100-599: The Marmon-Herrington Company, Inc. is an American manufacturer of axles and transfer cases for trucks and other vehicles. Earlier, the company built military vehicles and some tanks during World War II , and until the late 1950s or early 1960s was a manufacturer of trucks and trolley buses . Marmon-Herrington had a partnership with Ford Motor Company , producing trucks and other commercial vehicles, such as buses. The company may be best known for its all-wheel-drive conversions to other truck maker's units, especially to Ford truck models. Founded in 1931, Marmon-Herrington
200-401: A propeller shaft or tailshaft ) which transmits the rotational force to a drive axle at the rear of the vehicle. The drive axle may be a live axle , but modern rear-wheel drive automobiles generally use a split axle with a differential. In this case, one half-axle or half-shaft connects the differential with the left rear wheel, a second half-shaft does the same with the right rear wheel; thus
300-705: A battlefield by glider . At the time the request was made, the War Office considered using the equipment in Britain's fledgling airborne forces , which had been formed in June 1940 by order of the Prime Minister , Winston Churchill . When officials at the War Office examined the equipment that would be required for a British airborne division, they decided that gliders would be an integral component of such
400-413: A converter of commercial trucks to all-wheel-drive (AWD) vehicles, as well as a manufacturer of transmissions , transfer cases , and axles for heavy vehicles. Marmon-Herrington axles can still be found on even the newest military vehicles and commercial trucks. In addition to building installation kits for all-wheel-drive, the company has also become a front-drive-axle and transfer case manufacturer to
500-560: A critical report on the Locust in September 1943, stating that it was inadequate in the areas of reliability and durability, and indicating that it would not be able to be successfully used during airborne operations. By 1944 it was also realized that the design of the tank was actually obsolete. The armor of the M22 in several areas was found to be so thin that it was incapable of even resisting
600-429: A differential (kart racing). However, other go-karts have two rear drive wheels too. Some dump trucks and trailers may be configured with a lift axle (also known as an airlift axle or drop axle ), which may be mechanically raised or lowered. The axle is lowered to increase the weight capacity, or to distribute the weight of the cargo over more wheels, for example, to cross a weight-restricted bridge. When not needed,
700-436: A force. These gliders would be used to transport troops and heavy equipment, which by 1941 was to include artillery and some form of tank. Plans to transport an airborne tank went through a number of revisions, but by May 1941 it was considered feasible for a tank weighing 5.4 long tons (5.5 t) to be carried for 300 to 350 mi (480 to 560 km) in a glider, although the latter would have to be specifically designed for
800-476: A full-floating axle is that even if an axle shaft (used to transmit torque or power) breaks, the wheel will not come off, preventing serious accidents. M22 Locust The M22 Locust , officially Light Tank (Airborne), M22 , was an American-designed airborne light tank which was produced during World War II . The Locust began development in 1941 after the British War Office requested that
900-490: A fully laden C-54, which might not be in the right geographical location or might even have to be captured in advance of a planned airborne operation. A heavy transport aircraft, the Fairchild C-82 Packet , was developed to specifically carry the M22 inside its fuselage and unload it through a set of clam-shell doors, but it did not enter service until after the war had ended. The US Army Armored Board released
1000-537: A liability. As a result, the Vickers-Armstrong Light Tank Mk VII Tetrarch light tank was now considered obsolete. This made it available for use by the airborne forces and it was chosen by the War Office as the tank to be transported by glider. However, it had not been designed specifically as an airborne tank or to be airmobile, and it also possessed several faults. Its size limited the possible crew to three—a driver in
1100-708: A modified design the company produced in November. At a conference in May 1941, the Ordnance Department chose the Marmon-Herrington design and requested that the company produce a prototype tank, which was completed in late 1941; it was designated the Light Tank T9 (Airborne) by the company and the Ordnance Department. The T9 had a crew of three and weighed 6.7 metric tons (7.4 short tons). It
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#17327919460391200-403: A one-piece rear beam axle. In other types of suspension systems, the axles serve only to transmit driving torque to the wheels: the position and angle of the wheel hubs is made independent from the axles by the function of the suspension system. This is typical of the independent suspensions found on most newer cars, and even SUVs, and on the front of many light trucks. An exception to this rule
1300-467: A piece of high ground along with an infantry company. The tanks were forced to withdraw from the position after several hours however, because they attracted artillery fire that caused the infantry to suffer heavy casualties. The Locust never saw active service with the British Army again and was classified as obsolete in 1946. A number of Locusts were used by foreign militaries in the post-war period;
