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Landships II -> Landships WW1 Forum -> Armoured Cars & other AFV's -> Very early Italo-Franco AFV design
Post Info TOPIC: Very early Italo-Franco AFV design
Centurion


Legend

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Very early Italo-Franco AFV design
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An Italian engineer named Balbi designed an armoured, steam powered, cannon armed, fighting machine in the 1860s. It has been suggested that this was inspired by Cowan's proposals. However, unlike Cowan, Balbi got his ideas a little past the design phase. In 1870 during the siege of Paris Georges Clemenceau financed the building of three of these 'land monitors' (two large machines and one small) but these were not completed before Paris fell.


I can find no drawings or other details. It would also be interesting to know how far the construction got. if anyone has any further info on these early landships please post.



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eugene


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here is a page of experimental tanks,

the second one is supposedly Cowans, the first tractor is built for turkey or so the caption says, and the armored train like thing that I have mentioned before on the forums, could that be it?


-- Edited by eugene at 19:26, 2006-11-22

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Centurion


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Who knows? Unfortunately I can't read the text attached but the date is wrong being well after the Franco Prussian War. However the date is also wrong on the picture of the Cowan. The first machine, as has been said in the earlier thread, was a British design bult and used in India. The page does not inspire implicit belief. The 'train' does have a tricolour flag and what looks like a French or Italian name. However it looks highly impractical with those tiny wheels and I suspect that Clemanceau wouldn't have shelled out money for something that looked as if it wouldn't work.
I'd say the jury is out  but I suspect that a Scots verdict of 'not proven' is likely - more evidence is needed.

-- Edited by Centurion at 21:07, 2006-11-22

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theburk


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acctualy that is a very interesting wheel design, its like the entire suspension being put on a wheel instead of the wheel put on the suspension, and on that train like tank it looks more like those are little feet, or legs of some sort, perhaps it is a pedrail.

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eugene


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denlon is the engineer of the wheel

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Rectalgia


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Here is an article about Balbi's "Land monitor"

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kieffer


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may be mr. Balbi got inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's (wooden) armoured vehicle?

Kieffer

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Rectalgia


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kieffer wrote:

may be mr. Balbi got inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's (wooden) armoured vehicle?

Very likely - the diffusion of ideas is inevitable. As perhaps the great Leonardo would have drawn inspiration from the Roman Testudo - or as Halbritters Waffenarsenal seems to suggest, something a little more contemporary -
the kampfpanzer, according to Halbritter inspired in turn by Hannibal's armoured elephants.


-- Edited by Rectalgia on Friday 4th of June 2010 05:25:39 PM

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kieffer


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Hi Steve, great picture...probably the inspiration for the British Tortoise..

regards Kieffer

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