Landships II

Centurion · Legend

Yet another weird machine

Tim R · Hero

Hello Centurion

I looked at this thread with a lot of interest, I am a huge Christie fan, and I sincerely believe he was a genius before his time. I have attached a little information concerning Christies M1932 tank to which was going to be used for the flying tank project. This direct information comes from the excellent Michael Rosen site THE CHRISTIE TANKS. Also I have attached some rare drawings of the flying mechanism, as well as some really great M1932 drawings, one from Vincent Bourguignon. I hope some one find this interesting.

All the best

Tim R

M1932

Produced in 1932 by U.S. WHEEL TRACK LAYER CORPORATION Total production = 1.

� CREW: 3

� ARMAMENT: Could carry one cannon and one or more machine guns.

� ARMOR: 0.375" to 0.5". (Thicker armor could be installed).

� MAXIMUM SPEED: 60 mph on tracks, 120 mph on wheels.

� SUSPENSION: Similar to 1931 model but with a maximum vertical movement of 24 inches; wheels of duraluminum with Firestone pneumatic tires. The two rear wheels had a slightly greater diameter than the front pairs.

� TRACKS: Forged steel plates; 11" wide; 7" pitch; track pin 3/8" diameter.

� GENERAL ARRANGEMENT: Cannon in front; crew in front center; engine & final drive in rear.

� DIMENSIONS: Length: about 22 ft.; Width: about 7 ft; Height: about 5' 8".

� WEIGHT: about 5 tons.

� ENGINE: Hispano-Suize, 12 cylinders, V-type, 750 HP, forced water cooling.

� HORSEPOWER per Ton: 150.

� TRANSMISSION: Sliding gear, 3 speeds forward, 1 reverse. It had a power take-off for the flying propeller. One modification provided for a transfer gear case to propel a helicopter rotor above the vehicle for lift purposes.

� OBSTACLE ABILITY: Could jump across a 20 foot trench from a 45 degree slope.

� FUEL RANGE: unknown.

� FUEL CAPACITY: 89 gallons.

SPECIAL FEATURES: Of very light construction throughout for airborne role. Chassis consisted of a double hull which enclosed the suspension springs. The inner hull was made of welded duraluminum plates, and the outer hull of welded steel plates. Rear ground wheels were driven through a knee-armed gear box when the tracks were off. Originally it had been proposed that the chassis be equipped with a disposable biplane and propeller assembly. Using this arrangement the vehicle would become airborne by taxiing along the ground on its tracks to gain momentum and then transferring power to the propeller. Later plans contemplated carrying the tank by a special aircraft and releasing it close to the ground. In this case dual air-speed indicators would enable the tanks driver, before being dropped, to accelerate his tracks to a speed equaling that of the aircraft. Adaptation of these concepts and designs in the form of permanently installed, high speed track-laying airplane undercarriages would permit the operation of large aircraft from unimproved fields. Erratic and undependable, the M1932 was modified twice and then sold to Russia, who had a keen interest in the flying tanks idea.

-- Edited by Tim R at 17:23, 2006-09-19

-- Edited by Tim R at 17:24, 2006-09-19

Centurion · Legend

I did quite a bit of research on various flying vehicle concepts and projects. I enclose my drawings of the Russian flying tank and one version of Christie's machine. One of the major drawbacks of all of these was the very high landing speed and the effect on the crew and vehicle of hurtling along across uneven ground and through bushes etc etc at 70 plus mph. It would seem after the one and only test flight of the Soviet machine the crew had to be briefly hospitalised and the tank was definitely not combat ready. The crew of the Hafner Rotabuggy (a WW2 British flying jeep) were physically sick after landing and had to lie down for half an hour before attempting to walk (it seems they point blank refused to undertake another flight). I don't know how the Chrisie would have fared but one account of a 70mph test cross country run in the tank (sans wings) indicates that the crew were so shaken about as to be severely bruised and disorientated. One also wonder what would happen in action if there were any concealed rocks, concrete anti tank pyramids, steel or concrete posts in the landing ground - ouch

Tim R · Hero

I agree, OUUUUUUUUUCHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All the Best

Tim R

Vilkata · Brigadier

It seems ambiguous as to how many crew there were supposed to be in this thing. Either Christies version, or the Russian version.

Literature says the original M1932 was supposed to have a crew of 3 - yet look at the thing. It was quite small, and must have been very cramped.

In one of the drawings we see a single driver in it. So, I'm sort of confused.

Christie had a great knack for the mobility part of AFVs, but I don't think he had a clue how to arm it or armor it correctly. I think Christie would have gotten a lot more famous if he simply let the military develop the armor and armament for his vehicles, instead of trying to do it himself.

A picture from the TANKS site:
[url]http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/UnitedStates/lighttanks/uslt-ChristieM1940.jpgp[url]

I'll attach some more M1932 pics aswell.

---Vil.