1400-415: A primary armament of a 37-millimeter (1.5 in) main gun and secondary armament of a .30-06 Browning M1919A4 , and a crew of three. The specification also called for a maximum speed of 40 mph (64 km/h) and an operational radius of 200 miles (320 km). The turret and front of the hull were to have an armor thickness of between 40 millimeters (1.6 in) and 50 millimeters (2.0 in), and
1500-462: A proper airfield on which to land. However, the T9 was of the correct shape, weight and size to be carried inside a Hamilcar glider, suggesting that these dimensions had been chosen deliberately so that the tank could be transported inside a glider if required. A number of changes were made to the prototype during testing. The main change was the addition of supporting steel beams to improve and strengthen
1600-413: A protruding hub to which the axle shaft flange is bolted. The semi-floating axle setup is commonly used on half-ton and lighter 4×4 trucks in the rear. This setup allows the axle shaft to be the means of propulsion, and also support the weight of the vehicle. The main difference between the full- and semi-floating axle setups is the number of bearings. The semi-floating axle features only one bearing, while
1700-516: A result, the Ordnance Department gave the tank the specification number M22 but no combat units were equipped with it. However, the War Office believed that the tank would perform adequately despite its faults, so the tank was given the title of "Locust" and 260 were shipped to Great Britain under the Lend-Lease Act. Seventeen Locusts were received by the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment in late 1943, but mechanical problems led to
1800-528: A series of modifications were made to the initial prototype, production of the T9 began in April 1943. It was significantly delayed, however, when several faults were found with the tank's design. Marmon-Herrington only began to produce significant numbers of the T9 in late 1943 and early 1944, and by then the design was considered to be obsolete; only 830 were built by the time production ended in February 1945. As
1900-626: A severe downturn, and with the onset of the Great Depression, the market for prestigious luxury cars mostly collapsed. To keep his business going, Marmon joined forces with an ex-military engineer in the person of Arthur Herrington in 1931, with a new idea to focus on building all-wheel-drive trucks. And so the company became Marmon-Herrington, initially as the truck production division of the Marmon Motor Car Company, developing military trucks. Marmon-Herrington got off to
2000-400: A single unit called a transaxle . The drive axle is a split axle with a differential and universal joints between the two half axles. Each half axle connects to the wheel by use of a constant velocity (CV) joint which allows the wheel assembly to move freely vertically as well as to pivot when making turns. In rear-wheel drive cars and trucks, the engine turns a driveshaft (also called
2100-716: A small number were sent to the United States Sixth Army Group in Alsace , France, for testing, they were never used in combat. However, the British still required the M22 as a replacement for the Tetrarch and the first prototype Locust was shipped to Britain in May 1942 for testing, followed by the second prototype T9E1 in July 1943. Although they were of the opinion that the M22 possessed a number of faults,
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#17327919460392200-484: A steep drop in the need for military vehicles, so Marmon-Herrington looked for another area of vehicle manufacturing in which it might find new business. Its first "trolley coaches", the more common term for trolley buses at that time, introduced innovative features such as lightweight monocoque bodies and strong, double-girder sidewalls, which made the Marmon–Herrington trolley coach the best-selling trolley coach of
2300-523: A successful start in March 1931, when the company procured contracts for 33 T-1 4x4 aircraft refueling trucks, powered by 6-cylinder Hercules engines, followed by a variety of 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles for the U.S. and Persian armies, for use as general load carriers, towing light weaponry, mobile machine shops, and wreckers. Reconnaissance, scout and armored cars were also made, some with four-wheel steering as well as four-wheel drive. In 1932 Marmon-Herrington built
2400-517: A tank squadron from the 44th Royal Tank Regiment and elements of the rest of the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment. Operation Varsity was the only time the Locust was used in action with the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment or the British Army as a whole. A report issued at the end of a conference held by the Director (Air) of the War Office in January 1946 confirmed that
2500-427: A turn at all. Several manufacturers offer computer-controlled airlifts so that the dead axles are automatically lowered when the main axle reaches its weight limit. The dead axles can still be lifted by the press of a button if needed, for better maneuverability. Lift axles were in use in the early 1940s. Initially, the axle was lifted by a mechanical device. Soon hydraulics replaced the mechanical lift system. One of
2600-403: Is a group of two or more axles situated close together. Truck designs use such a configuration to provide a greater weight capacity than a single axle. Semi-trailers usually have a tandem axle at the rear. Axles are typically made from SAE grade 41xx steel or SAE grade 10xx steel. SAE grade 41xx steel is commonly known as " chrome-molybdenum steel " (or "chrome-moly") while SAE grade 10xx steel
