Terrapin (amphibious vehicle): Difference between revisions
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==Design of the Mark 1== |
==Design of the Mark 1== |
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Despite success in its first military action, the Terrapin was not an overall successful design, and had many significant defects which were never overcome in service. Because of the size of the tyres, the Terrapin was a relatively high vehicle, and though open topped, it was difficult to enter and exit. Any soldier attempting to exit over the side faced both prolonged exposure to enemy fire as well as possible injury from the fall. More important, like the [[Medium Mark A Whippet]] tank of WWI, the Terrapin had drive to all eight wheels powered by two separate engines (both [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] V8), mounted side by side with each motor driving the wheels on one side, controlled by lever steering. This arrangement didn't work on the Whippet, and failed on the Terrapin as well. If one engine broke down the Terrapin tended to swing around violently. The two centrally located engines also split the cargo compartment in two, and though rated as a 4-ton vehicle, this prevented large loads such as heavy artillery or vehicles from being carried. In use the vehicle was found to be rather slow, and was easily swamped in rough seas. In addition, the driver had poor visibility as he was centrally located inside the middle of the vehicle. This was compounded by the installation of a canvas cover over the forward hold. As a result another crew member typically had to stand behind the driver and provide directions.<ref name=Brissette/> One interesting feature was that when being driven on a level surface the vehicle was supported on the four middle wheels, with the front and rear wheels remaining clear of the surface. The front and rear wheels provided support and traction on soft surfaces and when climbing slopes such as riverbanks.<ref name=Brissette/> When driven in the water it was propelled by two rear-mounted propellers.<ref name=Brissette/> These failings quickly led to the abandonment of the design in favor of the development of the Mark 2, but the growing availability of large numbers of the much more successful American [[DUKW]] made further development unnecessary. |
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When driven in the water it was propelled by two rear-mounted propellers.<ref name=Brissette/> |
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The vehicle had a number of defects: |
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*It used lever steering, which made it very difficult to handle in rough water. |
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*The driver had poor visibility as he was located in the middle of the vehicle. This was compounded by the installation of a canvas cover over the forward hold. As a result another crew member typically had to stand behind the driver and provide directions.<ref name=Brissette/> |
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*The 4-ton of the name indicated that it could carry a load of 4 [[long ton]]s but the physical size of the load was limited as the load space was split into a front and rear area due to the engines having been placed in the centre of the vehicle for stability. |
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==Design of the Mark 2== |
==Design of the Mark 2== |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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== References == |
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* {{cite book |last= Trewhitt |first= Philip |title= Armored Fighting Vehicles |year= 1999 |page= 172 |publisher= Amber Books |location= New York, NY |isbn = 0-7607-1260-3}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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Revision as of 20:21, 26 March 2009
| Terrapin | |
|---|---|
_during_the_Battle_of_the_Scheldt_-_October_13,_1944.jpg) Terrapin (to the left) during the Battle of the Scheldt in the Netherlands, 1944. | |
| Type | Armoured personnel carrier |
| Place of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Morris Commercial |
| No. built | 200 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 7 tonnes |
| Length | 7.01 m |
| Width | 2.67 m |
| Height | 2.92 m |
| Crew | 2 |
| Armour | mm |
Main armament | none |
Secondary armament | none |
| Engine | 2 x Ford V8 190 hp ( kW) in total |
| Power/weight | hp/tonne |
Operational range | 240 km |
| Maximum speed | 24 km/h, 5 mph in water |
The Terrapin "4-ton amphibian" was a British manufactured, amphibious armoured transport of the Second World War. It was first used at Antwerp in 1944, and to great effect during the Battle of the Scheldt.
The Terrapin served with the assault teams of Royal Engineers as part of the 79th Armoured Division. They were used to carry infantry units (Canadian and British) over the rivers.
Development
Due to a shortage of US manufactured DUKWs the British Ministry of Supply commissioned Thornycroft to design an amphibian capable of ferrying supplies and troops from ship to shore for the D-Day landings.[1]
Some 500 Terrapin Mark 1 were built by Morris Commercial, the commercial vehicle side of the Morris Motor Company.[1]
A Mark 2 Terrapin with a number of improvements reached the prototype stage but the war ended before it entered production.
Design of the Mark 1
Despite success in its first military action, the Terrapin was not an overall successful design, and had many significant defects which were never overcome in service. Because of the size of the tyres, the Terrapin was a relatively high vehicle, and though open topped, it was difficult to enter and exit. Any soldier attempting to exit over the side faced both prolonged exposure to enemy fire as well as possible injury from the fall. More important, like the Medium Mark A Whippet tank of WWI, the Terrapin had drive to all eight wheels powered by two separate engines (both Ford V8), mounted side by side with each motor driving the wheels on one side, controlled by lever steering. This arrangement didn't work on the Whippet, and failed on the Terrapin as well. If one engine broke down the Terrapin tended to swing around violently. The two centrally located engines also split the cargo compartment in two, and though rated as a 4-ton vehicle, this prevented large loads such as heavy artillery or vehicles from being carried. In use the vehicle was found to be rather slow, and was easily swamped in rough seas. In addition, the driver had poor visibility as he was centrally located inside the middle of the vehicle. This was compounded by the installation of a canvas cover over the forward hold. As a result another crew member typically had to stand behind the driver and provide directions.[1] One interesting feature was that when being driven on a level surface the vehicle was supported on the four middle wheels, with the front and rear wheels remaining clear of the surface. The front and rear wheels provided support and traction on soft surfaces and when climbing slopes such as riverbanks.[1] When driven in the water it was propelled by two rear-mounted propellers.[1] These failings quickly led to the abandonment of the design in favor of the development of the Mark 2, but the growing availability of large numbers of the much more successful American DUKW made further development unnecessary.
Design of the Mark 2
This was similar to the Mark 1 but had a forward driving position. It was a much longer vehicle, being 31 feet long compared with the 23 ft length of the Mark 1.[1]
Notes
References
- Trewhitt, Philip (1999). Armored Fighting Vehicles. New York, NY: Amber Books. p. 172. ISBN 0-7607-1260-3.
External links
See also
- DUKW
- Landing Vehicle Tracked known as (Water) Buffalo in British service.