Landships II

I am delighted to announce that a copy of the patent is in my possession, courtesy of the very helpful Somerset Industrial Archaeology Society.

It is an interesting vehicle. The "track shoes" do bear a striking similarity to Tritton's eventual version on Little Willie. Hawker also says that spikes or some other means of increasing grip could be attached to the shoes. On the other hand, it is still a tricycle and would have had no trench-crossing capability. I half-hoped that the forward driving wheels might have incorporated the option of lowering them to form a true caterpillar, in the manner of the Lefebvre types, but they are clearly fixed, so only three wheels could be in contact with the ground.

The two handwheels are ingenious. Each operated a worm-drive, one to alter the direction of the front wheel, and the other to raise or lower it so as to keep the boiler level.

Perhaps the most advanced feature is the differential. It was (or would have been) possible to disengage the drive on one side so as to turn the vehicle (or on both sides to idle).

I think it might deserve a mention in the evolution of the Tank. To say that JH "is generally regarded as the father of the Tank," is insupportable unless you live in Chard, although if enough people cut-and-paste it from Wikipedia it might magically turn out to be true.