2700-500: Is a single bearing at the end of the axle housing that carries the load from the axle and that the axle rotates through. To be "semi-floating" the axle shafts must be able to "float" in the housing, bearings and seals, and not subject to axial "thrust" and/or bearing preload. Needle bearings and separate lip seals are used in semi-floating axles with axle retained in the housing at their inner ends typically with circlips which are 3¾-round hardened washers that slide into grooves machined at
2800-441: Is attached to a separate shaft. Modern passenger cars have split-drive axles. In some designs, this allows independent suspension of the left and right wheels, and therefore a smoother ride. Even when the suspension is not independent, split axles permit the use of a differential, allowing the left and right drive wheels to be driven at different speeds as the automobile turns, improving traction and extending tire life. A tandem axle
2900-445: Is known as " carbon steel ". The primary differences between the two are that chrome-moly steel is significantly more resistant to bending or breaking, and is very difficult to weld with tools normally found outside a professional welding shop. An axle that is driven by the engine or prime mover is called a drive axle . Modern front-wheel drive cars typically combine the transmission (gearbox and differential) and front axle into
3000-423: Is the independent (rear) swing axle suspension, wherein the half-axles are also load-bearing suspension arms. Independent drive-trains still need differentials (or diffs), but without fixed axle-housing tubes attached. The diff may be attached to the vehicle frame or body, and/or be integrated with the transmission (or gearbox) in a combined transaxle unit. The axle (half-)shafts then transmit driving torque to
3100-534: The Belgian Army used Locusts as command tanks for their M4 Sherman tank regiments, and the Egyptian Army used several company-sized units of Locusts during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . The Light Tank (Airborne) M22, also known as the Locust, began development in late 1941 in response to a request by the British military earlier in the year for an airmobile light tank which could be transported onto
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3200-763: The Cleveland Railway , with 125; vehicles were also sold to two cities in Brazil . The principal models were the TC44, TC48, and TC49, with the number denoting the number of seats. A single order of the 40-seat TC40 model was produced for San Francisco, and likewise, the TC46 was produced for only one customer, Philadelphia , before Marmon-Herrington replaced it with the TC48 model. Trolley bus production lasted from 1946 until 1959; in total, 1,624 vehicles were produced, all at
3300-629: The Egyptian Army , replacing a number of older tank models, such as the Vickers-Armstrong Mark V light tank , that the Egyptian military had acquired during the interwar period . Several company-sized units of Locusts were used by the Egyptians during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . Today 16 tanks are known to survive in various conditions: Background: British armoured fighting vehicle production during World War II , Tanks in
3400-705: The Marmon brand. Marmon-Herrington's longtime main plant and headquarters in Indianapolis was closed in 1963. The remaining production became part of an association of companies which in 1964 adopted the name Marmon Group . During the Cold war era , Marmon diversified its production line by adding aircraft, missiles and rockets ground support equipment , manufactured by its subsidiary, Cardair , based in Chicago, Illinois . The Marmon-Harrington Company continues today as
3500-686: The River Rhine during Operation Plunder . On 24 March the division, in conjunction with the American United States 17th Airborne Division , would be dropped by parachute and glider near the city of Wesel , where it would capture the strategically important village of Hamminkeln , several important bridges over the River IJssel and the southern portion of a major forest, the Diersfordter Wald. Eight Locusts from
3600-461: The 1980s, and several remained in service until 2001. The Illinois Railway Museum has preserved two ex- Chicago Transit Authority Marmon-Herrington trolley coaches and one ex- Milwaukee unit. In the early 1960s, the Pritzker family bought the company, and soon the focus on full vehicle manufacturing ended, the truck designs being sold to a new company, Marmon Motor Company that traded under
3700-601: The American government design a purpose-built airborne light tank which could be transported by glider into battle to support British airborne forces. The War Office had originally selected the Light Tank Mark VII Tetrarch light tank for use by the airborne forces, but it had not been designed with that exact purpose in mind so the War Office believed that a purpose-built tank would be required to replace it. The United States Army Ordnance Department
3800-570: The American government was approached with a request that it produce a replacement for the Tetrarch. This request was made by the British Air Commission in Washington, D.C. , with a proposal calling for a tank of between 9 t (8.9 long tons) and 10 t (9.8 long tons) to be developed, this being the maximum weight the War Office had decided could be carried by current glider technology. The United States Ordnance Department
