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73-495: The Smithsonian National Museum of American History provides the following account of the history of the United Shoe Machinery Corporation. The United Shoe Machinery Company was formed in 1899 by the consolidation of three shoe machinery firms in the industry: Goodyear Shoe Machinery Company; Consolidated McKay Lasting Machine Company; and McKay Shoe Machinery Company. The new company continued

146-433: A diesel engine ; modern technology, including the use of turbo-charging , helps to overcome the lower power-to-weight ratio of diesel engines compared to petrol. Gas turbine (turboshaft) engines offer a very high power-to-weight ratio and were starting to find favour in the late 20th century – however, they offer very poor fuel consumption and as such some armies are switching from gas turbines back to diesel engines (i.e.

219-447: A main battle tank will normally be designed to take hits from other tank guns and anti-tank missiles , whilst light reconnaissance vehicles are often only armoured "just in case". Whilst heavier armour provides better protection, it makes vehicles less mobile (for a given engine power), limits its air-transportability, increases cost, uses more fuel and may limit the places it can go – for example, many bridges may be unable to support

292-494: A turret or cupola. The greater the recoil of the weapon on an AFV, the larger the turret ring needs to be. A larger turret ring necessitates a larger vehicle. To avoid listing to the side, turrets on amphibious vehicles are usually located at the centre of the vehicle. Grenade launchers provide a versatile launch platform for a plethora of munitions including, smoke , phosphorus, tear gas , illumination, anti-personnel, infrared and radar-jamming rounds. Turret stabilization

365-744: A British Army engineer. They were very popular with smaller countries. Some saw some combat (with limited success) in World War II. However, the vulnerability of their light armour eventually caused the concept to be abandoned. However, the German Army uses a modern design of air-transportable armoured weapons carriers, the Wiesel AWC , which resembles the concept of a tankette. The term "super-heavy tank" has been used to describe armoured fighting vehicles of extreme size, generally over 75 tonnes. Programs have been initiated on several occasions with

438-763: A Vickers QF-1 "Pom-Pom" gun of 40 mm. The Germans fielded the Sd.Kfz. 10/4 and 6/2, cargo halftracks mounting single 20 mm or 37 mm AA guns (respectively) by the start of the war. Rocket launchers such as the Soviet Katyusha originated in the late 1930s. The Wehrmacht fielded self-propelled rocket artillery in World War II – the Panzerwerfer and Wurfrahmen 40 equipped half-track armoured fighting vehicles. Many modern multiple rocket launchers are self propelled by either truck or tank chassis. The level of armour protection between AFVs varies greatly –

511-520: A boy, he did not graduate high school or attend college but became a self-taught civil engineer and self-made businessman. When his father died in 1833, he went to work as an apprentice in a machine shop at age 12. He briefly worked on a railroad and on the Erie Canal . In 1844, at age 23, he established his own machine shop in Pittsfield. Partnering with J.C. Hoadley as McKay and Hoadley,

584-853: A commercially viable prototype in 1885, McKay swiftly bought out the resulting company, creating the Consolidated McKay Lasting Machine Company. In 1899, this merged with the McKay Shoe Machinery Company, the Goodyear Shoe Machinery Company, and a few smaller manufacturers to create the United Shoe Machinery Corporation , which then dominated American shoemaking for decades. By this time, living near Harvard Square , McKay had become close friends with Nathaniel Southgate Shaler ,

657-532: A form. In 1872, McKay attempted to replicate his earlier success by joining with James W. Brooks and Charles W. Glidden to form the McKay Lasting Machine Association and buying out the patents of William Wells's American Lasting Machine Company with the intention of improving them to commercial viability and then leasing the resulting machines. Ultimately, they spent $ 120,000 on their improvements and, after George Copeland demonstrated

730-435: A highly mobile and protected fighting unit has been around for centuries; from Hannibal 's war elephants to Leonardo 's contraptions , military strategists endeavoured to maximize the mobility and survivability of their soldiers. Armoured fighting vehicles were not possible until internal combustion engines of sufficient power became available at the start of the 20th century. Modern armoured fighting vehicles represent

