Landships II

Date: Mar 15, 2006

Question about the Steam Wheel Tank Article

Roger Todd · Legend

Wait a minute, are you the Craig York who made a superb scratchbuilt model of a Martian Fighting Machine from H G Wells's 'The War of the Worlds', pictures of which I submitted to Dr Zeus last year, and which prompted some correspondence between us?

About the drawings in the centre of the page - I originally scanned them in from John Glanfield's superb book, 'The Devil's Chariots'. They are (going from left to right):

Colonel Crompton's original Pedrail-based armoured troop carrying landship

One of Colonel Crompton's later armed and armoured landships, based this time on Bullock track units (I can't remember the exact model, I'll have to look it up later)

William Tritton's Big Wheel landship

Anyway, whether or not you are the Craig York I was in contact with - welcome!

Centurion · Legend

On getting the Devil's Chariots I did a quick exercise to try and put some flesh on the bones of Col. Crompton's design. My original is in Powerpoint (for scaleability) but I did a conversion to JPG which I enclose. I've added the tracks (and mud chutes) and a door (a vital component I think). Interestingly if both sections were independently powered such a tank could use its length and articulation for trench crossing and then split into two seperate vehicles in order to create havoc behind the lines (the only tank that could exercise a pincer movement all by its self). With a pair of Holt tracks they probably would be at least better than the Schneider.
One thing - Crompton seems to have made no provision for a driver's position!

Date: Mar 16, 2006

Roger-

I am indeed that Craig York-delighted to be well-remembered! (and I was rather hoping

that you were the same Roger Todd whose name I'd noticed on some of the excellent

artillery articles here-Good Show!)

Anyway, thanks for the prompt response-I have a long fondness for things that

never made it off the page, and have wondered for years just what the "Big Wheel"

was supposed to have looked like-the second Crompton landship is intriguing-I'll have

to see if I can find a copy of the Glanfield book-sounds like an excellent text.

Robert-I'd be interested in seeing your modified drawings of the 2nd Crompton, but

they don't seem to be showing up for me-perhaps thats a function of my guest status?

(I'm also baffled by this double spacing-well, I guess I'll just have to register then!)

Centurion · Legend

Craig
Can't help with the double spacing. I can't speak on behalf of the forum but I can be pretty sure that everyone would welvome your registration. However just in case you wish to remain Mr. Anon. I enclose a link to my Crompton (which is actually the Mk 3).
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-11/1114252/crompton1.jpg

Roger Todd · Legend

Hi Craig, good to see you here - small world, eh?

Like Centurion, I don't know about the double-spacing, that's very odd (it does double-spacing with hard returns between paragraphs as a matter of course, but yours seems to be after each line - weird!).

However, you do have to register to be able to open/download attachments (although in this case it's superfluous as Centurion's provided a link instead). I'd generally recommend registering anyway, though you run the danger of becoming completely hooked...

Dear old Colonel Crompton produced a huge range of designs, as his ideas developed from troop carriers to armed vehicles, and with a variety of track units and suspensions, including Diplock's Pedrail tracks, Bullock's tracks and even enlarged versions of the Killen Strait units (variations of which he planned to use later for his Emplacement Destroyers). 'Tankette', MAFVA's magazine, ran a superb series by David Fletcher and Dick Harley twenty years ago (!) on the origins of the British tanks, which included many excellent scale drawings of Crompton's designs by Dick. Sadly, there are no plans to reprint them or collect them into book form. Centurion's drawing gives an excellent impression of one of these designs.

And thank you for your kind comments about my articles, Craig!

Tim R · Hero

Craig

If you would like those articles on Crompton, as Roger spoke about, let me know, I can email them to you.

All the Best

Tim R

Centurion · Legend

Tim R wrote:

Craig If you would like those articles on Crompton, as Roger spoke about, let me know, I can email them to you. All the Best Tim R

me too please

Centurion · Legend

And here is Trittons Trench Tractor, a. as per the original drawing and b. with some armament. You will note that the configuration does not lend itself to being armed.

Centurion · Legend

And here is a purely fictional steam tank I found on the web one day. I have no idea of when and where it is supposed to be representative of.

Roger Todd · Legend

I've seen that, is it from the 'London War Room'? I think that's what it's called... As far as I recall, it's a sci-fi alt-history wargaming site, there's all sorts of retro steampunk tech on there.

Centurion · Legend

Based on Tim's excellent drawing and what photos are extant here is an impression of the beast itself.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-11/1114252/steamtank.jpg

One minor niggle with the article - I think that the '150 ton tank' was a seperate (and very unsuccessful) project from the wheeled steam tank.

Tim R · Hero

Robert, That is a awesome rendition of the Steam Tank. I wish I had you around when I was drawing that beast.

A lot of people have asked me about the 150 ton Field Monitor believing it is the Steam Track tank, which weighed in around 50 short tons. From every thing I can find on the Steam Wheeled Tank, it's weight was 17 tons, The 150 ton field monitor was another proposed tank design, my reference states that the Holt Steam Wheeled Tank was actually based on this gigantic version , Which by the way its design was relatively the same except it was to carry twin guns side by side, as well as two turrets one on the rear and one on the top. It was also designed to be a troop carrier. Also it was too have the same size wheels in the rear, not the small steering ball type wheel. The name stuck, when the new smaller design was introduced. Later on of course the name was changed,

That is my understanding of why it was known as the 150 ton Field Monitor.

All the Best

Tim R

P.S. Lets see your version of the 150 ton beast, if you need more information, I will supply it.

-- Edited by Tim R at 17:53, 2006-03-17

Craig York · Sergeant

Well, I seem to have pushed a snowball down the hill! Thanks all for the cordial welcome, and yes, Tim, I'd love to see the articles you mentioned-my eddress should be in my profile now.

I've seen the 'Fictional Steam Tank' before as well, its a combiantion card model/metal kit from REVIRESCO, http://www.tin-soldier.com/cgi-bin/ustorekeeper.pl (You can find the entry in the "Victorian Science Fiction" section.) Roger, you might want to have a look at his 'Martian Tripod' as well.

-- Edited by Craig York at 18:39, 2006-03-17

Centurion · Legend

Tim R wrote:
R P.S. Lets see your version of the 150 ton beast, if you need more information, I will supply it. -- Edited by Tim R at 17:53, 2006-03-17

I'll take all the info I can get please.