3900-848: The British airborne landings in Normandy. However, records indicate that by April the Hamilcar gliders of the regiment were being refitted to only carry Tetrarchs, and by late March the Locusts appear to have been completely replaced. This seems to have been due to mechanical and gunnery problems with the Locusts, as well as specific problems with the design of the Locust's gearbox. The regiment took part in Operation Tonga as part of 6th Airlanding Brigade in June 1944, equipped with twenty Tetrarchs. However, due to their thin armor and underpowered armament they proved to be completely outclassed by
4000-485: The German vehicle, wounding two crewmembers. A second tank broke down as it attempted to tow a jeep out of a crashed glider, although the crew remained with the tank and supported British airborne troops in the area. Of the four Locusts that reached the rendezvous point, only two were undamaged and fully fit for action; these two were immediately deployed to the high ground east of the Diersfordter Wald, while being covered by
4100-454: The Halifax towing it and disintegrated, apparently as a result of structural failure, with the Locust inside it falling to the ground. Three more gliders came under heavy German anti-aircraft fire and crashed as they landed; one tank survived with a damaged machine gun, another crashed through a house which put its wireless radio set and main armament out of action, and the third broke loose of
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4200-502: The Light Tank Squadron was 'C' Special Services Squadron, which had seen service as an independent tank unit during Operation Ironclad , the invasion of Madagascar in mid-1942. The squadron was also equipped with Tetrarchs, which had recently been re-designated as an airborne tank by the War Office. 'C' Squadron was officially transferred to the 1st Airborne Division on 24 June 1942, bringing with it seven Tetrarchs amongst
4300-419: The Locust design was considered obsolete; any light tanks to be used in post-war airborne formations would be made from completely new designs. The British Army disposed of a small number of Locusts by transferring them to foreign militaries. Several had their main armaments removed and were used by the Belgian Army as command tanks for their M4 Sherman regiments, and a few Locusts even found their way back to
4400-621: The Locusts also were fitted with Littlejohn adaptors to increase the range and penetration power of their main armament, although it is not clear how many were fitted or if they were fitted at manufacture or after they reached the squadron. The squadron was expanded into the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment in December 1943, and as late as March 1944, plans were made for the regiment to be equipped with seventeen Locusts and three Tetrarchs when it took part in Operation Tonga ,
4500-738: The Marmon-Herrington design and requested that the company produce a prototype tank, which was completed in late 1941; it was designated the Light Tank T9 (Airborne) by the company and the Ordnance Department and later designated M22 . The company also manufactured airport fire trucks, like the Marmon-Herrington MB-1 and Marmon-Herrington MB-5. They were mainly used by the military, like the U.S Army Air Force and U.S. Navy . Post-War civilian adaptations, known as " Brush Breakers ", were also produced. The company's foray into transit buses began in 1946, when it produced its first electric trolley bus . The end of World War II had brought
4600-458: The Ordnance Department had placed an order for the original T9 design in April 1942, before the T9E1 models were delivered in November 1942; 500 were ordered in April and this order rapidly increased to a total of 1900, with deliveries to begin in November. However, production difficulties and design changes caused this date to be delayed several times, and it was not until April 1943 that production of
4700-483: The T9 Ford–Marmon-Herrington unarmored half-track was produced for the U.S. Army and featured the tracks, the powered front axle and a front ditch roller that would be used on the armored half-tracks of World War II . Marmon-Herrington also made multi-stop delivery vans and passenger vehicles. The company designed a military armored vehicle which could be constructed on a commercial truck chassis. The design
4800-497: The T9 actually began. Production of the T9 peaked at 100 tanks produced per month between August 1943 and January 1944; however, this number rapidly declined when the results of the British and American testing programs were reported to the Ordnance Department, and only 830 T9s were ever produced. The faults discovered with the design led to the Ordnance Department giving it the specification number M22, but classing it as ' limited standard '. No American combat units were equipped with
4900-511: The U.S., where they had their turrets removed and served as agricultural tractors. The 3 June 1946 issue of Life magazine has a five-photo article about Kamiel Dupre, an Illinois farmer who bought two surplus Locusts for $ 100 each from the Rock Island arsenal. Intending to use one as a farm tractor and one for spare parts, Dupre found the vehicles to be in poor condition and difficult to use and maintain. A larger number of Locusts served with
