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, costing $60,000 (US$ 1,215,400 in 2024). 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 specialized flame tank 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 (26 kW) auxiliary gasoline engine, the two main 2-cylinder steam engines with a combined power of 500 hp (370 kW) remained, each engine driving one track to give a maximum speed of 4 mph (6 km/h). The transmission allowed two speeds forward and two in reverse. The steam engines used kerosene for fuel.
The flamethrower, located in the front cabin, had a range of 90 feet (27 m); additionally there were four .30 cal. (7.62 mm) machine guns; two in a sponson at each side. The length of the vehicle was 34 feet 9 inches (10.6 m), the width 12 feet 6 inches (3.8 m) and the height 10 feet 4.5 inches (3.16 m). The tracks were 24 inches (61 cm) wide. Each track frame carried mud clearing spikes, sometimes mistaken for battering rams. The tank had a weight of about 50 short tons (45 t). 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 a contemporary steam-powered armored vehicle - the Steam Wheel Tank - which was not tracked but an armored three-wheeled vehicle, 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.
"First American-Built Tank is biggest Yet". The Jones County News. Ellisville, Mississippi: Edgar G. Harris. 2020. pp. 1–8. ISSN 2578-899X. OCLC 15090035. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
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January 01, 1970
steam, tank, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, january, 2021,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Steam tank news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2021 Learn how and when to remove this message The Steam tank tracked was an early U S tank design of 1918 imitating the design of the British Mark IV tank but powered by steam 1 US Army Corps of Engineers Steam tankThe US Army Corps of Engineers Steam tankPlace of origin United StatesSpecificationsMass50 8 tLength10 6 m 34 ft 9 in Width3 8 m 12 ft 6 in Height3 2 m 10 ft 6 in Crew8Armor13 mm 0 51 in MainarmamentflamethrowerSecondaryarmamentfour 30 cal 7 62 mm machine gunsEngine2 steam piston engines500 hp 373 kW combinedPower weight9 8 hp tonneSuspensionunsprungOperationalrange Maximum speed6 km h 3 7 mph 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 costing 60 000 US 1 215 400 in 2024 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 specialized flame tank 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 26 kW auxiliary gasoline engine the two main 2 cylinder steam engines with a combined power of 500 hp 370 kW remained each engine driving one track to give a maximum speed of 4 mph 6 km h The transmission allowed two speeds forward and two in reverse The steam engines used kerosene for fuel The flamethrower located in the front cabin had a range of 90 feet 27 m additionally there were four 30 cal 7 62 mm machine guns two in a sponson at each side The length of the vehicle was 34 feet 9 inches 10 6 m the width 12 feet 6 inches 3 8 m and the height 10 feet 4 5 inches 3 16 m The tracks were 24 inches 61 cm wide Each track frame carried mud clearing spikes sometimes mistaken for battering rams The tank had a weight of about 50 short tons 45 t 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 a contemporary steam powered armored vehicle the Steam Wheel Tank which was not tracked but an armored three wheeled vehicle 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 Bibliography editNotes The Jones County News May 16 1918 p 1 References First American Built Tank is biggest Yet The Jones County News Ellisville Mississippi Edgar G Harris 2020 pp 1 8 ISSN 2578 899X OCLC 15090035 Retrieved May 16 2020 nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Steam powered US experimental tank Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Steam tank amp oldid 1209198318, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
