Landships II

MarkV wrote:

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Hello,

I've just noticed that United States patents are now searchable on Google. For the first time US patents filed before the early 1970's are fully searchable online!

This means that it is possible to do a search for "armored car" or "tank" and find all sorts of interesting drawings of early armored vehicles as well as odd, never constructed concepts. Just go to google.com and click on the "more" link. Then click the "even more" link that pops up. Unfortunately "no even more link" pops up when I do this. Is it only me? Is this another restriction on AOL users? Finally click on "Patent Search" and enter in your search terms. (Be sure to use US spelling - "armored" instead of "armoured" & etc.)

To further refine your search you can click on the "Advanced Patent Search" link next to Google's search term field. In addition to allowing more specific searches, the advanced search will give you the option of limiting the results by date.

I've found all sorts of interesting items, like patent number 1333446, which appears to be a knock-off of the Rolls Royce Armoured Car and the 1907 patent (number 853625) for Ferdinand Charron's armored car. Holt's armored tractor is there too (pat. num. 1365402). Don't forget to look for components of armored vehicles as well, like patent number 1447979 for the armored pneumatic wheel.

Some of the images appear to be scale plans of actual vehicles, but many are a little lacking in scale or details (this was probably intentional as the more vague the patent description was, the wider the possible interpretation of the patent.)

I would post some images but I haven't been able to attach photos since the forum was "improved".

Enjoy,

Mark

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Centurion wrote:

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spoof soap opera set in the 1930s called 'Brass' starring Timothy West as the monstrous Northern mine owner and arms manufacturer whose concern had developed the 'anti tank boot' with a toe cap filled with the patent 'silent but deadly' soundless explosive

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I was in it! I was a worker who had been blown up when the explosive went off at the factory. The trouble was that when the SBD went off accidentally - nobody heard it. So the workers went on strike to demand a hooter which would tell us that we were being blown up, if you follow me.

Timothy West's character was Bradley Hardacre. His supposed factory was a disused mill in a charming little village in Lancashire called Summerseat. The mill has now been turned into very desirable flats worth about half a million quid each. To make us look like explosion victims they sprayed our hands and faces with aerosol dirt, then someone went down to the stream, came back, and threw a bucket of sh*ite over the lot of us.

I was young and needed the money.

The "munitions factory" as it is today:

Sorry. This is a bit off-topic.