5000-640: The US Army's lack of interest in using them in an airborne capacity. The 151st Airborne Tank Company remained in the United States, shuttling from base to base throughout the war, and the 28th Airborne Tank Battalion was refitted with conventional tanks in October 1944. Some 25 Locusts were ordered in April 1944 for use in the European Theater of Operations , and delivered by September; although
5100-422: The War Office believed it would perform adequately as an airborne tank. Thus the tank received the official title of "Locust" and 260 were shipped to Britain under the Lend-Lease Act. The majority of the Locusts ended up placed in tank parks until they were scrapped at the end of the conflict, and only eight ever saw action with British airborne forces. Extensive testing of the M22 occurred in 1943 and 1944, and
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#17327919460395200-413: The airfield by Handley Page Halifax heavy bombers to join the rest of the gliders and transport aircraft carrying the two airborne divisions. Weather conditions for the operation were excellent, with clear visibility, and all eight gliders arrived in the vicinity of the landing zone without incident. During their attempts to land, however, the small force was severely depleted; one glider broke away from
5300-462: The armor-piercing ammunition of a .50 caliber machine-gun. Complaints were also made about the 37mm main armament, which was not powerful enough to penetrate the armor of most tanks used by the Axis powers. Similarly a report made on 13 March 1944, by elements of the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment complained that when a high-explosive shell was fired from the gun, the resulting shell-burst
5400-400: The axle is lifted off the ground to save wear on the tires and axle, and to increase traction in the remaining wheels, and to decrease fuel consumption. Lifting an axle also alleviates lateral scrubbing of the additional axle in very tight turns, allowing the vehicle to turn more readily. In some situations, the removal of pressure from the additional axle is necessary for the vehicle to complete
5500-422: The axle, and controls the angle of the axle and wheels assembly to the vehicle body. The solid axles (housings) in this system must also bear the weight of the vehicle plus any cargo. A non-driving axle, such as the front beam axle in heavy-duty trucks and some two-wheel drive light trucks and vans, will have no shaft, and serves only as a suspension and steering component. Conversely, many front-wheel drive cars have
5600-441: The axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle is supported. In the latter case, a bearing or bushing sits inside a central hole in the wheel to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle. Sometimes, especially on bicycles, the latter type of axle is referred to as a spindle . On cars and trucks, several senses of the word axle occur in casual usage, referring to
5700-426: The bearings, housings, and only a short section of the shaft itself, that also carries all radial loads. The full-floating design is typically used in most ¾- and 1-ton light trucks, medium-duty trucks, and heavy-duty trucks. The overall assembly can carry more weight than a semi-floating or non-floating axle assembly because the hubs have two bearings riding on a fixed spindle. A full-floating axle can be identified by
5800-454: The company's Indianapolis factory. The last of San Francisco's 260 Marmon-Herrington trolley buses were retired in 1976 and Philadelphia's last units in 1981. Some Marmon-Herrington trolley buses withdrawn from service in the United States were sold secondhand to Mexico City 's Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos (STE) between the late 1960s and late 1970s and continued in service for many more years on that city's trolley bus network. Although
5900-539: The division returned to Britain and in the first week of October 1944, the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment underwent an extensive reorganization. The regiment was completely restructured and retired all the remaining Tetrarch tanks it was equipped with, replacing them with Locusts. In March 1945, the 6th Airborne Division was informed that it would be participating in Operation Varsity , an airborne operation in support of 21st Army Group crossing
6000-461: The early manufacturers was Zetterbergs, located in Östervåla, Sweden. Their brand was Zeta-lyften. The liftable tandem drive axle was invented in 1957 by the Finnish truck manufacturer Vanajan Autotehdas , a company sharing history with Sisu Auto . A full-floating axle carries the vehicle's weight on the axle casing, not the half-shafts; they serve only to transmit torque from the differential to
6100-483: The first all-wheel-drive truck and trailer combination, and the largest trucks ever built at the time, for oil pipe construction in Iraq. Construction of all-wheel-drive (AWD) vehicles and conversion of existing vehicles to AWD were among the company's products. Marmon-Herrington's all-wheel-drive conversions of Ford light trucks were successfully sold to the military of both the U.S. and several foreign governments. In 1936,
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#17327919460396200-508: The full-floating assembly has bearings on both the inside and outside of the wheel hub. The other difference is axle removal. To remove the semi-floating axle, the wheel must be removed first; if such an axle breaks, the wheel is most likely to come off the vehicle. The semi-floating design is found under most ½-ton and lighter trucks, as well as in SUVs and rear-wheel-drive passenger cars, usually being smaller or less expensive models. A benefit of