803-425: A neighbor complained about him as a "miserible old whore master" filling his house "with loose women under the noses of respectable people". Harvard got its first million in 1909. By the time Harvard received the full amount, the total came to $ 16 million, the largest single gift received by the university up to that time and still one of the most generous when adjusted for inflation. The inability of Harvard to share

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876-467: A tank being first deployed as a medium tank, but in later years relegated to light tank roles. Tanks were also classified by roles that were independent of size, such as cavalry tank , cruiser tank , fast tank , infantry tank , "assault" tank, or "breakthrough" tank. Military theorists initially tended to assign tanks to traditional military infantry, cavalry, and artillery roles, but later developed more specialized roles unique to tanks. In modern use,

949-414: A tank chassis. During World War II, most major military powers developed self-propelled artillery vehicles. These had guns mounted on a tracked chassis (often that of an obsolete or superseded tank) and provided an armoured superstructure to protect the gun and its crew. The first British design, "Bishop" , carried the 25 pdr gun-howitzer in an extemporised mounting on a tank chassis that severely limited

1022-450: A very large movable siege tower, the helepolis , as early as 340 BC, and Greek forces used such structures in the Siege of Rhodes (305 BC). The idea of a protected fighting vehicle has been known since antiquity. Frequently cited is Leonardo da Vinci 's 15th-century sketch of a mobile, protected gun-platform ; the drawings show a conical, wooden shelter with apertures for cannons around

1095-498: A viable lasting machine at the 1876 Philadelphia World's Fair , another $ 130,000 attempting to sue him for patent infringement. They further absorbed Henry G. Thompson's company, becoming the McKay and Thompson Lasting Machine Association. For his part, Copeland had spent $ 100,000 on his own efforts and then $ 170,000 on the litigation. Ultimately McKay won but, seeking the best possible machine, promptly combined with Copeland's firm as

1168-488: A wide variety of both ground targets and air targets. Despite significant advances in anti-tank warfare , it still remains the most versatile and fearsome land-based weapon-systems of the 21st-century, valued for its shock action and high survivability . A tankette is a tracked armed and armoured vehicle resembling a small "ultra-light tank" or "super-light tank" roughly the size of a car, mainly intended for light infantry support or scouting . Tankettes were introduced in

1241-622: Is a tank fulfilling the role of a main battle tank, but using only anti-tank surface-to-surface missiles for main armament. Several nations have experimented with prototypes, notably the Soviet Union during the tenure of Nikita Khrushchev (projects Object 167, Object 137Ml, Object 155Ml, Object 287, Object 775), A flame tank is an otherwise-standard tank equipped with a flamethrower , most commonly used to supplement combined arms attacks against fortifications , confined spaces, or other obstacles. The type only reached significant use in

1314-430: Is an important capability because it enables firing on the move and prevents crew fatigue. Modern AFVs have primarily used either petrol (gasoline) or diesel piston engines. More recently, gas turbines have been used. Most early AFVs used petrol engines , as they offer a good power-to-weight ratio . However, they fell out of favour during World War II due to the flammability of the fuel. Most current AFVs are powered by

1387-426: Is distinguished by its high level of firepower, mobility and armour protection relative to other vehicles of its era. It can cross comparatively rough terrain at high speeds, but its heavy dependency on fuel, maintenance, and ammunition makes it logistically demanding. It has the heaviest armour of any AFVs on the battlefield, and carries a powerful precision-guided munition weapon systems that may be able to engage

1460-700: Is named for him. The university maintains his family mausoleum in gratitude. It was renovated in 2007. Armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle ( British English ) or armored fighting vehicle ( American English ) ( AFV ) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour , generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked . Examples of AFVs are tanks , armoured cars , assault guns , self-propelled artilleries , infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), and armoured personnel carriers (APC). Armoured fighting vehicles are classified according to their characteristics and intended role on

