Landships II

Bodlosh · Sergeant

TreffAs vs. 3 Wheeled Steam Tank

Roger Todd · Legend

Bodlosh wrote:
...about the US one there is an information that it was driving about 15 meters and then became stuck; about TreffAs i know just, that it was tested and because of production of A7V it was scrapped.

According to Tim Rigsby, the claim that the US Steam Wheel Tank became stuck after 15 metres is inaccurate and misleading:

One prototype was completed in February of 1918, and was put through a series of evaluation test between March and May of 1918, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, Maryland.� Some reports of these tests state the Steam Wheel Tank became stuck after 50 ft, and thus ended it's evaluation.� This statement is not accurate.� The Steam Wheel Tank would get bogged down under it's enormous weight.� However, once enough pressure was build up in it's two kerosene fired boilers, it would pull itself free.

Like the German Trefass Wagen, it went through a series of trials before being abandoned. I haven't seen any evidence to say that one design was worse than the other, though it's much of a muchness given that the basic concept was misconceived to start with.