Artillery Tractor
An artillery tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, is a specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights and calibres. It may be 6x6, wheeled, continuous track, tracked, or half-tracked. Traction There are two main types of artillery tractors, depending on the type of traction: wheeled and tracked. * Wheeled tractors are usually variations of truck, lorries adapted for military service. * Tracked tractors run on continuous track; in some cases are built on a modified tank chassis with the superstructure replaced with a compartment for the gun crew or ammunition. In addition, half-track tractors were used in the interwar period and in World War II, especially by the Wehrmacht. This type of tractor was mostly discontinued postwar. History World War I The first artillery tractors were designed prior to the outbreak of World War I, often based on agricultural machines such as the Holt tractor. Such vehicles allowed the tact ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Royal Garrison Artillery
The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA). The RGA were the 'technical' branch of the Royal Artillery who were responsible for much of the professionalisation of technical gunnery that was to occur during the First World War. It was originally established to man the guns of the British Empire's forts and fortresses, including coastal artillery batteries, the heavy gun batteries attached to each infantry division and the guns of the siege artillery. The RGA was amalgamated with the RFA in 1924, from which time the only two arms within the Royal Regiment of Artillery have been the Royal Artillery and the Royal Horse Artillery. Organisation The Royal Garrison Artillery came into existence as a separate entity when existing coastal defence, mountain, siege and heavy batteries of t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Auxiliary Power Unit
An auxiliary power unit (APU) is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft and naval ships as well as some large land vehicles. Aircraft APUs generally produce 115 V AC voltage at 400 Hz (rather than 50/60 Hz in mains supply), to run the electrical systems of the aircraft; others can produce 28 V DC voltage. APUs can provide power through single or three-phase systems. Transport aircraft History During World War I, the British Coastal class blimps, one of several types of airship operated by the Royal Navy, carried a ABC auxiliary engine. These powered a generator for the craft's radio transmitter and, in an emergency, could power an auxiliary air blower. One of the first military fixed-wing aircraft to use an APU was the British, World War 1, Supermarine Nighthawk, an anti-Zeppelin night fighter.Andrews and Morgan 1987, p. 21. During World War II, a number of large Ameri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Self-propelled Artillery
Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mortar, and rocket artillery. They are high mobility vehicles, usually based on continuous tracks carrying either a large field gun, howitzer, mortar, or some form of rocket/missile launcher. They are usually used for long-range indirect bombardment support on the battlefield. In the past, self-propelled artillery has included direct-fire vehicles, such as assault guns and anti-tank guns ( tank destroyers). These have been armoured vehicles, the former providing close fire-support for infantry and the latter acting as specialized anti-tank vehicles. Modern self-propelled artillery vehicles often mount their main gun in a turret on a tracked chassis so they superficially resemble tanks. However they are generally lightly armoured which ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Modern Warfare
Modern warfare is warfare that is in notable contrast with previous military concepts, methods, and technology, emphasizing how combatants must modernize to preserve their battle worthiness. As such, it is an evolving subject, seen differently in different times and places. In its narrowest sense, it is merely a synonym for ''contemporary warfare''. In its widest sense, it includes all warfare since the "gunpowder revolution" that marks the start of early modern warfare, but other landmark military developments have been used instead, including the emphasis of artillery marked by the Crimean War, the military reliance on railways beginning with the American Civil War, the launch of the first dreadnought in 1905, or the use of the machine gun, aircraft, tank, or radio in World War I. In other senses, it is tied to the introduction of total war, industrial warfare, mechanized warfare, nuclear warfare, counter-insurgency, or (more recently) the rise of asymmetric warfare also ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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AEC Matador
The AEC Matador was a heavy 4×4 truck and medium artillery tractor built by the Associated Equipment Company for British and Commonwealth forces during World War II. AEC had already built a 4×2 lorry, also known as the Matador (all AEC lorries received 'M' names). Description The Matador was distinctive with its flat fronted cab with gently curved roof, wheels at the corners and a flat load carrying area covered by a canvas or tarpaulin tilt. As an artillery tractor, rather than a cargo vehicle, the wooden sides were fixed in place without folding down, but did have a narrow crew door on each side. Two transverse bench seats were provided for the gun crew, accessed through the side doors, at the 1st side bay on the left and the 2nd on the right. The cab was framed in ash and clad in steel. It was equipped with a winch (7-ton load in its case) like all artillery tractors. The O853 provided the basis for the 'Dorchester' armoured command vehicle. AEC also produced a larger 6×6 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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CMP FAT