1533-755: The Hussite Wars . These heavy wagons were given protective sides with firing slits; their heavy firepower came from either a cannon or from a force of hand-gunners and crossbowmen , supported by light cavalry and infantry using pikes and flails . Heavy arquebuses mounted on wagons were called arquebus à croc . These carried a ball of about 3.5 ounces (100 g). By the end of World War II , most modern armies had vehicles to carry infantry, artillery and anti-aircraft weaponry . Most modern AFVs are superficially similar in design to their World War II counterparts, but with significantly better armour, weapons, engines, electronics, and suspension. The increase in

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1606-607: The MOWAG Piranha , originally designed as an APC, has been adapted to fill numerous roles such as a mortar carrier , infantry fighting vehicle, and assault gun. Armoured fighting vehicles began to appear in use in World War I with the armoured car, the tank, the self-propelled gun, and the personnel carrier seeing use. By World War II, armies had large numbers of AFVs, together with other vehicles to carry troops this permitted highly mobile manoeuvre warfare . The concept of

1679-776: The Russian Marines with the PT-76 , the British Army with the Scimitar , and the Chinese Army with the Type 63 . Modern main battle tanks or "universal tanks" incorporate recent advances in automotive, artillery, armour, and electronic technology to combine the best characteristics of the historic medium and heavy tanks into a single, all-around type. They are also the most expensive to mass-produce. A main battle tank

1752-484: The Second World War (1939–1945). The armoured personnel carrier, designed to transport infantry troops to the frontline, emerged towards the end of World War I. During the first actions with tanks , it had become clear that close contact with infantry was essential in order to secure ground won by the tanks. Troops on foot were vulnerable to enemy fire, but they could not be transported in the tank because of

1825-597: The Second World War , during which the United States, Soviet Union , Germany , Italy , Japan and the United Kingdom (including members of the British Commonwealth ) all produced flamethrower-equipped tanks. Usually, the flame projector replaced one of the tank's machineguns, however, some flame projectors replaced the tank's main gun. Fuel for the flame weapon was generally carried inside

1898-600: The geology professor at Harvard University . Shaler became dean of Harvards's Lawrence Scientific School (now the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences ) in 1891. In 1893, McKay placed an initial $ 4 million in trust for Harvard to provide for its later endowment. Gordon McKay died at his home in Newport, Rhode Island on October 19, 1903. He was buried at Pittsfield Cemetery . McKay built Indian Mound Cottage on Jekyll Island , Georgia , in 1892. After his death, it

1971-558: The hot glue gun , the soda can pop-top , the drive mechanism for the Lunar Roving , and pop rivets for the Concorde . However, the attempts at diversification failed to generate enough money and in 1976 the company, heavily in debt, was bought by Emhart Corporation, now Stanley Engineered Fastening , an organisation half its size. In 1987 a management buyout led by the management of British United Shoe Machinery (BUSM) bought

2044-476: The "McKay machines" to 60 other companies for a low initial fee and royalties on future sales. (The machines included devices that tallied their uses.) The low overhead, increased productivity, ready market, and glowing reports prompted more and more companies to adopt them as well. Blake helped install the machines until retiring in 1874. Ultimately, McKay's company received royalties on billions of pairs of footwear, making $ 500,000—about 750 kg of gold—a year at

2117-487: The McKay and Copeland Lasting Machine Association in 1881. They were able to market an automated lasting machine but it was limited to heavy work and useless for the pointed toes then in fashion or for women's shoes in thin leather, which still made up the bulk of sales. When the Surinamese-American immigrant Jan Ernst Matzeliger finally solved the problem with his own machine in 1883 and then developed

2190-514: The Russian T-80 used a gas turbine engine, whereas the later T-90 does not). The US M1 Abrams is a notable example of a gas turbine powered tank. Notable armoured fighting vehicles extending from post-World War I to today. The tank is an all terrain AFV incorporating artillery which is designed to fill almost all battlefield roles and to engage enemy forces by the use of direct fire in

