The Holt gas–electric tank was the first prototype

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

built in the

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in a collaboration between the

Holt Manufacturing Company The Holt Manufacturing Company began with the 1883 founding of Stockton Wheel Service in Stockton, California, United States. Benjamin Holt, later credited with patenting the first workable crawler ("caterpillar") tractor design, incorporated ...

(now

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) and the

General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and Arms industry, defence electronics, communications, and engineering. It was originally founded in 1886 as G. Binswanger and Company as an e ...

. The tank, built during 1917–1918, was the only one of its kind built, as testing proved it lacked the agility and maneuverability required. The crew number is often given as six, on the assumption there would be two machine gunners, a gunner and loader for the main gun, a driver and a commander.

Construction

The tank was based on a lengthened and modified version of the suspension of the Holt Model 75, with pivoting track frames. There were ten road wheels at each side. The tank was tall, long, and wide. The vehicle had a Holt , 4-cylinder engine fitted with a General Electric generator driving an electric motor for each track; a comparable petro-electric system had earlier been used for the French

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that also was fitted with a lengthened Holt suspension. To prevent overheating the transmission—a constant problem with electrical types—a complicated water cooling system had been installed.

Weapon systems

Like the French tank, the Holt gas–electric had a 75 mm gun placed low in the V-shaped nose; two removable Browning 7.62 mm machine guns in

sponsons Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing. Watercraft On watercraft, a spons ...

on each side. The engine and transmission were in the rear, next to a corridor leading to the only door. Only one was built as tests showed its climbing performance was unsatisfactory, and it was much heavier than planned, about .Christopher F. Foss, dans Christopher F. Foss, Staplehurst, Spellmount, 2003 (), p. 18.

References

External links

The Holt Gas-Electric Tank

Model 1917 Holt Gas-Electric
{{Caterpillar World War I tanks Tanks of the United States Abandoned military projects of the United States Trial and research tanks of the United States Caterpillar Inc. vehicles Holt Manufacturing Company History of the tank

Construction

Weapon systems

See also

References

External links