6300-416: The glider as it landed and was flipped over onto its turret, rendering it useless. Six Locusts landed intact on the landing zone, including several with significant damage, but two of these tanks did not reach the rendezvous point chosen for the regiment. One undamaged tank came to the aid of a group of American paratroopers who were under fire from a German self-propelled gun but was rapidly knocked out by
6400-464: The hull and a gunner and commander in the turret—which was found to be too few crew members to operate the Tetrarch effectively. The gunner or commander, in addition to his own duties, had to act as loader for the 2-pounder, which caused delays in combat; a report on the tank written in January 1941 stated that since the commander had both to fight and control the tank, controlling a troop of Tetrarchs during combat would be almost impossible. The War Office
6500-461: The inner end of the shafts and retained in/by recesses in the differential carrier side gears which are themselves retained by the differential pinion gear (or "spider gear") shaft. A true semi-floating axle assembly places no side loads on the axle housing tubes or axle shafts. Axles that are pressed into ball or tapered roller bearings, which are in turn retained in the axle housings with flanges, bolts, and nuts do not "float" and place axial loads on
6600-876: The last Marmon-Herrington trolley buses in original form were retired by STE in 1988, many underwent a rebuilding of their bodies in the 1980s by the Mexican company Moyada and continued working; the last five of these Moyada-remodeled Marmon-Herrington trolley buses of STE survived in service until 2002. By the late 1950s, the market for new trolley buses in North America had dried up, as some trolley bus systems were being abandoned while others had re-equipped with new Marmon-Herrington vehicles. The company's last orders for transit vehicles were also its only export orders for trolley buses, to Recife and Belo Horizonte in Brazil , comprising 65 and 50 TC49s, respectively, delivered in 1958–59. Recife overhauled some of its TC49s in
6700-551: The medium- and heavy-duty truck market. In 2008, the holding company Berkshire Hathaway purchased a majority stake in Marmon Holdings, which includes the Marmon Group and Marmon-Herrington. Axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear . On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around
6800-652: The other vehicles it was equipped with. The unit immediately began training, but did not stay attached to the 1st Airborne Division for very long; during mid-1943, the division was transported to the Middle East, where it would eventually participate in Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of the island of Sicily . 'C' Squadron remained in Britain however, as not enough Hamilcar gliders had yet been built to transport and deploy all of their Tetrarchs. The squadron
6900-429: The overall weight-bearing capacity of a vehicle, and its potential for causing wear or damage to roadway surfaces. Axles are an integral component of most practical wheeled vehicles. In a solid, "live-axle" suspension system, the rotating inner axle cores (or half-shafts) serve to transmit driving torque to the wheels at each end, while the rigid outer tube maintains the position of the wheels at fixed angles relative to
7000-529: The postwar era. Its trolley buses were successful in the fleets of many North American cities, most notably Chicago and San Francisco , which purchased large numbers; Chicago bought 349 in a single order (delivered in 1951–52), a record for Marmon-Herrington. Marmon-Herrington supplied trolley buses to 16 different cities in the United States, among the buyers being the Cincinnati Street Railway Company , which purchased 214, and
7100-476: The regiment, divided into two troops of four, would land with the 6th Airlanding Brigade in landing-zone 'P' east of the Diersfordter Wald and west of Hamminkeln, acting as a divisional reserve; the rest of the regiment would arrive by road after crossing the Rhine with 21st Army Group. The eight Locusts were loaded into separate Hamilcar gliders between 17 and 20 March, and on the morning of 24 March were towed from
7200-407: The shaft itself, its housing, or simply any transverse pair of wheels. Strictly speaking, a shaft that rotates with the wheel, being either bolted or splined in fixed relation to it, is called an axle or axle shaft . However, in looser usage, an entire assembly including the surrounding axle housing (typically a casting ) is also called an axle . An even broader (somewhat figurative) sense of
7300-400: The sides of the tank a thickness of 30 millimeters (1.2 in). The United States Ordnance Department was given the task of developing the proposed tank, and in turn requested designs from three American companies: General Motors , J. Walter Christie and Marmon-Herrington . The design offered by Christie in mid-1941 was rejected as it failed to meet the specified size requirements, as was
7400-416: The suspension of the tank, which increased the weight to 7.05 metric tons (7.77 short tons), the maximum weight that could be carried by a Hamilcar glider. Two new prototypes were ordered by the Ordnance Department in January 1942 and were delivered by Marmon-Herrington in November 1942. They were both designated T9E1. The new tanks incorporated a number of requested changes. The turret was altered in shape; it