2263-679: The United Shoe Machinery Company have drawn comparisons to subsequent anti-trust cases against IBM and Microsoft. The corporation pioneered the development and production of a synthetic leather materials. During the Interbellum era corporate Research Division designed and developed gun mounts , gun turrets , fire control equipment , automatic guns , automatic fuse setting, bomb release equipment, automatic conveying equipment, and automatic rocket projectors, as well as many other things of military interest. During

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2336-539: The United Shoe Machinery Company was embroiled in legal disputes and controversial business practices. In December 1947 the US government brought proceedings against USM alleging a breach of the Sherman Antitrust Act in that the company had been a monopoly since 1912. A "trial of prodigious length" followed, with the verdict going against USM, but the corporation wasn't broken up and the judgement and remedy

2409-600: The aim of creating an invincible siegeworks / breakthrough vehicle for penetrating enemy formations and fortifications without fear of being destroyed in combat. Examples were designed in World War I and World War II (such as the Panzer VIII Maus ), along with a few in the Cold War . However, few working prototypes were built and there is no clear evidence any of these vehicles saw combat, as their immense size would have made most designs impractical. A missile tank

2482-400: The battlefield. The classifications are not absolute; two countries may classify the same vehicle differently, and the criteria change over time. For example, relatively lightly armed armoured personnel carriers were largely superseded by infantry fighting vehicles with much heavier armament in a similar role. Successful designs are often adapted to a wide variety of applications. For example,

2555-529: The bequest with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was an important impediment to the repeated attempts of its president Charles William Eliot to merge the two universities. Invested by the university, his legacy has grown to over $ 500,000,000 and supports 40 professorships in engineering and applied science, one of the most significant monetary contributions to academic salaries. Harvard's Gordon McKay Laboratory for Applied Sciences

2628-409: The bottom of the hull. Weaponry varies by a very wide degree between AFVs – lighter vehicles for infantry carrying, reconnaissance or specialist roles may have only a autocannon or machine gun (or no armament at all), whereas heavy self-propelled artillery will carry howitzers , mortars or rocket launchers. These weapons may be mounted on a pintle , affixed directly to the vehicle or placed in

2701-458: The bulk of his estate to Harvard University as an endowment to support capable professors to train future engineers . The gift grew to over half a billion dollars and was indirectly responsible for Harvard's inability to merge with MIT in the early 20th century. McKay was born to a cotton goods manufacturer in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on May 4, 1821. Although he studied violin as

2774-484: The capacity of transport aircraft makes possible and practicable the transport of AFVs by air. Many armies are replacing some or all of their traditional heavy vehicles with lighter airmobile versions, often with wheels instead of tracks. The first modern AFVs were armed cars, dating back virtually to the invention of the motor car . The British inventor F. R. Simms designed and built the Motor Scout in 1898. It

2847-627: The circumference. The machine was to be mounted on four wheels which would be turned by the crew through a system of hand cranks and cage (or "lantern") gears . Leonardo claimed: "I will build armoured wagons which will be safe and invulnerable to enemy attacks. There will be no obstacle which it cannot overcome." Modern replicas have demonstrated that the human crew would have been able to move it over only short distances. Hussite forces in Bohemia developed war wagons – medieval horse-drawn wagons that doubled as wagon forts – around 1420 during

2920-613: The firm employed over 100 men before moving in 1852 to Lawrence . While there, he served as treasurer of the Lawrence Machine Shop. At the time, Lynn and other communities around Boston had become the center of the American shoe industry but they still relied on skilled manual labor organized into elaborate putting-out systems . With modification, Elias Howe and Isaac Singer 's early sewing machines were able to stitch shoes' uppers together but could not do

2993-649: The first Self-propelled artillery , was fielded in 1917. It was based on the first tank, the British Mark I , and carried a heavy field-gun. The next major advance was the Birch gun (1925), developed for the British motorised warfare experimental brigade (the Experimental Mechanized Force ). This mounted a field gun, capable of the usual artillery trajectories and even anti-aircraft use, on

