|
Pershings' Doughboys U.S. Army WW1 Living History Group in a fairly unique position of having not one but three motor vehicles contemporary with the period. All are fully restored and road legal and form am impressive addition to our living history presentations.
|
|
Model 'T' Ford 
1918 Dodge Tourer
FWD Model 'B' Truck
Autocar 30cwt Lorry
| The Model 'T' Ford
| 
There were over 15 Million Model T Fords made between the years
1908, and 1927. In 1917 alone there were over 390,000 TT trucks delivered to the
US Army! The Model “ T” in military service was The most common type of utility
truck in the US Army. Most of the trucks were based on the heavy duty Model TT
“1 ton truck chassis”, Ford supplied the chassis, engine and running gear,
including bonnet and firewall (Front Bulkhead)....these were then taken to
various body and carriage makers who made the appropriate body for which ever
branch of service was to use the vehicle. It was not until 1924, that a Ford,
“Factory supplied” pickup body, or 1 Ton truck “Flatbed” body was available
directly from Ford. Hence when you look at our vehicle, you will see that
the cab, and pickup bed appear home made......this is absolutely correct for
this type of vehicle between 1917 and 1923. If you study the Ambulance bodies of
the AEF, these are all slightly different.....as they were all after sales
manufactured, also the original pictures of vehicles on the Mexican border
show a complete assortment of body styles and types. Most of the ambulances that
can be seen in pictures, are based on the car chassis. For instance
Jonathan Gawnes “Over there” book, shows some very good pictures of Model
T ambulances in the AEF .
| Model T’s originally had no Electric’s at all. The headlamps were Carbide Gas, running lights Oil, and rear lights Oil. There was no battery, and the engine high tension was created by a magneto, connecting to the four spark plugs. Starting was from the hand crank, at the front. For the production of the Cars, Tourers, and Couplets, the technological advances in Electric ignition, “Starter model”. and electric lamps/speedometer/ammeter etc, began to be offered as standard or optional extra’s, these came in around the year 1919 . However the commercial range, TT truck and Car chassis Commercials, took longer to adopt these more modern conveniences. I guess that the important factors for the commercials, was to keep the cost down, and for the Military variants, to keep the production figures up. For instance it was not until 1921, that the TT truck had the option of an electric starter! As you are probably aware, Henry Ford himself, was dead against the war.....he was one of the leading figures in the “Keep America Out of the War” movement. Even so, Ford did not go as far as to refuse to sell running chassis to the Military.....he just made sure that Ford Motor company itself, did not manufacture the military body parts. After all Ford was a shrewd businessman. The US Army utilised the Model T’s for service in 1916, along the Mexican border and into the twenties. The AEF, had thousands of Model T’s, in the form of standard Ford Car offerings, Ambulance conversions, Machine gun car conversions, and utility vehicle conversions, both TT truck and standard chassis vehicles.
The chassis was made in 1918, it was actually made under contract at the Ford factory in Canada. Both engine block, and front radiator grille are stamped “Ford made in Canada”. There are next to no differences at all, between Canadian made, and US made vehicles. The pickup conversion was made by an after market body maker, or even home made / we cannot trace who made this body. The vehicle is equipped with early oil lamps, and later electric start/headlamps and rear lights...circa 1920.....but a lot better for driving than Carbide or oil! The vehicle as per all Model T’s is fitted with a 3 Ltr four cylinder engine developing around 20 BHP. It has the standard Ford Two speed automatic gear box. The braking system has been upgraded, to increase the braking performance of the vehicle.......this is a period modification. (Rocky Mountain Roll over brakes)...which was sold at the time, as an after market add on. (A necessary modification, for Public highways, remember that brakes in 1918, were nowhere near what we expect today!) .There is a two seat bench in the enclosed cab.....and the wooden pickup body is of a general purpose style. The vehicle is painted in the original US Army olive drab..... of course at the time, the US army was still developing the standard Olive drab colour that we associate with WW2 vehicles. So this colour is the closest modern colour to the 1917 US Army regulations. (Kindly supplied by the Oregon Military Museum). Period photographs show variations in colour....black brown, and different shades of OD, obviously dependent upon the mix of the batch. The Vehicle markings have been reproduced to the exact specification for AEF Vehicle markings from the US Army manual. The “2” digit indicates that the vehicle is a utility truck less than one ton. The “106” indicates that this is the 106th vehicle under this classification in the company or train to which the vehicle is attached. The “X” designates the vehicle as a civilian vehicle taken into military use. We would be particularly interested to contact other Model “T” owners in the UK or USA, with expertise on the Military variations used by the US Army. This unique subject is extremely hard to find information on...even with the help of the internet, US military museums and the Ford enthusiasts Stateside. So if you know anything at all about the Model T in military service...then please don’t hesitate to contact us. Special thanks to Model T Ford Club of America, The International Model T Ford Club, Oregon Military Museum, Tuckett Brothers UK(Model T Dealers and Restoration), McCalley Book “ Model T Ford the car that changed the world” and of course the original US army regulations!
To view a Windows Media Clip of the Model T in action click on the links below. | There is no sound on these clips.
| The 1918 Dodge Tourer
| 
Added to the collection in the Summer of 2007 this 1918 Dodge Tourer is a fine running example of the type of
vehicle used by officers as a staff and field car before, during and after WW1. The 1916 Model was the vehicle
of choice for General Pershing and the young Lt. George S. Patton Jr. for the Punitive Expedition into
Northern Mexico, March 1916. | More information to come.
FWDs were shipped to France along side the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in 1917, their value proven by
the many thousands in service with the British. Able to navigate the very difficult road conditions FWDs were
used to haul food, ammunition and field guns up to the front lines.
Four wheel drive tends to lead people to imagine Jeeps and Land Rovers bumping along muddy lanes, or more usually on
the school run! The FWD however was the very first successful application of the concept of four wheel drive
to a truck, with 10 000 seeing service. At wars end 8000 examples were sold to the French. This particular example
spent its days hauling circus trailers around the Beaujolais region before finally being laid up in 1970. After a further
14 years languishing in a scrap yard then passing through several owners in the UK it finally reached the Gosling family.
Engine
Clutch
Gearbox and Drive
Body
This information was summarised from an article by Mr. Steve Gosling, first published in the Winter 2002 issue of Windscreen.
The Autocar Company was set up by the Clarke Brothers in pennsylvania in 1899. The XX1 Truck was
introduced by the company and was the only truck not to suffer mechanical failure at U.S. Army trials in 1912.
despite this the vehicle was not taken up, save by private purchase of 20 trucks in 1914 for the First Canadian
Motorised Machine Gun Brigade.
Between 1914 and 1918, 460 examples were purchased by the British Army, 6 being retained in England whilst 189
shipped to Africa and the remainder to France.
Technical Specification
|
