 miles per gallon depending on terrain speed and driving ability The truck has a maximum fuel capacity of around 22 gallons which includes the primary dash mounted fuel tank and a larger reserve tank mounted under the right hand side of the seat box Surviving examples editStatic There is one at the Fort Sill museum in Oklahoma previously at the Fort Bliss museum One Second series truck at the Fort Eustis U S Army Transportation Museum One Second series truck at the National Museum of the United States Air Force Dayton Ohio One with Virginia Military Preservation Association 1 W Winget owner in Virginia undergoing restoration One at the National Infantry Museum 2 Columbus Georgia One First series truck at the Iowa Military museum 3 One at the Allen County Museum Lima Ohio 4 One at the Camp Creek showgrounds near Waverly Nebraska One Second series truck at the National Marine Corps Museum at Quantico Triangle Virginia One at the Texas Military Forces Museum at Camp Mabry Austin Texas One at the U S Veterans Memorial Museum 5 Huntsville Alabama Two Second series trucks at the LeMay Family Collection Foundation Spanaway Washington 6 two at the WW2 Military Vehicle Federation Museum Florala Alabama undergoing restoration One First series at the US Army Aviation Museum at Fort Novosel Alabama Operational One First series truck at the Oregon Military Museum in Clackamas Oregon operational status unknown as of 2018 One Second series truck at the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park in Wheaton Illinois One First series truck in Dorset UK under private ownership restoration on going nbsp Cantigny Park Liberty Truck 2018One First series truck owned by the Texas Department of Transportation restored to 1930s civilian configurationSee also editM1918 light repair truck Four Wheel Drive Co Republic Motor Truck Company Thomas B Jeffery Company Nash Quad Motor Transport Corps United States Army World War I U S Army Transportation CorpsReferences edit Mroz Albert American Military Vehicles of World War I An Illustrated History of Armored Cars Staff Cars Motorcycles Ambulances Trucks Tractors and Tanks Jefferson N C McFarland amp Company Inc 2009 pg 232 4 Mroz Albert The Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Trucks and Commercial Vehicles Iola WI Kraus Publications 1996 pg 246 7 The Stars and Stripes Newspaper Liberty Truck Americas Best Reaches France October 4 1918 Vol 1 No 35 p 8 Tarczynski Jan Barbaski Krzysztof and Jonka Adam Pojazdy w Wojsku Polskim 1918 1939 Londyn Komisja Historyczna b Sztabu Glownego PSZ Oficyna Wydawnicza Ajaks 1995 WWI STANDARD B LIBERTY TRUCK National Museum of the US Air Force archived from the original on 2010 07 29 retrieved 2009 11 24 The New York Times New Army Truck Mechanical Marvel October 12 1917 Army Motors Issue No 100 2002 Motor Vehicles and trailers of the United States Army Washington Government Printing Office July 1920 pg 14 15 39 M T C Instruction Book Class B Standardized Military Truck Washington Chas H Potter amp Co Inc October 1919 Standardized Military truck Class B Instruction Book Motor Transport Service Quartermaster Corps Washington Government Printing Office 1918 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Liberty truck https web archive org web 20041011025944 http www transchool eustis army mil Museum museum html https archive org details americasmunitio01deptgoog page 496 https books google com books id UrtBAAAAIAAJ https query nytimes com gst abstract html res 9B0DE7DA113BE03ABC4153DFB667838C609EDE http vmpa ordnancereproductions com https libertytruck org Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Liberty truck amp oldid 1219436617, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