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3066-438: The frontal assault role. Though several configurations have been tried, particularly in the early experimental "golden days" of tank development, a standard, mature design configuration has since emerged to a generally accepted pattern. This features a main tank gun or artillery gun , mounted in a fully rotating turret atop a tracked automotive hull, with various additional secondary weapon systems throughout. Philosophically,

3139-690: The gun's performance. It was replaced by the more effective Sexton . The Germans built many lightly armoured self-propelled anti-tank guns using captured French equipment (for example Marder I ), their own obsolete light tank chassis ( Marder II ), or ex-Czech chassis ( Marder III ). These led to better-protected tank destroyers, built on a medium-tank chassis such as the Jagdpanzer IV or the Jagdpanther . The Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon debuted in WWI. The German 88  mm anti-aircraft gun

3212-400: The heavy tank has fallen out of favour, being supplanted by more heavily armed and armoured descendant of the medium tanks – the universal main battle tank . The light tank has, in many armies, lost favour to cheaper, faster, lighter armoured cars ; however, light tanks (or similar vehicles with other names) are still in service with a number of forces as reconnaissance vehicles , most notably

3285-461: The heavy work of attaching the uppers to the soles . Lyman Reed Blake finally worked out how to accomplish this in 1856, receiving his patent in 1858. Realizing how the invention could increase productivity and profits for shoe manufacturers, McKay hired Blake at his company and purchased his patent for $ 8,000 in cash and an agreement to pay a further $ 62,000 from future profits. While contesting an earlier agreement Blake had made for less money,

3358-498: The individual vehicle too, depending on the role of the vehicle and the likely direction of attack. For example, a main battle tank will usually have the heaviest armour on the hull front and the turret, lighter armour on the sides of the hull and the thinnest armour on the top and bottom of the tank. Other vehicles – such as the MRAP family – may be primarily armoured against the threat from IEDs and so will have heavy, sloped armour on

3431-515: The intense heat and noxious atmosphere. In 1917, Lieutenant G. J. Rackham was ordered to design an armoured vehicle that could fight and carry troops or supplies. The Mark IX tank was built by Armstrong, Whitworth & Co. , although just three vehicles had been finished at the time of the Armistice in November 1918, and only 34 were built in total. Different tank classifications emerged in

3504-792: The interwar period. The tankette was conceived as a mobile, two-man model, mainly intended for reconnaissance. In 1925, Sir John Carden and Vivian Loyd produced the first such design to be adopted – the Carden Loyd tankette . Tankettes saw use in the Royal Italian Army during the Italian invasion of Ethiopia (1935–1936), the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), and almost everywhere Italian soldiers fought during World War II . The Imperial Japanese Army used tankettes for jungle warfare . The British Gun Carrier Mark I ,

3577-483: The mid-1920s as a reconnaissance vehicle and a mobile machine gun position They were one or two-man vehicles armed with a machine gun. Colloquially it may also simply mean a "small tank". Tankettes were designed and built by several nations between the 1920s and 1940s following the British Carden Loyd tankette which was a successful implementation of "one man tank" ideas from Giffard Le Quesne Martel ,

3650-576: The modern-day Emhart Corporation. In 1989, in order to resist a two billion dollar takeover attempt by a New York investment group (which included oil heir Gordon P. Getty), Emhart merged with Black & Decker Corporation. The merged company operates from Black & Decker's headquarters in Towson, Maryland. The company headquarters in Farmington, Connecticut, were closed in June 1989. Since its founding,

3723-515: The muddy, pocked terrain and slit trenches of the Battle of the Somme . The tank eventually proved highly successful and, as technology improved, it became a weapon that could cross large distances at much higher speeds than supporting infantry and artillery . The need to provide the units that would fight alongside the tank led to the development of a wide range of specialised AFVs, especially during

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3796-484: The opposing force who can often hear and even feel their arrival. Tanks were classified either by size or by role. Classification by relative size was common, as this also tended to influence the tanks' role. Over time, tanks tended to be designed with heavier armour and weapons, increasing the weight of all tanks, so these classifications are relative to the average for the nation's tanks for any given period. An older tank design might be reclassified over time, such as