7500-428: The tank, although some of those produced were used for training purposes and two experimental units were formed and equipped with Locusts. The 151st Airborne Tank Company was formed on 15 August 1943, despite concerns that there would be insufficient transport aircraft to deliver the unit into battle, and the 28th Airborne Tank Battalion was also formed in December of the same year. However, neither unit saw combat, due to
7600-623: The tanks and self-propelled guns deployed by German forces, such as the Panzer IV and the Sturmgeschütz III . By August, in preparation for the 6th Airborne Division's participation in the planned breakout from the Normandy bridgehead, the majority of Tetrarchs in 'A' Squadron were replaced with Cromwell fast cruiser tanks ; only three Tetrarchs were retained, remaining with the Headquarters troop of 'A' Squadron. In September
7700-541: The tanks being withdrawn in favor of the Tetrarchs previously used by the regiment. In October 1944 however, the remaining Tetrarchs of the regiment were replaced by Locusts and eight were used during Operation Varsity in March 1945. The tanks did not perform well in action; several were damaged during the landing process and one was knocked out by a German self-propelled gun . Only two Locusts were able to reach their planned rendezvous point and go into action, occupying
7800-558: The task. In a conference held on 16 January 1941, it was decided that the General Aircraft Hamilcar , under development at the time, would be used to transport a single tank or two Universal Carriers . A decision had recently been made by the War Office that light tanks were no longer to be generally used in the British Army; on the whole they had performed poorly during the Battle of France and were considered to be
7900-422: The thickness of the armor varied; the front, rear and sides of the hull had a thickness of 12.5 millimeters (0.49 in) while the sloped portions of the hull had a thickness of 9.5 millimeters (0.37 in). The tank's engine was able to give it a maximum speed of 40 mph (64 km/h). The T9 was not primarily designed to be transported by glider, a significant change from the original request, but instead
8000-508: The two damaged tanks. Upon arrival they were engaged by German troops and had to be supported by an infantry company, and soon their presence began attracting a great deal of artillery and anti-tank fire. Although neither of the tanks were hit, a number of infantrymen were killed or wounded and after several hours the tanks were forced to withdraw. The four tanks and remaining infantry formed a small force that repelled several German attacks on their position, and were eventually relieved at 10:30 by
8100-458: The two half-axles and the differential constitute the rear axle. The front drive axle is providing the force to drive the truck. In fact, only one wheel of that axle is actually moving the truck and trailer down the road. Some simple vehicle designs, such as leisure go-karts, may have a single driven wheel where the drive axle is a split axle with only one of the two shafts driven by the engine, or else have both wheels connected to one shaft without
8200-400: The wheel positions steady under heavy stress, and can therefore support heavy loads. Straight axles are used on trains (that is, locomotives and railway wagons), for the rear axles of commercial trucks, and on heavy-duty off-road vehicles. The axle can optionally be protected and further reinforced by enclosing the length of the axle in a housing. In split-axle designs, the wheel on each side
8300-403: The wheels, usually via constant-velocity joints . Like a full floating axle system, the drive shafts in a front-wheel-drive independent suspension system do not support any vehicle weight. A straight axle is a single rigid shaft connecting a wheel on the left side of the vehicle to a wheel on the right side. The axis of rotation fixed by the axle is common to both wheels. Such a design can keep
8400-400: The wheels. They "float" inside an assembly that carries the vehicle's weight. Thus the only stress it must endure is torque (not lateral bending force). Full-floating axle shafts are retained by a flange bolted to the hub , while the hub and bearings are retained on the spindle by a large nut. In contrast, a semi-floating design carries the weight of the vehicle on the axle shaft itself; there
8500-411: The word refers to every pair of parallel wheels on opposite sides of a vehicle, regardless of their mechanical connection to each other and to the vehicle frame or body. Thus, transverse pairs of wheels in an independent suspension may be called an axle in some contexts. This very loose definition of "axle" is often used in assessing toll roads or vehicle taxes , and is taken as a rough proxy for
8600-401: Was also aware that the tank had a faulty cooling system that made the Tetrarch unsuitable for service in hotter climates, such as the Middle East and North Africa. A purpose-built airborne light tank was therefore required to replace the Tetrarch, but the decision was taken by the War Office not to produce the tank in Britain due to a lack of production capacity. Instead the American government
8700-462: Was approached with a request that it produce a replacement for the Tetrarch. This request was made by the British Air Commission in Washington, D.C., with a proposal calling for a tank of between 9 t (8.9 long tons) and 10 t (9.8 long tons) to be developed, this being the maximum weight the War Office had decided could be carried by current glider technology. The proposed tank was to have
