AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

A DRASTIC TEST OF BRITISH VEHICLES

2nd February 1932
Page 76
Page 77
Page 76, 2nd February 1932 — A DRASTIC TEST OF BRITISH VEHICLES
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Keywords : Nile, Cairo, Egypt

Details of a Remarkable Trial Which is Being Carried Out in Egypt and the Sudan by the War Department. A Convoy of Four Vehicles Will Travel 5,500 Miles

AS a result of the war there has been a general mechanization of transport, not only as regard the military forces, but in almost every other branch of commercial and private life, and the Army, which may be looked upon as the agent through which the nation applies its normal activities to war purposes, has been compelled to keep in line with this general advancement.

In order that the necessary number of vehicles may be available when required on mobilization, it is essential that the Army should, so far as possible, and apart from purely fighting machines, base its transport media on types which are being produced for normal purposes by the various important chassis makers of the country.

Types of Vehicle Required.

The commercial vehicle to-day is vastly superior in every way to its prototype of even five years ago, but in the most modern passenger or goods carrier many of the essential features of the design limit seriously their use for military purposes. The Army, which has commitments in all parts of the world, requires vehicles that can be operated in rough and

undeveloped countries, where practically no roads exist, and where there are varying and extreme conditions of climate and terrain, but there is the interesting point that the same types of vehicle are required by those who live in the Colonies, India, the Middle Eastern countries, etc.

Information for the Makers.

Efforts have, therefore, been made to evolve machines which are suitable for both England and undeveloped countries, and this is part of the work of the Mechanical Warfare Board, with its experimental establishment at Farnborough, Hants. There, experts are continuously testing, under the most arduous conditions available, many types of vehicle, accessory and component. The information thus obtained is placed at the disposal of the Air Ministry, Colonial Office, India Office and other Government Departments, and what is, perhaps, more important, the results of these experiments are made known to the commercialvehicle industry. The work done by the War Department has been of immense value in placing at the disposal of makers, data and experience which are of the greatest assistance in designing vehicles suitable for cross-country transport.

The most difficult conditions which it is possible to find in this country cannot, however, quite duplicate those obtaining in some areas abroad ; consequently, the officials concerned are not quite satisfied that those types tested at home will meet every condition of service in much hotter climates and in country presenting many more difficulties.

Experiments in Egypt.

With a view to gaining further experience, last year a section of the Mechanical Warfare Experimental Establishment was dispatched to Egypt, where it has been in operation for over nine months, in the vicinity of Cairo. The results obtained already have been of extreme value, but it has become apparent that even more searching testa could be carried out if the range of action of this section could be increased. To meet this need a convoy is being run as a military unit from Cairo to the Southern Area of the Sudan and back, a distance of over 5,000 miles, most of the country being without made roads, and the vehicles having to run over sand sprinkled with sharp rocks with razor edges, earth and black cotton soil, and where there are rivers and streams to cross, whilst sand storms are of frequent occurrence, and water is scarce.

The organization of the convoy was somewhat difficult as it was important to gain the maximum amount of information, without making the convoy unduly large, over-complicated as regards the spares to be carried, and difficult to handle by reason of non-uniformity of speeds.

Vehicles in the Convoy.

Finally, four types of vehicle were selected, although the War Department wishes to emphasize that the fact that these are being used throws no reflection upon other makes. These were (1) a Crossley light sixwheeler of 30-cwt. load capacity with a 19.6 'h.p. engine developing 60 b.h.p., four speeds and reverse, and an auxiliary gearbox which doubles the number of ratios. (2) An experimental four-wheeler of 30-cwt. load capacity developed from the Commer Raider. This has a sixcylindered engine giving 54 b.h.p. and a four-speed-and-reverse gear box. The main modifications are larger tyres, stouter axles and lower gear ratios. (3) A Morris-Commercial RS-type four-wheeled van to carry 12 cwt. This has been developed from the well-known 30-cwt. R type. Its 17.9 h.p., four-cylindered engine gives 42 b.h.p. The fact that the load has been set at 12 cwt. gives a very high power-weight ratio and good cross-country performance. (4) A Riley Nine car, as adapted for Army use. All these vehicles are equipped with extra-capacity petrol tanks and special receptacles for carrying water.

The Personnel and Route.

The personnel consists of serving British officers and other ranks under the command of Captain D. K. Paris, M.O., of the Royal Artillery, who commands the Experimental Section in Egypt. He has with him three officers and five other ranks, all selected and trained technically and physically for desert transport.

The route is from Cairo along the Nile to Edfu, then across the desert to Wadi Haifa. From there the line of the railway across 230 miles of desert is followed to Abu Hemet], and the Nile is again followed to Khartoum. From Kosti the route is westward to El Obeid and thence along the frontier of the Belgian Congo to Juba. The convoy will then follow the White Nile to Singa, where it will cross the Blue Nile, then it will travel along the Abyssinian and Eritrean frontiers to Port Sudan. The Red Sea coast is then followed for 650 miles, when the route strikes west to the Nile at Wasta, thence following the main road to Cairn. The convoy will move by short stages from the cold nights of a Cairene winter to the intense heat of the Red Sea coast in April.

Data to be Found.

The trial should be of inestimable value in demonstrating the effects of prolonged running under arduous and varying conditions. It is hoped, in particular, to learn much about the general relationship desirable between engine power, weight of vehicle and size of tyres. A large power output is desirable, but power must be allied with adhesion or it will be lost in a catherine wheel of flying sand or mud. The larger and softer the tyre, the greater the adhesion, but such a tyre needs specially designed springing, axles and steering mechanism.

The matter of engine cooling is a vital point for military and other vehicles in hot countries where water is scarce, whilst it is important to note the behaviour of tyres and whether any particular kind of surface has specially detrimental effects upon them. The behaviour of nonskid chains and overall chains of various types will also be ascertalned.

Economy Not Forgotten.

There is no question of squandering money. The actual cost in relation to its importance will be almost

negligible. The personnel will receive their normal rates of pay, none of the vehicles employed has been specially purchased, and the total

mileage run will not exceed that traversed in the same period of time by vehicles under experimental conditions either in England or in Egypt. Camp kit, food, medical stores, salvage equipment, etc., have been provided by the R.A.O.C„ the R.A.S.C., R,A.M.C., and the R.E, and it is important to note that everything inthis expedition is British.

Proving British Products.

If this trip proves successful it will serve to refute any statement to the effect that if you want to get there and back anywhere outside England, don't buy a British motor vehicle. Apart from the data obtained, it will prove an effective demonstintion to those misguided people who decry British goods and enterprise, and will show that we can produce vehicles that can be operated satisfactorily under almost impossible conditions.

The start. was made from Cairo on January 18th and the convoy reached Luxor on January 22nd, a distance of 514 miles being covered at the average speed of 20 m.p.h.


comments powered by Disqus