The CMP FAT (Field Artillery Tractor), was a Canadian Military Pattern vehicle manufactured by Ford and Chevrolet. The FAT was an artillery tractor of the British and Commonwealth forces during World War II. Several models were produced by the two manufactures as CGT (Chevrolet Gun Tractor) and FGT (Ford Gun Tractor). CMP stood for Canadian Military Pattern and was applied to a number of trucks, artillery tractors and utility vehicles built in Canada that combined British design requirements with North American automotive engineering. As with other FATs, the CMP was usually used to tow either the 25-pounder gun-howitzer or the 17-pounder anti-tank gun. A power winch was located above the rear axle for manoeuvring the gun or unbogging the vehicle. History Specification was based on the successful British Morris C8 FAT developed before the war, even incorporating right-hand-drive steering. The first models were produced in 1940/41 and the body went through a number of desi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Morris C8
The Morris Commercial C8 FAT (Field Artillery Tractor), commonly known as a ''Quad'', is an artillery tractor used by the British and Commonwealth (including Canadian Army) forces during the Second World War. It was used to tow field artillery pieces, such as the 25-pounder gun-howitzer, and anti-tank guns, such as the 17-pounder. Although its sloped sides suggest otherwise, the Quad was not armoured. Development In 1937 the War Department identified a need for a new FAT to supplement, and then replace, the Light Dragon and Morris CDSWs then in service. A specification was issued for a four-wheeled, four-wheel drive vehicle, with winch, on a short chassis. Guy Motors produced their design quite quickly using existing components, and Morris followed with theirs. It was a totally new, but conventional, design evolved from the Morris CS8 15-cwt GS truck. It included a new four-cylinder engine mounted on a subframe and not directly onto the chassis. Like the Guy, the body had a v ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises thirteen Regular Army regiments, the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery and five Army Reserve regiments. History Formation to 1799 Artillery was used by the English army as early as the Battle of Crécy in 1346, while Henry VIII established it as a semi-permanent function in the 16th century. Until the early 18th century, the majority of British regiments were raised for specific campaigns and disbanded on completion. An exception were gunners based at the Tower of London, Portsmouth and other forts around Britain, who were controlled by the Ordnance Office and stored and maintained equipment and provided personnel for field artillery 'traynes' that were organised as needed. These personnel, responsible in peacetime for maintaining the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Morris CDSW
The Morris CDSW 6x4 was a six-wheeled artillery tractor brought into service in the early to mid-1930s by the British Army to tow its field guns.Ventham, Philip and Fletcher, David (1990) ''Moving the guns: the mechanisation of the Royal Artillery, 1854-1939'', HMSO , Fletcher, David (1998)''British military transport, 1829-1956'', HM Stationery Office, , Typically it was used to pull the 18-pounder field gun and the 4.5-inch howitzer, and later the 25-pounder gun-howitzer Gun-howitzer (also referred to as gun howitzer) is a type of artillery weapon that is intended to fulfill both the role of ordinary cannon or field gun, and that of a howitzer. It is thus able to convey both direct and indirect fire. Modern gun-h ... which replaced those two weapons. It was also used, with a modified body, for hauling the 40mm Bofors in the Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) regiments. A version equipped with a crane was used for "breakdown" work. It was for the large part replaced in its prima ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vickers Light Dragon
The Vickers Light Dragon was a fully-tracked British field artillery tractor made by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd from 1929 to 1935. Designed to tow small-calibre field guns, it complemented Vickers' Medium Dragon tractor, which pulled medium to heavy artillery. There were three main versions, Light Dragon Marks I-III. The first two were based on the chassis of Vickers Light Tanks Marks II and III, and the Light Dragon Mark III used the running gear of the Vickers-Armstrongs DA50, an early version of what became the Universal Carrier. Mark I The Vickers Light Dragon was manufactured at the Woolwich Arsenal and was intended to tow the QF 18-pounder gun. The chassis and running gear came from the Vickers Light Tank Mk II, which first appeared in 1929. There were four large spoked road wheels in pairs, using Horstmann suspension with horizontal coil springs, and three return rollers. The front sprockets were solid, the rear sprockets spoked. The vehicle had a flat front panel. In a B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vickers Medium Dragon
The Vickers Medium Dragon was a fully-tracked British field artillery tractor made by Vickers (later Vickers-Armstrongs), produced in various versions from 1922 to 1937. The Medium Dragon towed a wide range of artillery, from 18-pounder field guns to BL 60-pounder heavy field guns. It was developed from the carrier version of a 'Tropical Tank' designed by Lt-Colonel Philip Johnson, using components from the running gear of the Vickers Medium Mark I tank. The Mark I–III versions were purchased and used in quantity by the British Army at the start of its mechanisation of the artillery during the inter-war period. The Mark IV version of the Medium Dragon was effectively a complete re-design, using the running gear from the Vickers 6-ton tank, neither of which were adopted by the British Army. The Army finally decided in 1935 to purchase only wheeled artillery tractors, and no more were sold in the UK, but the Medium Dragon Mark IV sold well in export versions up to 1937. From ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |