Soon after the outbreak of the First World War, the leading countries of Europe stepped up work on the creation of promising combat vehicles for various purposes. One of the main problems that required an urgent solution was the complex landscape of the battlefield, formed by numerous craters from shells, ditches and trenches. It was obvious that new technology must necessarily be able to overcome such obstacles. At the beginning of 1915, British designers proposed a project for a machine originally adapted for crossing ditches. In history, this original project remained under the name Tritton Trench Crosser.
The author of the original project of the all-terrain vehicle was William Tritton, a designer and specialist in the field of agricultural equipment. Subsequently, he will propose several other projects, which will eventually lead to the appearance of the world's first combat-ready tanks. Moreover, together with Walter Wilson, W. Tritton will be recognized as the inventor of the tank. Nevertheless, there were still several years left before that, and engineers worked on other types of equipment. In the course of this work, several interesting projects appeared in succession, within the framework of which various ideas of various kinds were tested. In particular, the goal of the Tritton Trench Crosser project was to study the original method of crossing some obstacles. In fact, a promising machine was supposed to become a technology demonstrator.
Experienced Tritton Trench Crosser on trial. Photo Landships.activeboard.com
A promising experimental vehicle was supposed to cross trenches, which led to the appearance of the corresponding name. The proper name of the Tritton Trench Crosser project translates precisely as "W. Tritton's Trench Crosser." No other designations were used.
W. Tritton planned to take one of the existing tractors on a wheeled chassis as the basis for the all-terrain vehicle of the new model. A similar machine was suitable for use as a prototype required to test the original idea. In the future, however, certain changes could be made to the project. The use of a wheeled chassis, in contrast to tracks, simplified the design of the equipment. At the same time, the cross-country ability of the wheels, including those of large diameter, left much to be desired. For this reason, the author of the project decided that the wheeled chassis should be supplemented with some new devices.
One of the simplest and most obvious ways to cross a ditch or trench is to lay a bridge of one kind or another. The plane laid above the trench allows you to move through it without any restrictions on the type and characteristics of the undercarriage. It was this principle that the British engineer decided to use in his new project. It was proposed to cross the ditches with the help of a special machine design and a special bridge carried by it. For the interaction of the all-terrain vehicle and the transportable bridge, a special system had to be developed.
Foster-Daimler tractor in original configuration. Photo Landships.activeboard.com
A serial Daimler-Foster wheeled tractor equipped with a 105 hp gasoline engine was chosen as the basis for the experimental all-terrain vehicle. A number of these tractors were built shortly before the outbreak of the First World War by Foster, commissioned by South American agricultural companies. Nevertheless, due to the outbreak of the war, all this equipment, which was distinguished by high performance, was requisitioned and transferred to the army. In the shortest possible time, tractors have shown themselves well as towing vehicles for various trailers, weapons or special equipment. After the appearance of the proposal for the authorship of W. Tritton, one of the available tractors was to become the basis for a prototype technology demonstrator. To do this, it had to be significantly modified by removing some units and installing others.
In the initial configuration, the Daimler-Foster tractor was a two-axle machine with rear wheels of large diameter. In the front of the rectangular frame, the engine was mounted in a characteristic housing, behind it was a frame with tanks for fuel and water used in the cooling system. The rear of the car was equipped with a control post with levers to control the operation of the power plant and a steering wheel connected to the front swivel wheels. Below the helm were some transmission units that connected the engine shaft to the rear wheel axle shafts.
Diagram of the machine in the stowed position. Figure Landships.activeboard.com
A characteristic feature of the Daimler-Foster tractors was the original power plant. Daimler six-cylinder petrol engine with 105 hp. housed in a high square casing. From above, the casing was closed by a lid in the form of a truncated pyramid, at the top of which a cylindrical tube was placed. Such a casing was one of the main parts of the original liquid cooling system. Heat removal from the engine was carried out according to the principle of a cooling tower: the crankcase was sprayed with water using a pipe system, and the generated steam was discharged into the upper pipe using a suitable fan.
To achieve high traction characteristics, the tractor received rear wheels with a diameter of 2.5 m. The wheels had a spoked structure, the supporting surface of the wheel was formed by curved metal sheets equipped with large lugs. The front wheels had a similar design, but had a smaller diameter and no grooved surface.
As part of the new project, it was proposed to remove some units from the base tractor and install new parts on it. Some changes had to undergo the machine frame, chassis and other systems. In particular, new course controls have been developed. Also, the project provided for an original system that improved the vehicle's cross-country ability and allowed it to cross trenches.
The track bridge is lowered and the rear wheels hit it. Figure Landships.activeboard.com
In accordance with the project of W. Tritton, the basic tractor was deprived of the front steering axle with wheels of small diameter. Instead, underneath the front of the frame, the frame of the new design should have been fixed. It consisted of two longitudinal elements of great length and comparatively great height. From above, the sides were supplemented with horizontal elements. In the rear of the additional frame, a small area appeared to accommodate part of the crew and some controls.
The front cut of the vertical elements of the additional frame had a rounded shape. On this part of the frame, it was proposed to fasten a curved metal sheet with the required plane parameters, with the help of which it was proposed to carry out the first stage of the procedure for crossing the ditch.
A horizontal transverse axis with two rollers at the ends was located above the front sheet. In the middle part of the axle there was a gear wheel in contact with the worm. The latter was on a long axis, brought to the front control post and equipped with its own steering wheel. These devices were to be used to control flotation devices.
William Tritton in front of an all-terrain vehicle of his own design. Photo Landships.activeboard.com
Directly behind the front curved sheet, W. Tritton proposed to place an axle with a small diameter front wheel. Another similar wheel was placed under the front of the base tractor frame. According to some reports, the front wheels of the experimental all-terrain vehicle were controlled. However, there is no precise data on control systems. The known information about the design of the machine suggests that it included some drives for changing the relative position of the tractor frame and the front unit, hingedly connected. This assumption is supported by the presence of a horizontally located steering wheel in the front control station, mounted on a vertical axis.
It was also proposed to mount an additional feed unit on the frame of the base tractor. It was a horizontal structure with a triangular profile. On the back of this device, an axle was attached with two rollers for contact with the chains used in the cross-country system.
As conceived by the author of the project, the Tritton Trench Crosser was supposed to cross trenches using its own track bridge of a fairly simple design. The bridge was a device of two longitudinal beams connected by transverse elements. Each such beam had a rectangular shape and a certain height. The beam was 15 feet (4.5 m) long and 0.6 m wide. There were small ramps at the front and rear ends of the beams. The width of such a bridge corresponded to the track of the rear wheels: it was they who were supposed to use this unit.
The off-road vehicle moves with the raised bridge. Photo Landships.activeboard.com
It was proposed to transport the bridge and prepare it for work using two chains of appropriate length. A long chain was attached to each beam of the bridge, at its front and rear from the inside. The front part of the chain went forward and was put on a roller mounted on the corresponding axle. There, the chain was bent and extended to a roller mounted on the rear wheel arch. After that, the chain covered the roller of the rear axle taken out and returned to the axle beam. As part of the means of overcoming obstacles, there were two chains and two sets of rollers for their tension.
The experimental all-terrain vehicle was to be operated by a crew of several people. Two were located on the platform in front of the engine and had to work with their own steering wheels. The horizontally placed wheel was responsible for maneuvering, and the tilted wheel was used to control the track bridge. The rear helm station, located on the aft platform, was still equipped with gasoline engine and gearbox controls. There were no special operational requirements for the Tritton Trench Crosser, which made it possible to ignore the ease of control, crew accommodation, etc.
The process of overcoming the ditch. Photo Justacarguy.blogspot.fr
William Tritton proposed an unusual way of crossing trenches, which looked like this. The Trench Cutter was to be approached to the ditch using a set of four wheels on three axles. Having faced an obstacle, the crew had to slow down and slowly push forward the front of the car. Due to the specific distribution of the mass of the units, the front frame could be hung out over the moat without any problems and moved forward. As the vehicle continued to move forward, the front wheels of the all-terrain vehicle could lose contact with the ground, but at the same time the frontal sheet of the front frame had to reach the far edge of the trench and rest on it.
Having hung the car over the obstacle, the crew had to use one of the steering wheels of the front helm station, with which the chain tension was weakened. At the same time, the track bridge moved away from the frame and lowered to the edges of the ditch, passing into the working position. After laying the bridge, the driver of the Tritton Trench Crosser could continue driving. At the same time, the front wheels could again rest on the ground, and the rear wheels drove over the bridge and then also sank to the ground.
Having overcome the obstacle, the crew had to drive a few meters, and then back up. This was necessary to remove the bridge from the trench, then drive through it in the opposite direction and return the device to its original position. Once under the bottom of the all-terrain vehicle, the bridge was pulled by chains into the transport position. After that, the car could continue to move until the next trench.
Modern layout of the Tritton Trench Crosser. Photo Moloch / Colleurs-de-plastique.com
The surviving diagrams of the Tritton Trench Crosser provide an estimate of its dimensions. The length of the car reached 10 m, width - 2, 8 m, height - about 4.4 m. The length of the track bridge was 4.5 m, rear wheels with a diameter of 2.5 m were used.
In the spring of 1915, an existing Daimler-Foster tractor was delivered to one of the British industrial enterprises, which was to become a prototype of the Tritton Trench Crosser machine. Soon the tractor lost unnecessary units and received new devices, after which it was released for testing. The alteration of the car was completed in May of the same year, and soon checks began in the conditions of the test site.
The task of the prototype Tritton Trench Cutter was to test the original proposal for equipping equipment with its own track bridge. For this reason, the prototype was tested on a site with several trenches of different widths. The testers quickly established that W. Tritton's all-terrain vehicle is really capable of crossing trenches due to the original means of increasing the cross-country ability. Without any particular problems, the crew could move the nose of the car to the far edge of the ditch, then lower the bridge and move over the obstacle.
Model, front top view. Photo Moloch / Colleurs-de-plastique.com
Nevertheless, during the tests, obvious and serious flaws in the project were identified and confirmed. The trench crossing procedure was too long to be used in a combat situation. In addition, the proposed experimental vehicle was not distinguished by high maneuverability and mobility. Now it was hardly possible to count on the continuation of the development of the project and the creation of an improved modification of the all-terrain vehicle, adapted for use in the army.
Some sources mention work on the formation of a possible appearance of a full-fledged combat vehicle based on the Tritton Trench Crosser all-terrain vehicle. In this case, all units had to be closed by an armored body of a complex shape. It became possible to change and enlarge the curved front sheet, which provided the intersection of the ditches. Also, a machine gun mount could appear in the front of the hull. The track bridge, its chains and other devices necessary to increase the cross-country ability, remained outside the armored hull. This version of the project remained in the drawings.
During the tests, the original all-terrain vehicle confirmed its characteristics, but at the same time, it showed all the existing shortcomings. In its current form, the machine could not be of interest from the point of view of future combat use. Further development of the project also made no sense. After testing a prototype, the Tritton Trench Crosser project was closed for lack of prospects. There is no exact information about the fate of the only prototype. Most likely, it was rebuilt into a tractor of the original model and returned to the old work, and all the original units were sent for scrap.
A variant of an armored combat vehicle based on an experimental all-terrain vehicle. Figure Landships.activeboard.com
The unsuccessful completion of the original project led to the emergence of relevant conclusions. The wheeled undercarriage, even supplemented by a track bridge, had very limited prospects in the context of the combat vehicles of the future. Much more interesting were caterpillar drives, the development of which it was decided to continue in new projects. Already in 1916, these works led to the appearance of the first battle-worthy tanks.
It should be noted that the idea of using track bridges transported by self-propelled vehicles was further developed. Such products could really facilitate the overcoming of various obstacles with this or that technique. Nevertheless, for the most efficient use, the bridge had to be large and, as a result, transported by a separate self-propelled vehicle. Similar ideas were later implemented in the mass of projects of the so-called. tank bridgelayers, whose task is to install appropriate engineering structures for use by other combat and auxiliary vehicles.
The Tritton Trench Crosser project was intended to test the original idea of increasing the cross-country ability of vehicles. Tests of a single prototype demonstrated both the operability and the extremely low performance characteristics of the proposed technology. Short tests made it possible to determine the further development of military technology, rejecting one of the obviously useless proposals in time.
