Landships II

Hello Charlie, like you I haven't had much luck finding info on the C&S tracked tractors. I think one of the few mentions I've come across online is from this (somewhat poorly-written) website:

https://tractors.fandom.com/wiki/Clayton_and_Shuttleworth

"In WW1 they set up a subsidiary company Clayton Wagons at Abbey works, Lincoln...

...This was followed in 1916 by a 4 cylinder gas-kerosene engine crawler tractor ("Chain Rail"). This 40 hp. machine lasted till 1929. They also built an 100 hp. gun tractor similar to a Holt machine."

The Museum of Lincolnshire Life in Lincoln has a 1917 Clayton crawler tractor on display, with mention that they were "used for hauling gun carriages in WW1", but I suspect this one has more agricultural origins than military.

Kevin

The smaller Clayton & Shuttleworth tractor looks similar to the Holt 45, known in France as the Baby Holt.

The Holt 45 was extensively tested in the US as an artillery tractor in 1915. The French Amy ordered 850 of them

as artillery tractors in 1916 though I don't know how many were delivered. 

Charlie

The smaller C&S tractor (presumably the 40hp 'Chain Rail' tractor, if the first reference I quoted is accurate) is really quite small - definitely much more compact than the Holt 45, but that could be the large radiator & roof on the latter fooling the eye a bit. I didn't measure it, but I'd estimate that the bonnet height was about at my eye-line (give or take), which is probably 5ft-ish; the length being not too dissimilar to a typical '40s/'50s smallish farm tractor from memory.

W^D Models have one in their range (WDMT14 at the bottom of this page):

http://www.wdmodels.com/page5.html


Kevin

It's an IWM image - one of three of the C&S tractor with Handley-Page O/400 bombers.

I agree that the C&S tractor was a lot smaller than the Holt 45. It would be nice to have some idea of its development, specification

and how many were built. Unlike the larger C&S tractor I don't think any were sent to Russia.

Regards,

Charlie