I am seeking information on a WW1 softskin,namely,the 3 ton White truck of 1917 which was widely used by the various Allied armies. Dimensions,including the wheelbase,would be appreciated and would greatly help to produce a drawing for modellers. Ken Musgrave
Ken . . . According to Vanderveen's 'The Observer's Army Vehicles Directory to 1940', p 316, the wb for 1917 White ordnance repair truck is 145 1/2 inches o/a dimensions (in inches) 220x70x82. It adds that its 'basically similar to White Model TBC 1 1/2 - 2 ton cargo truck. The recon truck (p310) has a wb of 140 inches.
You might want to take a look at these online books for plans and photos of White trucks, and many other makes as well:
Motor Truck Design and Construction 1919. (Be sure to also look at the plans and photos section after page 303. They are printed sideways and as result the Google search engine doesn't find them. There is a chassis plan of the Libery B on page 303)
Modern Gasoline Automobile 1912. (Don't miss the plans for the US Army's Special Sampson Truck on page 71 as well - it's practically a motorized covered wagon!)
Motor Vehicle Engineering 1922. (It is getting further away from 1917 but there are very detailed, fully dimensioned plans here. I don't know enough about these trucks to say how much the basic chassis changed over the years though.)
Just click on the link to go to the book then do a search within each book for "white" and "truck".
Ken . . . After realizing that I provided info for trucks smaller than asked, I borrowed a copy of Floyd Clymer's 'Catalog of 1918 Cars' which gives dimensions for American-made cars and trucks of that year. (Surprisingly, no Ford vehicles are given.) It provides the following info on White trucks.
3-ton : wb 163 inches; gauge (whatever that is) front 64 inches, rear 62 inches; front tires 36x5 inches and rear tires 40x5 inches both with solid tires (back dual) . Driver was on the left.
5-ton : wb 169 inches; gauge 64 inches,; all others are the same as above.
Also included are Saurer 5 ton; Packard 5-ton; Autocar 1 and 1 1/2 ton; Studabaker on ton; GMC 1 1/2 ton; Pierce Arrow 2 and 5 ton; Garford 2 ton; Kelly-Springfield 1 1/2, 2 1/2 and 5 ton; Moreland 4 ton; Peerless 5 ton; and Federal 1 and 5 ton trucks among others.
Borrowed the 1914 version as well which includes Peerless 5 ton; PA 2 and 5 ton; Packard 5 ton; GMC 1 1/4 ton; Autocar Type XXI; Garford L, D, and J; mack 2 ton; Sauer 5 ton; White TCB 5, TAD 3 ton, TBC 1/12 ton; and GBBE 3/4 ton.
These are good books. The publisher also has a lot of other books on early vehicles. Don't know what the availability is.
Al, What a mouth watering book that is! The data is just what I wanted,I have a few photos of the truck harvested from the net so I think I am in a position to attempt a drg.I have just sent a drg.of the Liberty B truck TO Peter along with a few others.Many thanks for the trouble you have taken to help. Cheers, Ken
Hi MarkV, Thanks for the list of books re.White trucks.Unfortunately I've had no success so far accessing the various books.The Google blurb tells me that only snippets of the books are online,will keep trying.Thanks Ken