3869-579: The postwar years, the corporate engineers experimented intensively with armoured fighting vehicles of modular design, kindred by common chassis , common armor elements , interchangeable armament, automatic loading for weapons, and low weight in order to attain high speeds, coupled with various comfort add-ons provided for the housed crew. The corporation had several divisions, subsidiaries and affiliates, which were located mainly in Massachusetts. Gordon McKay Gordon McKay (1821–1903)

3942-512: The practice previously followed by its constituent firms of renting machinery that it manufactured instead of selling it. After the 1899 merger, United grew quite rapidly. In 1903, it began construction of a new factory in Beverly, Massachusetts about thirty-five miles from Boston. At its peak, this company employed 9,000 workers and produced eighty-five percent of all shoemaking machines in the United States. By 1910, it had an eighty percent share of

4015-566: The principal was delayed 36 years until 1949, however, because of life trusts he separately established for his second exwife Minnie Treat, "the prettiest and sweetest young lady the world has produced" and the 36-year-younger daughter of his former housekeeper; for Minnie's two sons allegedly fathered by a Florentine during a period of abstinence in their relationship; for Minnie's mother and sister; and for 13 other women of no apparent relation with whom he negotiated life trusts in consideration of their love and affection, to such an extent that

4088-596: The professorships maintained from the Endowment be kept liberal, generation after generation, according to the standards of each successive generation, to the end that these professorships may always be attractive to able men and that their effect may be to raise, in some judicious measure, the general scale of compensation for the teachers of the universities." The professorships he endowed are within Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences . The full transfer of

4161-527: The realization of an ancient concept – that of providing troops with mobile protection and firepower. Armies have deployed war machines and cavalries with rudimentary armour in battle for millennia. Use of these animals and engineering designs sought to achieve a balance between the conflicting paradoxical needs of mobility, firepower and protection. Siege engines , such as battering rams and siege towers , would often be armoured in order to protect their crews from enemy action. Polyidus of Thessaly developed

4234-601: The shoe machinery market with assets reaching forty million dollars, and it had acquired control of branch companies in foreign countries. In 1917, the United Shoe Machinery Corporation, incorporated in 1905, absorbed the United Shoe Machinery Company. The United Shoe Machinery Corporation had its headquarters in Boston and its main manufacturing plant in Beverly, Massachusetts. In 1968, the United Shoe Machinery Corporation changed its name to USM Corporation. In 1976, United Shoe Machinery Company merged with Emhart Industries and produced

4307-501: The shoe machinery operations, including USM, from Emhart Industries and control of USM then passed to the U.K. as part of the newly created United Machinery Group (UMG). Subsequently, the USM headquarters moved into a new high-tech factory outside Boston . In 1995 UMG was acquired by Venture Capitalists Apax Partners Corporate Finance Limited , but after financial difficulties UMG went into administration in 2000. The anti-trust case against

4380-501: The system's height of profitability around 1876. Over 120,000,000 pairs were tallied on McKay's machines in 1895 alone, over half of US production. The legal arrangements were partially handled by Gardiner Greene Hubbard , who later became the first president of the Bell Telephone Company . The last remaining impediment to mechanized shoe production was lasting , shaping the shoe leather by pulling it tightly over

4453-439: The tank is, by its very nature, an offensive weapon. Being a protective encasement with at least one gun position, it is essentially a pillbox or small fortress (though these are static fortifications of a purely defensive nature) that can move toward the enemy – hence its offensive utility. Psychologically, the tank is a force multiplier that has a positive morale effect on the infantry it accompanies. It also instills fear in

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4526-613: The tank, although a few designs mounted the fuel externally, such as the armoured trailer used on the Churchill Crocodile . Flame tanks have been superseded by thermobaric weapons such as the Russian TOS-1 . The idea for this tank was developed during World War I by British and French. The infantry tank was designed to work in concert with infantry in the assault, moving mostly at a walking pace, and carrying heavy armour to survive defensive fire. Its main purpose