8800-436: Was armed with a 37-millimeter (1.5 in) main gun and a coaxial .30-06 Browning M1919A4 machine-gun, as well as two further machine-guns on the right-hand side of the bow. The main gun and coaxial machine-gun were mounted in a powered turret, which also had a gun stabilizer installed to allow the gun to be fired when the tank was moving. The T9 was powered by a 162 horse-power six-cylinder, air-cooled Lycoming engine, and
8900-407: Was asked to produce this replacement, which in turn selected Marmon-Herrington to design and build a prototype airborne tank in May 1941. The prototype was designated the Light Tank T9 (Airborne), and was designed so that it could be transported underneath a Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport aircraft, although its dimensions also allowed it to fit inside a General Aircraft Hamilcar glider. After
9000-649: Was based in Indianapolis, Indiana , with a plant in Windsor, Ontario , and remained in Indianapolis until 1963. It is now based in Louisville, Kentucky . Founded in 1931 by Walter C. Marmon and Arthur W. Herrington , the company was the successor to the Marmon Motor Car Company , a maker of high quality, costly automobiles from 1902 to 1933. By the early 1930s, the U.S. economy had taken
9100-419: Was believed this could be shortened with sufficient training. Unloading was also a long process, taking approximately ten minutes; it was noted that the time it took to unload the M22 from a C-54 on the battlefield meant that both the tank and aircraft would make excellent targets for enemy fire. Operational use of the tank would therefore be restricted to the availability of airfields large enough to accommodate
9200-512: Was conducted by both the Ordnance Department and the British Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) Gunnery School at Lulworth Ranges . These tests uncovered a number of faults and problems with the Locust. The AFV School noted that the process of loading the M22 into a C-54 transport aircraft took considerable time and involved the use of complex equipment. Overall the process took six untrained men 24 minutes, although it
9300-403: Was given the task of developing the proposed tank, and in turn, requested designs from three American companies: General Motors , J. Walter Christie and Marmon-Herrington. The design offered by Christie in mid-1941 was rejected as it failed to meet the specified size requirements, as was a modified design the company produced in November. At a conference in May 1941, the Ordnance Department chose
9400-424: Was lightened by the removal of the power traverse mechanism and the gyro stabilizer for the main armament. The front of the hull was altered from a stepped appearance to a more sloped profile, which would provide for a better ballistic shape; the two .30-06 machine-guns were removed from the bow of the tank and the suspension was altered to try and reduce the weight of the design. However, contrary to normal practice,
9500-514: Was sent to Britain to illustrate that the tank could fit inside a Hamilcar and be landed, and then on 25 October the Light Tank Squadron received a shipment of seventeen Locusts. During November the new tanks were issued to the squadron, replacing a majority of the Tetrarchs; however a small number of Tetrarchs fitted with a 3 inch (76.2 mm) infantry support howitzer , which were designated as Tetrarch 1 CS (Close Support), were retained. Several of
9600-448: Was so weak that observers had difficulty in seeing where it impacted. There were also mechanical problems with the design, which caused it to be unreliable; the engine was also found to be underpowered, possibly due to problems with the torque characteristics of the engine or an inefficient transmission system. By late 1941, several new British units had been raised specifically trained to conduct airborne operations. The largest such unit
9700-609: Was taken up by South Africa in 1938, the result of which became known as the Marmon-Herrington armoured car , which was used by British and Commonwealth armies in the North Africa Campaign . During World War II the British were looking for a purpose-built airborne light tank to replace the Tetrarch light tank but decided not to produce the tank in Britain due to a lack of production capacity. Instead,
9800-447: Was the newly formed 1st Airborne Division , and on 19 January 1942 the War Office took the decision that a light tank detachment would be amongst the support units attached to the division. Designated the Light Tank Squadron, this unit was to be formed of nineteen light tanks and would operate to the fore of the division, using their speed to capture objectives and hold them until relieved by other units. The unit chosen for conversion into
9900-466: Was to be carried under the belly of a Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport aircraft, using four lifting brackets welded onto each side of the hull of the tank. The turret was designed to be removable so that it could be detached and transported inside the C-54 and reattached once on the battlefield. The loading took six men about twenty-five minutes, the unloading ten minutes. On top of this the aircraft required
10000-428: Was transferred to the division with which it would spend the rest of the war; the 6th Airborne Division , raised in April 1943. The squadron continued to train as an air-portable unit and participated in a number of exercises intended to familiarize it with the duties it would perform, including reconnaissance of enemy positions and performing counter-attacks against enemy infantry and armor. In mid-July an American pilot
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