Our Despatches from the Front (Non 148).
Page 15
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The Growing Weight of Extra Equipment on British War Vehicles.
WITH A TUNNELLING CO.
With the lengthening progress of war the list of items of essential kit to be carried by W.D. lorries has increased, so that the present-day list is rather staggering, and pro.vides food for thought, especially when one considers the aggregate weight of all these accessories. The following is a list of ihem, with the average weight of each item :— Approx. average
weight.
lb.
3 tins (6 gals.) spare motor spirit ... ... 50
1 tin (2 gals.) spare water 21 1 tin (2 gals.) paraffin ... 20
1 tin (2 gals.) spare oil ... ... 20 Spare grease ... ... ... 6 Cleaning brushes and cotton waste, etc. ... ... ... 3 Bonnet and radiator cover ... 12 Bucket ... .... ... ... 1 Funnels ... ... ... ... 2 Kit of tools, including special tools such as axle nut and valve cap spanners, oil gland keys, etc. ... ..
Lifting jack ... 15 Towing rope ... ... ... 30 Pick and shovel and brackets
for same ... ... 12 5 lamps, fully charged genera: 35 tor, and spare carbide
Horn ... ... ... ... 2 Non-skid chains ... ... ... 100 Fire extinguisher and bracket 10 Drivers' clothing, kit and equipment, including gas hel mets, steel helmets, arms, blankets, etc. ... ... ... 200
95
Total weight . . ... sot
In addition to the foregoing, many lorries carry a scotch for the wheels, and most lorries carry a few spare parts, such as sparking plugs, brake shoes, water hose, valves, universal joint rings, special bolts and nuts' small springs, and a road spring. When the last-mentioned item is carried the weight of the spare parts might amount to as much as 250 lb.
On an ordinary commercialvehicle carrying maximum nominal useful load under war conditions, the spare driver and abnormally
heavy kit constitute an overload notgenerally appreciated. On the .subsidy-type lorries the heavy equipment helps to neutralize the
load-carrying margin, which margin was originally meant to help discount bad roads and other abnormal conditions. I notice that the compilers of the U.S.A. war lorry specifications have quite failed to realize the extent and weight of essential equipment, having allowed for a weight of only 200 lb., which, apparently, is to include the fuel, oil and water in the tanks and reservoirs. Instead of 200 lb., the figures will prove to be 900 lb. or thereabouts.
The U.S.A. body-builders will,
moreover, find themselves set a hard task in the construction of a useful body with tarpaulin and irons, and adequate protection for the driver, all of a size and strength suitable for war purposes weighing,. only 1000 lb. for the 30-cwt. lorry, or. 1.500 lb. for the 3-ton lorry.
W.D. lorries bearing the
" marque " of Pierce-Arrow, Peerless, 'Packard, White or Locomobile, to name some of the Yankee makers whose ordinary product has already stood the war test creditably, should arouse the envy of many British M.T. drivers. Of course, we all cherish secret hopes. that victory will be attained before these lorries arrive, but we are alive to the probability of our hopes being unfulfilled.