4599-463: The two men then further improved and streamlined the design, with McKay receiving another patent in 1862. The Civil War had begun in 1861 and the US Army was ordering huge numbers of brogans for its soldiers. McKay filled an order for 25,000 pairs on his own. Rather than sell a few of his stitching machines outright at their full price, though, the McKay Shoe Machinery Company arranged to lease

4672-475: The weight of a main battle tank. A trend toward composite armour is taking the place of steel – composites are stronger for a given weight, allowing the tank to be lighter for the same protection as steel armour, or better protected for the same weight. Armour is being supplemented with active protection systems on a number of vehicles, allowing the AFV to protect itself from incoming projectiles. The level of protection also usually varies considerably throughout

4745-495: Was an American businessman and philanthropist. An important figure in the mechanization of the shoe industry , his most lucrative idea was to lease his "McKay machines" rather than selling them outright, collecting a small royalty on each pair of footwear made with his equipment. He then secured his market position by, helping create the United Shoe Machinery Corporation cartel with his potential competitors. Upon his death, after providing for his family and mistresses , he left

4818-603: Was confirmed by the Supreme Court in 1954. The government renewed its complaint in 1967 but although the District Court ruled nothing had changed, this time the Supreme Court ordered USM to be broken up. It was required to divest a substantial part of its business and change its leasing strategy over a 10-year period, with the sell-off raising $ 400 million. It continued to innovate within the shoe manufacturing industry, but it also developed such modern inventions as

4891-442: Was equipped with a Hotchkiss machine gun , and with 7 mm armour for the gunner. Armoured cars were first used in large numbers on both sides during World War I as scouting vehicles. In 1903, H. G. Wells published the short story " The Land Ironclads ," positing indomitable war machines that would bring a new age of land warfare, the way steam-powered ironclad warships had ended the age of sail . Wells's literary vision

4964-607: Was powered by a four-cylinder 3.3-litre 16 hp Cannstatt Daimler engine giving it a maximum speed of around 9 miles per hour (14 kilometres per hour). The armament, consisting of two Maxim guns, was carried in two turrets with 360° traverse. Another early armoured 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

5037-645: Was realized in 1916, when, amidst the pyrrhic standstill of the Great War , the British Landship Committee deployed revolutionary armoured vehicles to break the stalemate. The tank was envisioned as an armoured machine that could cross ground under fire from machine guns and reply with its own mounted machine guns and naval artillery . These first British tanks of World War I moved on caterpillar tracks that had substantially lower ground pressure than wheeled vehicles, enabling them to pass

5110-409: Was sold to William Rockefeller in 1905 and used as his family 's winter home during the early 20th century. In his will , McKay left much of his estate to Harvard University out of his desire to train well-educated engineers and his appreciation for Shaler's investment advice regarding investment in a Montana gold mine. The terms of the will read in part: "I direct that the salaries attached to

5183-582: Was the first armed, petrol-engine powered vehicle ever built. It consisted of a De Dion-Bouton quadracycle with a Maxim machine gun mounted on the front bar. An iron shield offered some protection for the driver from the front, but it lacked all-around protective armour. The armoured car was the first modern fully armoured fighting vehicle. The first of these was the Simms's Motor War Car , also designed by Simms and built by Vickers, Sons & Maxim in 1899. The vehicle had Vickers armour 6 mm thick and

5256-507: Was to suppress enemy fire, crush obstacles such as barbed-wire entanglements, and protect the infantry on their advance into and through enemy lines by giving mobile overwatch and cover . The French Renault FT was the first iteration of this concept. The British and French retained the concept between the wars and into the Second World War era. Because infantry tanks did not need to be fast, they could carry heavy armour. One of

5329-615: Was truck-mounted and used to great effect against British tanks, and the British QF 3-inch 20 cwt was mounted on trucks for use on the Western Front . Although the Birch gun was a general purpose artillery piece on an armoured tracked chassis, it was capable of elevation for anti-aircraft use. Vickers Armstrong developed one of the first SPAAGs based on the chassis of the Mk.E 6-ton light tank/ Dragon Medium Mark IV tractor , mounting

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