AN AMBULANCE FOR FRENCH MILITARY USE.
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Designed to Accommodate Five Stretcher Cases, this Body Has Many Interesting Features.
THE LATEST ambulance designed by Automobiles H. Berliet, of Lyons, Franco, is constructed to Inca the requirements of the French military authorities. It posseses many novel points Which should interest hospital and military authorities and others concerned with the welfare of the Sick and injured.
The body provides accommodation for five lying or ten sitting cases, the dispositiori of the stretchers being shown in one of the accompanying illustrations. The interior dimensions .of the body are: Length, 7 ft. -7 ins. ; Width, 5 ft. 2 ins. ; height, -5 ft. 3 ins. Accommodation is provided for the' driver and one attendant on the front seat.
The body is constructed of wood, the platform being of hardwood, while the sides are constructed of tongued and grooved boarding attached to five upuprights and divided longitudinally by two stretcher bars located about halfway up the sides. The upper half of the. rearmost panel on cads side is glazed, and this, window can be opened if desired. Two glass lights are also provided in the rear door and a further two behind the driver's seat. Entrance is from the rear, full-width double doors and a folding step being provided. The stretcher „supports are. manufac• tored from steel tubing and are positioned lengthwise in the body. Elastic supports Slide on these tubes, and to 'these .supports the stretchers are fixed, thus prOvaling a flexible support., Padded cushions and backrests are fitted to the inside seats; the latter can also be used as. lockers. A second large 'locker is provided on .-,the near-side run ning .board. The exhaust gases from the engineiare carried through pipes inside the body and help to keep the interior at a comfortable temperature in cold weather. • The chassis is a special model designed for this particular employment. It is fitted with a four-cylinder engine, the cylinders of whiat are, east in one with the top half of the crankcase and fitted with a detachable head. The bore and' stroke are. 90 min. and 130 mm, respectively, the rated horse-power being 20, The valves are 'located on the left. side of the motor' and are operated by a single crankshaft driven by helical-toothed gear wheels. Lubrication is _by combined pump and splash system, while cooling is by means of a pump and special radiator, A centrifugal governor is fitted, limiting the'speed of the engine
to 1,400 r.p.m. A Berliet ca.rbursiter and magneto ignition complete the equip, ment. A dynamotor is bolted to the timing case, thus equipping the :vehiele with electric lighting and starting.
A multiple-plate clutch, entirely eniclosed, conveys the drive to a fourispeed-and-reverse gearbox. The engine, leluteh and gearbox are bated together. !to form a unit, which is suspended from
the frame at three points. The. maxi ' • rourn speed of which the vehicle is capable is 22 miles per hour: An open propeller shaft fitted with two universal joints conveys the, drive to the semi-floating overhead worm axle. The
foot and hand brakes are both of the internal-expanding type, and operate on a single 'wide drum in each rear wheel. Twin detachable disc wheels, with 935 mm. by 135 mm. pneumatic tyres, are fitted at the rear.
The steering is of the worm: and full, wheel type, -while the front axle is an
I-beam drop forging. The front wheels are detachable and run on ball bearings, pneumatic tyres of similar section to the rear wheels. being fitted.
"The principal dimensions of the vehicle are as follow : Overall length, 16 ft.. 1 in. ; overall width, 5 ft. 10 ins. ; wheelbase, 10 ft. 5 ins. ; track, front; 5 ft. 6 ins.; track., rear, 5 ft. line.