Second Report of the Berlin Show.
Page 20
Page 21
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
In continuation of my report I send you a photograph oi the Opel-Darracy armoured motorcar, designed and built by Herr Emil Schmidt, of the Opel Garage, Berlin, to the order of the German War Office. The outlines of the vehicle are similar to an ordinary heavy motorcar, with one or two exceptions. The whole of the body is heavily armoured with steel plates, and the surface is constructed with as few projections ss possible, to allow of bullets glancing off it. With the idea of making the machine nearly invulnerable, the driver is t:cropletely covered over with a metal sheeting, and this is provided with two sight holes. The steel plate used is 2.302 inches thick, and is capable of resisting bullet.; front modern infantry rifles. The interior is fitted with six seats : two for the general in command and his aide-de-camp, two revolving seats for the staff officers, and two front ones for the driver and attendant. The armanent consists of two quick-firing Mauser machine guns, each of which will fire 200 rounds per minute. One of these guns is placed in a dome over the hack portion of the body, and can he made to swivel in any direction if necessary: the second one is placed in the fore part of the body, and its barrel projects through the front wail of the vehicle. The range of the latter weapon is naturally more restricted than the former, owing to Us position, but at the same time the horizontal angle through which the barrel can be moved is a comparatively large one. Two telescopes are placed between the fixed and revolving seats—one on each side of the car—and these are supnorted on immovable stands. There are, also, two desks, for the accommodation of maps, and these are illuminated by small electric lanips. The internal fittings also include the following :.—Two leather sword sheaths, two map cases, two provision cases, one chronometer, one compass, a baggage rack, two tyre covers, four air tubes, and a complete set of tools. One of the most interesting exhibits isby Messrs. the Brandenburg Kraftzengwerke, who show two steam-propelled chassis. The engine is of the Altmann pattern, having three cylinders, and gives. out normally approximately 15h.p. Transmission is by a roller chain to the centre of the back axle. The boiler works at a
pressure of 250 pounds on the square inch, and weighs, complete with water, only about 2cwt. Liquid fuel is used, the supply of which is automatically controlled by the steam pressure in the boiler. Either petroleum, benzine, or alcohol, can be burnt with success. A steel superheater is fitted, having a very large cooling surface. Two pumps are employed ; the first is a water pump for supplying the boiler, and the second an air pump for giving the necessary pressure in the fuel tank. The vehicle has two brakes, and, of course, the reversing lever can be.used for the same purpose in urgent cases. One brake is worked by a foot pedal, and operates on a drum on the differential shaft ; the other brake is brought into action by a hand lever, and bears on the tyres of the back wheels. The lubrication of the engine is automatic, and ball-bearings are fitted throughout.
The Daimler Company, of Marienfelde, displays three exhibits on its stand—the first an omnibus, the second a 3-ton lorry, and the third a fi-ton lorry. The omnibus, which is one of several ordered by the Motorenwagen Gesellschaft Rottwell Schramberg, is equipped with a four-cylintiered engine, giving out 2S13.h.p. The gear-box has four speeds and a reverse, and the vehicle can travel at a maximum of 13 miles per hour. The body, which has been constructed by Messrs. Hofmann, of Breslau, will accommodate both passengers and mails. The passenger portion is divided into two compartments, 'me for smokers and the other for nonsmokers. The smoking compartment is situated immediately behind the driver's seat, and takes up one-third of the available floor space. A broad gangway di. vides the two portions, and the seats, which are arranged transversely, number 17 in all. The 3-ton lorry, which has been built for the Frankfurter Burger
brauerei, has a four-cylinder h.p. engine; the gear-box has four speeds and a reverse, and the maximum speed forward is 10 miles per hour. The wheels are of cast steel, and are shod with rubber tyres. The body has sides 16 inches high, and a support at each end carries a tree, over which a tarpaulin can be slung in bad weather to protect the freight. The 5-tun wagon is fitted with a 24h.p. four-cylinder engine, and the gear-box is provided with four speeds forward and a reverse, the
top ratio giving a maximum of 11 m.p.h.
A commercial vehicle is found in the Ilagen 5-ton electrically-propelled lorry built by Herr Gottfried Hagen, of Kalk. In this type of heavy vehicle all the road wheels are propelled, the power being derived front a motor driven by the Hagen battery. This battery, which is suspended partly under the driver's seat and partly under the bonnet, represents the tesults of prolonged experiments carried over some years. The vehicles built by this firm are fitted with an arrangement A which automat catty comes into play when turning corners, disconnecting the back wheels and confining the drive to the front wheels only. The controlling lever is placed under the steering wheel, and a patented locking device makes it impossible for the driver to move this by accident while steering. When applying the back wheel brake, the electric current is cut off the motor, and the act of releasing the brake automatically connects up the motor again. The battery will propel the vehicle for some 75 miles at about eight miles per hour. The wooden wheels are shod with steel tyres, and the bearings used are of the Moffet type, viz., rollers which themselves revolve on steel balls. The 'lighter commercial vehicles turned out by the Kalk works are propelled by the front wheels only